Beekeeping

[jason.fuller0]

THAT would be something to see. Naturally, share if you do.

[james_scheffler]

Former beekeeper here (got allergic. )

In your place, I’d:

1. Sand lasered edges.
2. Seal those edges with hot propolis or maybe a coat of beeswax.

[joshferintino]

It will probably have to be next spring, by October they are getting ready for winter and stockpiling up honey instead of turning it into comb. But I will put pictures forth once it happens.

[joshferintino]

There was a girl in my Beekeeping club that got allergic, then cleared that up with bee venom therapy. She can get stung now and only has a normal reaction. I do however understand that idea is kind of scary at the surface though.

[james_scheffler]

I’d really love to do that, it’s just a question of hobby priorities for me right now.

What’s worse for me is orchard fruits. I love pears, but can’t have them (or apples, or peaches, or a handful of other stuff) raw.

Once a year I Benadryl myself up to the gills and then crack out on Harry and David pears for a day.

[Drea]

So glad that you asked this! I was just thinking about this yesterday … beekeeping is probably not an option for me, but someone here (forgive me, I forgot who) suggested orchard bees + bee boxes.

I was also pondering glowforge’d “bug hotels” … there may be a formal name for these, but I don’t know it. Basically, a structure for beneficial insects, like so:

Craftsman Built Insect Hotel Decorative Wood House Stock Photo - Image: 35016338

Edited to add: also wondering about this same issue in regards to bird houses. Would the charred smell be a deterrent to them?

[jrnelson]

we call them bug or insect hotels, too. we hung one out on our garden early in the year, and i noticed the other day that most of the tubes are filled with egg sacs by now.

[julybighouse]

Saw a post the other day (online, not here) that really made me think, it essentially said:

“That moment when I realized that they cut down Birds houses in order to make Bird Houses”

[joshferintino]

I think those are for Mason Bees which happen to be some of the best pollinators there are, they just don’t venture more than an acre away from their house.

[bricry]

you could make a bunch of things that they could build tbeir combs on for artwork. Bees are amazing.

[Drea]

Yes, mason bees but also solitary wasps, butterflies and ladybugs too. Looks like there are different types for different bugs. I don’t know, it’s something I’ve considered but not yet tried.

[jbmanning5]

@Drea

forgive me, I forgot who

I see how it is! kidding. Orchard bees are a type of Mason bee.

I’m thinking the GF could be used for a number of different types of small fauna habitats. I’m currently putting together a number of CAD designs for bird houses but habitats for bees (both colony and solitary), bats, etc should all be viable via a laser cutter.

[Drea]

@jbmanning5

designs for bird houses but habitats for bees (both colony and solitary), bats, etc should all be viable via a laser cutter.

I’d buy 'em!!!

[jason.fuller0]

Laser cut bat houses…another thing I have to look into making for sale.

The big deal would be making a bat house with the exterior shaped like the house there. I’ve seen mailboxes like that.

[jrnelson]

are mason and carpenter bees the same?

we have a nice enough 12x20 shed that has a number of problems, one of which is a large carpenter bee infestation. we’re planning on testing it down eventually so we took an untreated waste board and drilled several holes in it. last year 2 or 3 were tunneled and expanded, and now i think all of them are.

when we tear down the shed we’re going to mount the board on our garden fence.

[bdm]

@joshferintino

I’m worried the bees won’t like the burnt wood smell since those girls are very particular about smells.

I have seen a number of laser cut hives and some of the first Flowhive boxes were laser cut too.
The bees had no problem with my lasercut Flowbox and i have heard no stories of bees moving because of laser-cut smell.

But certainly, as others have suggested, sanding back the burn marks and also liberal use of Tung Oil would do as good a job as any with masking the smell

[Brandon_R]

We could use you over here too!

Bees and Lavender

We’ve had quite a few amazing bee and lavender peeps on the forum and I just wanted to make a space so I can soak in all that goodness. Drop some knowledge on us! Throw your big brags in there! [image] I don’t really have anything brag worthy. Bought some seeds from India and grew them indoors. I have a spot for them outdoors if the rain will stop long enough. I need to get a load of rock as well. Clay doesn’t exactly drain very well. Image is from this post here.

[jbmanning5]

@jrnelson

are mason and carpenter bees the same?

Different genus.

Mason bees typically won’t act like carpenter bees in the sense of digging out wood. I say typically because animal behavior isn’t always exactly predictable.

For example, I had a beekeeper come out to my moms house to relocate some Mason bees that were beginning to nest under a bench right by the door (proximity to the door along with young grandchildren is only reason we had it relocated). The beekeeper asked what they were, to which I replied blue orchard bees (a type of Mason bee). She didn’t believe me because they aren’t especially known for building their own nesting cavities and they were actively building mud dauber type nesting areas under the bench. Sure enough, she confirmed the ID when she showed up.

[jrnelson]

cheers, thanks. i haven’t noticed one yet here, i don’t think, but then they do tend to solitary behaviours from what i’m reading.