Author Topic: Mountain camp feeding; No newspaper; Need chemical-free alternative!!  (Read 1388 times)

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Alklar20

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I plan on doing some mountain camp feeding for my beehive, but my family doesn’t get any newspapers. I need an alternative, but I’m worried about chemicals that could potentially be in the paper. Does anybody know of any chemical-free types of paper that would make a viable alternative to newspaper?

Offline Bakersdozen

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Re: Mountain camp feeding; No newspaper; Need chemical-free alternative!!
« Reply #1 on: January 16, 2022, 06:59:45 pm »
For newspaper combining of colonies I pick up the local Penny Saver, Thrifty Nickle, or whatever it is called in your area.  They have these at stands by the door of some supermarkets.  These are usually all ads with a bunch of local info that no one ever reads.
I would suggested cheap paper plates, but those might be too thick for your needs. 
There is some dispute whether sugar bricks are consumed by the bees or carried out the front entrance.  I know, I know, beekeepers are very opinionated and seldom agree.  I make sugar bricks or sugar cookies and they are easy. 
https://worldwidebeekeeping.com/forum/index.php?topic=6293.0  This is a thread that many contributed to with their method of making sugar bricks.
I have found, using a mixer, I combine a 4# sack of sugar,  about 1 tablespoon of apple cider vinegar, about 1 tablespoon of honey b healthy, and about 1/4 cup water.  I often add a drizzle of my own honey.  I add enough water so that I can grab a handful of sugar and it forms a ball (kind of like a snow ball).  Then I know I have added enough water.  I then press this into old pie tins or paper bowls or paper plates.  Put in the oven on the lowest setting possible.  I have a warm setting on my oven and I will leave this several hours, shut the oven off and leave overnight.  By morning it is a hard as a rock.  You can lay these on top of the frames with a shim. 

Offline iddee

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Re: Mountain camp feeding; No newspaper; Need chemical-free alternative!!
« Reply #2 on: January 16, 2022, 07:55:36 pm »
parchment paper or school notebook paper.
“Listen to the mustn'ts, child. Listen to the don'ts. Listen to the shouldn'ts, the impossibles, the won'ts. Listen to the never haves, then listen close to me... Anything can happen, child. Anything can be.”
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Offline Zweefer

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Re: Mountain camp feeding; No newspaper; Need chemical-free alternative!!
« Reply #3 on: January 30, 2022, 08:13:02 am »
Around us we get a thrift saver add newspaper every Sunday in the mail.  Otherwise, you could always ask your local gas station to save you one from the day before?


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Keeping of bees is like the direction of sunbeams.
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Offline MudSongs

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Re: Mountain camp feeding; No newspaper; Need chemical-free alternative!!
« Reply #4 on: March 22, 2022, 02:30:56 pm »
You don't need newspaper, though newspaper in the form of flyers and other free publications aren't usually hard to find.  But just about anything will work.  Any kind of paper, cardboard, a piece of cotton from an old t-shirt, whatever can hold the sugar above the top bars.  If the cluster is a half decent size and is rising above the top bars, cut a hole in the middle of whatever you use for holding the sugar, and the bees should be able to crawl through the hole to access the sugar.  I've done the same thing with inner covers if they're close to the top bars and the bees are clustering high.  Pour sugar on the inner cover surrounding the inner cover hole and the bees, again, will crawl through the hole to access the sugar (usually).

Dropping in sugar bricks is even easier.  12 parts sugar, 1 part water.  Let it harden over a day or two in paper plates or tinfiol containers and then slip them over the top bars, preferably directly above the clusters.

Works for me anyway.  Good luck.
- Phillip Cairns
Isle of Newfoundland
47°42'34.2"N 52°42'49.9"W