Does anyone use fume boards down under? All the products are hard to find?
I don't think they're legal here anymore. Dad used them in the 80, s. Didn't make a lot of sense to us as it chased the bees out, there fore stopped production until the smell cleared . escape boards are a better way.
Found a few chemicals that were used years ago that are now banned in most countries and I can see why, the guy in bunyip is now selling a product for fume boards. I will have to give escape boards a go.
A good clearer board / escape board.is easy 2 to 3 hours and they should be 90% clear, or leave overnight. (Sounds like an advert for headache pills).
Easy on the bees. Working with two even easier and quicker.
You can make your own Bee quick. I have made it and it seems to work as well as the real stuff.
I will do a search for it.
Jim
Thanks Jim, looking forward to see whats in it. I will also have to make a few escape boards as well, l didn't realize that they cleared that quickly.
If you have SHBs bee careful. You are giving them free range of the super and they will start laying there eggs as soon as the bees are thinning out. I made 2 of them and tried them once. I stapled a piece of terry cloth over them and now use them as fume boards.
I was not able to find the formula on the web or on this site. I am hoping I have it in an old phone. I am still searching for it. I may have it in one of my bee note books.
Jim
Here is the formula:
Substitute for bee quick.
One ounce Tea Tree Oil, one liter bottle of rubbing alcohol, one small bottle of pure almond extract. Place all three in spray bottle.
Jim
Thanks Jim
NP
Jim. How long does than formula last? I helped a friend extract yesterday, and he uses Honey Robber. Probably one of the worst smells ever! Seemed like a lot of bees vacating the hive, which can't be good. Your recipe looks like something I'd much rather use, but the tea tree oil is somewhat expensive. Would a batch of this be effective for a couple years?
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Matt,
I bought the one ounce bottle of tree tree oil 2 years ago and made up a batch and put it in 2 sprayers and the rest in a glass jar 2 years ago. I still have one sprayer and the jar. I used it reciently on swarm removals and it still work. For honey removals it does not remove all of the bees unless the frames are 100% capped. It thought the original bee quick worked better but I tried it this past month and found there was not much of a difference between the home made and the original. Leave ithe fume board on the hive for about 7 minutes.
Jim