Hello all,
I've got some boiled linseed oil and have rd that it would be fine to treat my hive with this product. Is this the case? Also can someone tell me if it's necessary to treat the inside of the hive (not frames obviously).

Hi

Most hives are made from hard wood such as Western Red Cedar which doesn't really need to be treated with any preserve as it contains it's own strong anti-fungal and anti-bacterial natural preserves (Thujaplicins) giving it built in protection. Hives made from mature red cedar material (and most are) will 'silver' with age but can remain rot resistant for a great many years, up to 100 years has been quoted, as long as they are not subjected to continual damp such as resting directly on the ground. Positioning hives up off the ground, free of long grass and good air circulation is more important.

Some beekeepers like to paint there hives for a variety of reasons, if this is case then only use a product which is guaranted not to contain any harmful substances such as insecticides. There are some water based wood preserves around nowadays which are ok but don't last to long. Linseed oil is a recognised product for treating hives but you should only treat the outside of the hive no matter what the product. Also remember that wood is a natural material which needs to breath and should you seal up the wood surface you may be doing more harm than good.

If your hives are made from some other material such as a soft wood then their longevity is a different matter all together and may need to be treated.

Hope this helps

Thanks for the reply. Yes my hives are made from Thuja so I'm not going to bother treating them. Will have them standing on either an old crate or breeze blocks too.