treeated wood for hive building

[garlicfarmer]

does treated wood work for hive building?  any thoughts.  Thanks Tom

[David McLeod]

NO

[hardwood]

I won't use it myself but others have tried it with good results.

Scott

[BlueBee]

Bees will live in about anything, but if you’re going to eat the honey, it would be prudent to avoid chemically treated wood.  Of course the old treated wood had some arsenic in it.  The new stuff has compounds of copper as I understand it.  The bees eventually get the inside of a hive so covered with propolis that it is weather proof.  If you have the outside painted, then you have protection on the inside and the outside without having to resort to treated wood. 

I don’t recall seeing much treated lumber in 1x form at the places I shop.  Most of the treated stuff seems to be for the decking industry and about 5/4s thick.  Yes, that would have a slightly better R value than standard 1x lumber, however it is also heavier.  If you want more insulation in Michigan, I think foam is the way to go   It’s way more weather proof than wood too 

[AllenF]

All the bee supply houses sell copper naphthenate to treat wood.   But there have lots of study with that treatment, so you can google it later.  The bees due coat everything inside the hive but I don't/ won't use it, or any green treated lumber inside the hive.   

[David McLeod]

Applying copper napthenate to properly dried, milled and assembled hive furniture is fine. The common syp pressure treat commonly available is still dripping wet as you get from the yard. It will move and will not retain any sort of dimensional stability.

[danno]

I use treated lumber on all my pallets.  I build these in fall and winter and through them outside to weather until needed in april/May.   Never had a issue

[Intheswamp]

David is right about the treated stuff still dripping wet when picked up at some of the big box stores.  I picked up a few 1x6 treated planks a few months ago...really heavy and "wet"....makes you start looking around for some gloves or a rag or something before handling them.  I left them in a dry building until a few days ago and they were dried nicely BUT definitely more "wavy".  Conversely, about 20 years ago I bought a bunch of the old deadly stuff to build a deck with...that wood was (and is) much more dimensionally stable than what I see today.   I ripped some narrow pieces from this new stuff to place under the side runners on my bottom boards to raise them up 3/4"...that worked good and them being treated will help them last, of course the paint would've done that anyhow.  I figure with the treated wood and then painting that those runners will give the cockroaches something to crawl on when the rest of civilization is gone.    

A good coat or two of some decent exterior latex, paying special attention to the end grain, and I think the woodenware will last plenty long enough...indefinitely if more paint is put on in several years.

Hive stands and maybe bottom boards seem ok, but I don't think I would want the off-the-shelf treated stuff inside with my bees and honey.

Ed

ETA... danno's got the right idea....if you use it, throw it out there and let it "cure" in the elements.

[David McLeod]

I would limit the use of pressure treated wood to it's intended use, ground contact. I never bought into the whole chemical issue, though hive products are foodstuffs, it is there are far better options for hive parts where stability, machinability, lightness and durability are concerned. Now for stands, pallets and other assorted items that come between the hives and mother Earth pressure treat is an excellent option if wood is used.

BTW it would be a bad idea to use a piece of pressure treat between the standard bottom board and cinder block so many of us use. Current building code in most areas require treated wood for contact with cement/concrete.

[Intheswamp]

BTW it would be a bad idea to use a piece of pressure treat between the standard bottom board and cinder block so many of us use. Current building code in most areas require treated wood for contact with cement/concrete.

Typo?

[David McLeod]

wouldn't

darn auto correct on this phone.

The lime in concrete does bad things the raw wood and the treated is a barrier of sorts to termites and wdo.