Has anyone every used a split plastic frame with wax Foundation for there hives…
I haven’t personally, but I have inspected hives that have used them, the bees didn’t seem to mind. Its when plastic foundation is used in the brood chamber that I have seen issues. Namely the bees creating very artistic ways to build comb away from the plastic.
Thanks for the reply. I might give them ago…
@nic351 Are they the frames that split apart and the wax goes between??
I have a couple of those the are OK - easy to put the foundation into
Thats the ones… Do u use wax Foundation in yours?
That would be interesting to see. I have Been tossing up between wax Foundation or plastic…
Hi dexter, I thought your being foundation-less was one of the pillars of not treating for varroa?
I wish…
My hives are in a wooded glade in one of my fields surrounded by miles of hedgerows and woodlands and not a scrap of planted crop. Forage is still limited though by the legions of hidden hives belonging to fellow beekeepers (according to Beebase)
I have a few of these by default - I like the idea but must admit when I found out any old wax is used to make foundation I chose to do strip for my bees - I have some plastic foundation but have to wax them for the bees - mine seem to be fussy.
I like the idea of the splits but I will stick with the girls building their own
Thanks for all the replies. Just trying to wrap my head around all the different options out there to raise bee’s.
Hi, if you want to raise plenty of bees, I found the best option is full frames of wax foundation works really good for me.
Just keep it simple Nicola, start with wax foundation if you can, the bees work well on wax and the frames won’t matter if they are plastic or wood. Your local beekeeping supplies will stock one type more than any other and this is usually for good reason, I would go with that.
Hi Roderick, I’ve seen exactly the same thing on the few plastic frames I was given, it seems the only way to use them is to coat them with wax first. Mine are too grubby looking to put wax over. They probably need steam cleaning first. Anyway I’ve got heaps of spare wooden frames. I don’t know how but a couple of the plastic frames were buckled that bad, they were unusable.
Thanks for the advice i will stick to the K.I.S.S moto…