I live in Perth,Australia,which has a lot of termites.My query is about the pine is,has it been termite proofed?
Hi there, welcome to the forum. I am guessing that you are referring to the pine option for the hives which is only available in Australia? I don’t work for Flow, so I can’t be sure, but most hive suppliers do not treat their wood with anything before sending it out.
If you are really worried about termites, you need to consider treating the wood yourself with something like copper naphthenate, or better yet, buy the western red cedar version, which is naturally termite resistant and doesn’t really require any treatment at all. I live in California, and we have voracious termites here, so I understand what you are dealing with.
Hi Mikey, if you elevate your hive or use some tin under the hive similar to what they use on house foundations you should be right, but as Dawn suggests, I like to napthenate my timber, it has the added benefit of stopping the rot in the joints.
Our cedar wasn’t treated, and I’m pretty sure the pine isn’t. @MartinB might know the definitive answer on this one.
Our Western Red Cedar Hives are Heat Treated using Kiln drying to less than 12% water content.
Hey Mikey,
I’m in WA too, and definitely in a busy termite area. I am also getting the pine flow hive and have an old table with metal legs for a hive stand. I am standing the table legs in containers of cheap vegetable oil. Good luck to the ants–black or white–getting to the hive with a bath of oil to pass through first.
Pine is definitely not termite resistant. Unless you get pine soaked in chemicals.
Put the hive on a termite resistant stand and you will have zero problems.
I also do not believe that the pine used for the flow hive is termite proof. The only pine that is naturally treated so to speak is cypress pine, the knotty timber that you see as the most common timber floor boards in older houses
No. Pine is NOT treated, but also Kiln Dried. However we highly recommend painting any Pine hives, as Pine does not weather as well as Western Red Cedar.
However saying that, I have seen pine hives which were oiled and lacquered that looked nice for a while but can not say how long it will last. I would not think it would last as long as paint
I personally have a Hoop Pine Flow hive which I intentionally did not paint or oil to see how they held up to the high humidly. My initial results show that it will likely turn grey over time, and the sun can take it’s toll. I have also seen ants
I agree with the others suggestion, as some people say stands with Table legs in vege oil is a good solution to keep out insects such as ants and termites.
My brother who is a queen breeder likes to put sticky tar paper on the stand legs. It seems like a reasonable option, but I have not tested this myself
Saying all of that. It really depends on your climate and situation. Paint especially on the roof is what I would recommend. In humid areas I would recommend painted roofs on WRC. Most of my personal Flow hives have painted roofs.
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I personally have a Hoop Pine Flow hive which I intentionally did not paint or oil to see how they held up to the high humidly. My initial results show that it will likely turn grey over time, and the sun can take it’s toll. I have also seen ants