My friend who got me in to beekeeping recently got his wife started as well. She is extremely environmentally conscious. The hive is kept in the backyard so he stained it and it looks great. The only problem is his wife is not sure how safe the stain is or for that matter, how safe the wood itself is for the bees. None of it seems natural to her. I didn't have an answer for her. Do any of you know if there could be consequences from the type of paint/stain or, for that matter, the type of wood you use for your hives??
Thanks
On a side note, this is my 2nd year beekeeping and I just harvested my first honey!! 22 sixteen ounce bottles full. I'm looking forward to giving some away to friends and neighbors.
Kurt
Maybe some of the exotic tropical woods might contain toxins but I haven't heard of any. As far as paints and stains go if they are cured and do not contain heavy metals that could leach out I don't see it being an issue.
It sounds more like she is reacting on what she feels rather than actually doing the work to know.
Bees live on the inside of the hive mostly where the wood is not painted or stained. And the raw wood will get a good coating of propolis from the bees.
Quote from: David McLeod on August 17, 2011, 11:29:37 PM
It sounds more like she is reacting on what she feels rather than actually doing the work to know.
Not sure that's fair to her. Since we don't know what kind of wood or what kind of stain, we haven't done the work to know. Maybe she has researched it and does not like what she found out.
Most untreated wood should be safe. Many stains contain materials I would not want to eat.