How to clean " solitary " bee box tubes

NewBoy2

I drilled some holes into blocks and the bees have been using them for 3 years now.

I think I should use a bit of wire and them cleanse just in warm water and dry thoroughly.

Thoughts

pansyface

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Pack-Baby-Bottle-Cleaning-Brush/dp/B01ELWL0X8/ref=asc_df_B01ELWL0X8/?tag=googshopuk-21&linkCode=df0&hvadid=310223050498&hvpos=&hvnetw=g&hvrand=15314666660065210779&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=&hvdev=t&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=9046250&hvtargid=pla-565118319316&psc=1

Also good for flossing between large gaps in teeth. 😁

NewBoy2

Thank you for the suggestion.

Have you used them and are they good please.?

pansyface

I’ve used them for cleaning odd little tubelets and spigots on the pond pumps. They work well for that. Quite sturdy.

Obelixx

Surely if the hole is packed there's a critter evolving in there and when it emerges it will take it's crud with it, mostly.   Any subsequent bee who goes there to lay a new egg will clean it out, lay and seal. 

garyd52

Our species has lost all of it's once close relationship with nature and we now think like machines , show me a bottle brush disinfectants cleaning materials etc in the natural world , the Bees know how to clean and do it without all the harmful chemicals that we now rely on to make our homes bright and shiny and the undertakers very happy men .

Fire

Bee conservationists argue that parasites tend to build up in the tubes. If we want to have less bee losses, we should clean them out. Just as with garden bird feeders.

Or if you keep chickens. We've lost a lot of birds and bees. We don't want to lose more because we are spreading parasites. 

For cleaning bee nests, soap and water seems to be fine.

NewBoy2

garyd52   Totally agree but thats a separate discussion..

https://www.foxleas.com/uploads/files/Bee Hotel page V4 Nov 2015.pdf

Within this article it recommends replacing the blocks of wood with the tubes in every two years so thats what I have done today.

Thanks for your input friends.

Fire

A very useful document. Thanks @NewBoy2 . I like the idea of marking the tunnels that are recently occupied. I currently am foxed by which cells are new and which failed. I guess we get to learn these things over time.

I currently have a preference for dismantlable nest boxes that can be cleaned out and examined. I have many drilled logs which haven't been as popular and I have no idea what is going on inside. To replace those logs every two years would be quite a big deal for me currently.

It's a good learning curve.

NewBoy2

On our allotment where i have the bee boxes there are two Mums that I know well and their children...3 girls.. came to watch the tadpoles in the pond and asked what the bee boxes were.

In these Odd Times the looks of wonder on their faces when I was explaining stuff was wonderful.

One had 4 teeth missing at the front and had a lovely lisp and when I told her a bit she stopped and stared into space to take in the info.

Quite a wet eye moment for me. 

Fire

I had that with some neighbours' little children this morning. They were asking what the tulips were. I said that you put a bulb in the ground in the autumn and then in the spring they come up as a big red flower - and there was disbelief and amazement in their eyes, like they had never heard such a wild idea. They smelled some wall flowers and some salvia leaves. I wanted to give them a big hug and it was so sad not to be able to yet. One four year old calls all flowers daffodils because that is what she remembers and mostly, it's close enough for now.

😊