Chemical Free Wax

[watercarving]

My wife and I want to do soft treatments and I have a guy nearby who can supply bees that are soft treatment only. Where can I buy foundation that is chemical free (soft treatment only)?

BTW, you guys are great. Tons of good answers to all my questions. The diversity is great as well. Can hear both sides of every issue and decide what's best for me.

Thanks.

[bluegrass]

Without the chemical element you don't have beeswax ;) Beeswax is a long chain fatty acids, it contains alkanes, esters, alcohol and hydrocarbon. I don't think anything we treat bees with will effect the wax that is in foundation, but if you want to be sure you could always go foundationless.

[pdmattox]

I belive fat beeman is in georgia, I think he  has chemical free wax and maybe foundation too. He has a website that someone may have a link for.

[watercarving]

My understanding is that things like Apistan and other hard treatments get in the bees and in the wax they make. When this is recycled into foundation then you have it in the foundation.

[rdy-b]

 8-)       http://www.geocities.com/fatbeeman/

[Michael Bush]

>My wife and I want to do soft treatments and I have a guy nearby who can supply bees that are soft treatment only. Where can I buy foundation that is chemical free (soft treatment only)?

Fatbeeman has it.  Or look on Beesource, I believe Pegjam has it for sale.  Anything commercial is contaminated.  The entire beeswax supply in this country is contaminated.

[Bee-Bop]

If you use that smoker on your bees, I believe your pumping in them chemicals.

At least thats what the American Cancer Society says , you've heard about second hand smoke i'm sure.

I have often wondered about the Organic Beekeepers using smokers, and then saying their hives are chemical free. Wonder what Dee L. comment about this would be, perhaps someone could ask her at the planed meeting.

Bee-Bop

[Jerrymac]

Cigarettes have a lot of added stuff. All the chemicals to grow the tobacco and all the chemicals in the paper. Use naturally occurring leaves, weeds, grasses I guess would be chimical free.... unless sprayed with stuff. 

[Michael Bush]

>Wonder what Dee L. comment about this would be, perhaps someone could ask her at the planed meeting.

Dee uses a smoker.  People have been using smoke to calm bees for at least ten thousand years that we have records of.  That seems pretty natural to me.

>Cigarettes have a lot of added stuff. All the chemicals to grow the tobacco and all the chemicals in the paper.

Plus added strychnine, arsenic, etc. etc. etc.


If you are smoking a hive correctly you should not be putting more than a puff or two in it.  It does not take any more than that.

[bluegrass]

The point I was trying to make is that everything can be broken down into its chemical composition. Chemical free does not exist. You can maybe try and limit the chemicals that are not supposed to be present, but even that is unlikely.

[livetrappingbymatt]

use hemp for smoke= happy bees!
bob evans

[Understudy]

use hemp for smoke= happy bees!
bob evans

Yeah but they always seem hungry afterward.  ;)


Sincerely,
Brendhan

[Robo]

Fatbeeman has it. 

Don will be in the chat room around 8:30 pm EST tonight.  I'm sure he will answer any of your questions.

[Brian D. Bray]

use hemp for smoke= happy bees!
bob evans

From a beekeeper who never inhaled I suppose.

[Robo]

The point I was trying to make is that everything can be broken down into its chemical composition. Chemical free does not exist. You can maybe try and limit the chemicals that are not supposed to be present, but even that is unlikely.

Good luck Bluegrass....

I've been trying to make the same point with "those" who claim to be chemical-free but still use and promote powdered sugar :roll:

The point is chemical is NOT a bad word, but certain chemical are BAD.  They just can't seem to "get it" :-P

[KONASDAD]

>My wife and I want to do soft treatments and I have a guy nearby who can supply bees that are soft treatment only. Where can I buy foundation that is chemical free (soft treatment only)?

Fatbeeman has it.  Or look on Beesource, I believe Pegjam has it for sale.  Anything commercial is contaminated.  The entire beeswax supply in this country is contaminated.

As usual MB is right. I was at NJBA state meeting and the MAAERC report had two very interesting facts IMO. One, tested wax foundation from commercial suppliers contained coumaphos in the wax. The other unrelated info I got was the state of WV and Virginia both had AHB hives and swarms. The believed source of AHB was Weaver apiaries in Texas. Theres talk of not accepting bees from the south, in particuluar that provider

[Jerrymac]

The point I was trying to make is that everything can be broken down into its chemical composition. Chemical free does not exist. You can maybe try and limit the chemicals that are not supposed to be present, but even that is unlikely.

Good luck Bluegrass....
I've been trying to make the same point with "those" who claim to be chemical-free but still use and promote powdered sugar :roll:
The point is chemical is NOT a bad word, but certain chemical are BAD.  They just can't seem to "get it" :-P

Yeah there are always those that have to draw attention to themselves trying to be a smarty pants.  :-D

Everybody knows that a sink full of soapy water is full of chemicals. Spray it on bugs and it will kill them. Fogging a room with pesticides will kill the bugs also. But when one mentions treating a room for bugs chemically, one is not thinking soapy water. I don't put chemicals into my hives. Unless you are talking about wood glue, honey, wax, bees, wood, nails, screen wire, rubber bands.....

[Kirk-o]

I just use small cell and natural cell.I learned this on Bush Bees web site it makes everything simple.
kirko