Beemaster's International Beekeeping Forum

BEEKEEPING LEARNING CENTER => EQUIPMENT USAGE, EXPERIMENTATION, HIVE PLANS, CONSTRUCTION TIPS AND TOOLS => Topic started by: ArmucheeBee on February 22, 2009, 03:39:26 pm

Title: Homemade Solutions
Post by: ArmucheeBee on February 22, 2009, 03:39:26 pm
Back in the fall we had a thread about frame holders.  Below is one that I made not long after that.  It is collapsable by removing a couple of screws.  I can then take it to removal sites where I use it to hold frames while I put cutout comb in them.  At home I use it to hold frames for inspection.  It can hold an entire box of frames.  That is a medium frame on the holder.  Made it with scrap wood.

(http://img13.imageshack.us/img13/8899/20090222beeequipment001.th.jpg) (http://img13.imageshack.us/my.php?image=20090222beeequipment001.jpg)

This is my solution to ant problems.  I have had 5 different species of ant in my hives.  At first I put the legs in cans of water until they froze and busted this winter.  Now I have drilled holes in these boards.  The legs sit in the holes, which do not go through the board, I will put some thick axle grease in the holes and up the legs a little way.  The boards will make it easier for me to level the hives also.  The stand is made from rebar steel and is a pretty easier build for a welder.  I added a third set of legs in the middle.  The stand could hold three standard hives, but the weight scares me so I will only use two per stand.  That is a standard nuc on the stand for size.  The stand is high enough that I do not have to bend over much to work the hives. 

Comments welcomed.

(http://img13.imageshack.us/img13/8590/20090222beeequipment001z.th.jpg) (http://img13.imageshack.us/my.php?image=20090222beeequipment001z.jpg)

(http://img13.imageshack.us/img13/5314/20090222beeequipment001j.th.jpg) (http://img13.imageshack.us/my.php?image=20090222beeequipment001j.jpg)
Title: Re: Homemade Solutions
Post by: Bee-Bop on February 23, 2009, 12:37:06 pm
I hope you have better luck than I using grease !

I used automotive chaise lub, after about a month of outdoor exposure it developed a solid top coating, ants used it like a freeway.

Bee-Bop
Title: Re: Homemade Solutions
Post by: justgojumpit on February 23, 2009, 03:21:45 pm
The solid top coating was probably from sand and dust.  Why not set the feet in metal coffee cans with vegetable oil in them?  That should work and would also solve the top coating issue.  Plus the metal coffee cans will be much less likely to break due to freezing than the plastic containers.  You would need a really hard freeze to damage the sautered joints.  Also, vegetable oil does not freeze so easily ;)

justgojumpit
Title: Re: Homemade Solutions
Post by: ArmucheeBee on February 23, 2009, 04:12:39 pm
I was using the big cans yams come in.  The bottoms froze out.  I used oil for a little while.  I would need to change the grease out for sure.
Title: Re: Homemade Solutions
Post by: SlickMick on February 25, 2009, 07:31:57 am
Has anyone used the sticky substances that horticulturists use around the trunks of their trees to keep insects and such climbing up into the tree?