Pest tray for the base of classic hive

1

Hi there, i have just assembled my classic hive and am awaiting the bee colony. I am wondering about controlling pests, and not sure leaving the coreflute on the classic hive is the best way to go? I understand, unfortunately the pest tray on the other flow models doesn’t fit the classic base. Has anyone found a shallow tray to fit the groove in the classic base? I would welcome any suggestions regarding managing pests in the classic hive.
Thanks
Gill

2

Hi Gill, I have heard of some beekeepers using a shallow baking tray - you would need to remove the coreflute to make room for it. There are also various other methods you can use for pest management, such as sprinkling cinnamon around the base of the hive to deter ants. I’m sure many members of the forum will have their prefered methods!

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Hi, thanks for your reply and suggestions. I’ll look into the baking tray :pray:
Gill

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Hi Gill1,

Did you have any luck finding a baking tray to fit? I’m keen to try that approach myself.

Thanks.

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Hi Anthony,
not so far, as its a very narrow slot, although i did see an almost flat tray, at a Spotlight shop recently, that might have worked? So far i have continued to use the ‘coreflute’ provided. I use a kitchen basting brush to apply a thick layer of cooking oil (not peanut). Mostly olive oil, and lately rice bran oil, as a beekeeper said olive oil might be a bit of a strong flavour for the bees, though it didn’t seem to bother them, though i’m not sure how i would know if it did?
Anyway the core flute is working well. It is certainly trapping and drowning both hive beetle larva and the beetles. So for now i plan to continue with this method.
good luck
Gill

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If you search on the forum there were some suggestions on the right size trays to buy to replace the corflute.

This one was from Ikea
(Almost) Perfect Ikea tray for screened base - Pests and Diseases - Flow Forum (honeyflow.com)

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It was a bit of a stroke of luck that sizing, I have noticed Ikea changes dimensions, things seems to be shrinking (based on buying some replacement metal basket draws) hopefully not the case for those trays. Good to bring a tape measure and check.

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Hi Adam,
thanks for the link to the previous mention of Ikea trays, will check them out next time I’m in Ikea. For now i have a reasonable stash of core-flutes to keep me going for a while. Cheers

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intersting nice idear