BBKA Forum

British Beekeepers Association Official Forum 

  • Cleaning Bamboo Queen Excluders.

  • Bee Hive building & a place to share howto's on equipment
Bee Hive building & a place to share howto's on equipment
 #1172  by Steve (The Drone)
 24 Oct 2018, 08:24
Try a blowtorch - if it doesn’t work buy a couple of wire excluders. These usually only have a wooden frame on one side so buy a length of 15 x 10mm strip from your builders merchant and screw and glue these to the other side. Makes them more ridged and when using Maqs strips or Apilife Var you can flip the excluders over and have space for the pads.
Best of luck Steve.
 #1174  by AdamD
 24 Oct 2018, 09:10
I haven't any bamboo ones. (Maybe that's a good thing?) A washing soda solution will dissolve propolis if it is present. Otherwise, maybe hot water from the kettle and a stiff brush? To remove disease pathogens, a soak in strong bleach after the wash will assist. Then rinse of course.
 #1179  by Patrick
 24 Oct 2018, 17:20
See other thread on equipment maintenance and DIY and my recent experiments with domestic washing powder. Soak in warm water and biological powder maybe and scrub with soft nylon brush?

Be careful bamboo can bend and take a set with heat, which would potentially knacker the spacing of a QX. Used to straighten split cane strips using a Bunsen burner when making fly rods as a young lad, it becomes surprisingly plastic when heated.