Slightly off topic hive and equipment storage

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Joined
Jul 20, 2019
Messages
63
Reaction score
27
Location
Fife
Hive Type
National
Number of Hives
6
So my lovely wife wondering if I can relocate all my bee keeping equipment E.G spinner, numerous brood boxes , supers etc etc etc , which is fair enough as I did squeeze it into her art barn. I have a large old barn further up drive that is plagued with pigeons, tried various methods to net and pack any spaces but they still get in and make a mess, don’t want to kill them though. Second issue is floor is very uneven old cobble stone. Size is great and if I could sort the pigeon issue and best way to have a flat floor that didn’t cost thousands it would be allow storage of around 40 hives and frames etc and allow me to expand from the 6 I have now. Bit of a long ramble but looked at various methods to fix these two issues and just thought someone on here might have a great solution or two ? 🤔
 
So my lovely wife wondering if I can relocate all my bee keeping equipment E.G spinner, numerous brood boxes , supers etc etc etc , which is fair enough as I did squeeze it into her art barn. I have a large old barn further up drive that is plagued with pigeons, tried various methods to net and pack any spaces but they still get in and make a mess, don’t want to kill them though. Second issue is floor is very uneven old cobble stone. Size is great and if I could sort the pigeon issue and best way to have a flat floor that didn’t cost thousands it would be allow storage of around 40 hives and frames etc and allow me to expand from the 6 I have now. Bit of a long ramble but looked at various methods to fix these two issues and just thought someone on here might have a great solution or two ? 🤔
You sound lucky to have such a building. I can't comment on the pigeons as I've never had that problem but if I had a building to convert to bee use I would have two sections. One for storage and one for extraction and jarring of honey.
For the production area you would have to put in a smooth (concrete) floor and a some kind of easily cleaned surface to the walls and ceilings.
Good luck with the pigeons and conversion!
 
So my lovely wife wondering if I can relocate all my bee keeping equipment E.G spinner, numerous brood boxes , supers etc etc etc , which is fair enough as I did squeeze it into her art barn. I have a large old barn further up drive that is plagued with pigeons, tried various methods to net and pack any spaces but they still get in and make a mess, don’t want to kill them though. Second issue is floor is very uneven old cobble stone. Size is great and if I could sort the pigeon issue and best way to have a flat floor that didn’t cost thousands it would be allow storage of around 40 hives and frames etc and allow me to expand from the 6 I have now. Bit of a long ramble but looked at various methods to fix these two issues and just thought someone on here might have a great solution or two ? 🤔

Barn owl/sparrow-hawk box?
 
You sound lucky to have such a building. I can't comment on the pigeons as I've never had that problem but if I had a building to convert to bee use I would have two sections. One for storage and one for extraction and jarring of honey.
For the production area you would have to put in a smooth (concrete) floor and a some kind of easily cleaned surface to the walls and ceilings.
Good luck with the pigeons and conversion!
Second hand cheap shed(s) or greenhouses inside will keep pigeon droppings off the equipment and may even have their own floors?
 
I dont understand, if you've done as you say and blocked up all unofficial entry points how are the pigeons getting in? Are you leaving a door open? Feral pigeons and their droppings can pose a significant health risk, if its that bad you're thinking seriously about the option of sheds in a barn imho, you need to think again fella. Sort out the pigeons then the floor.
 
I dont understand, if you've done as you say and blocked up all unofficial entry points how are the pigeons getting in? Are you leaving a door open? Feral pigeons and their droppings can pose a significant health risk, if its that bad you're thinking seriously about the option of sheds in a barn imho, you need to think again fella. Sort out the pigeons then the floor.
Not familiar with old farm buildings?
 
I have an old barn with a similar problem, the mess is awful and everything needs to be covered to protect it. I use a live trap baited with seed and am slowly catching them. Useless for storing bee kit unless you can clear it and keep it secure. Much cheaper and quicker to buy a shed.
 
I have an old barn with a similar problem, the mess is awful and everything needs to be covered to protect it. I use a live trap baited with seed and am slowly catching them. Useless for storing bee kit unless you can clear it and keep it secure. Much cheaper and quicker to buy a shed.

Sounds optimistic. Kill one and others move in. Their population pool is massive.
 
Thanks for the replies can see most of you have had similar experience and know how difficult it is to eradicate them , my plan is another round the top go of packing any small , less than 4” gaps that remain, then secure netting in front all way round. Clean out barn again . Place some level area on floor sand gravel slab then build a couple of second hand sheds on top , a lot of work ahead
 
what you want is a twee upmarket restaurant nearby where you can offload all the carcasses
I used to do work for a local authority and deal with an engineer who was a world champion with an air rifle. He had a side line of getting rid of the pigeons from a viaduct in the middle of the night. He told me that him and a mate would stand below the bridge with the birds in a row on the beams and silently pop the birds off. As soon as they dropped one another would move into the space. They had a skip at the rear of the town hall that the dropped the carcasses into every half hour or so and when they finished one night they found a chef from the local Chinese restaurant wading in the skip with his arms full of birds. :)
 
Pigeons and the mess they make are a pain and yes there’s always some that want to move back in. If you can bite the bullet and get over the first initial blood bath keeping on top of the situation is a lot easier!
 
So my lovely wife wondering if I can relocate all my bee keeping equipment E.G spinner, numerous brood boxes , supers etc etc etc , which is fair enough as I did squeeze it into her art barn. I have a large old barn further up drive that is plagued with pigeons, tried various methods to net and pack any spaces but they still get in and make a mess, don’t want to kill them though. Second issue is floor is very uneven old cobble stone. Size is great and if I could sort the pigeon issue and best way to have a flat floor that didn’t cost thousands it would be allow storage of around 40 hives and frames etc and allow me to expand from the 6 I have now. Bit of a long ramble but looked at various methods to fix these two issues and just thought someone on here might have a great solution or two ? 🤔

Pigeons, send wife in with torch at dusk instructed to shut door strait away and watch where pigeons come out. Could also get a life size model of a Sparrow hawk, available from countryside sports shops /ebay set it up anywhere obvious in the barn and move it around a bit every day. if it doesn't scare them off you will defiantly eventually see which way pigeon's are getting in and out... note inside and outside hole may be connected by a sort of tunnel so may not be obvious.

Sand & cement screed laid directly on corbels 2" thick or thin sand layer to fill gaps/level corbels then plastic membrane and 3" sand cement screed. Mix 3 parts washed sand to 1 part cement almost dry tamp down and trowel finish. or get specialist to lay a liquid screed floor.
 
Pigeons, send wife in with torch at dusk instructed to shut door strait away and watch where pigeons come out. Could also get a life size model of a Sparrow hawk, available from countryside sports shops /ebay set it up anywhere obvious in the barn and move it around a bit every day. if it doesn't scare them off you will defiantly eventually see which way pigeon's are getting in and out... note inside and outside hole may be connected by a sort of tunnel so may not be obvious.

Sand & cement screed laid directly on corbels 2" thick or thin sand layer to fill gaps/level corbels then plastic membrane and 3" sand cement screed. Mix 3 parts washed sand to 1 part cement almost dry tamp down and trowel finish. or get specialist to lay a liquid screed floor.
Thanks for the advice 👍
 

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