Paint fumes in boxes

[craneman54]

I am in need for a few more SBBs, inner covers and migratory covers. I make all my hives. How long would I have to wait after painting them before I can use them in my be yard?  I use exterior latex paint. I wouldn't want paint fumes to kill off my bees.

[mikecva]

I usually wait a week with the boxes in full sun. I also paint the bottoms and tops with extra on the joints. My colors are all over the place (except brown and black) and I use white for all my supers.  -Mike

[don2]

I don't paint the inside, I give mine about a week to air out. I am painting all my stuff "bull frog" green. d2

[craneman54]

I don't paint the inside of my boxes or the inside of the inner or outer covers. I do paint all of the SBB inside and out. I guess I can just paint the outside of the SBBs  and then leave all  of them outside in the sun for a week.

[Michael Bush]

>How long would I have to wait after painting them before I can use them in my be yard?

Since I would never paint the inside, I would use them as soon as I can pick them up and not have my hands stick to them...

but then I wouldn't paint them...

[craneman54]

I don't paint the insides of my boxes,but I do paint the outside to make them last longer. Besides the paint only cost be $5. Was a miss matched color mix at Lowes. Cheaper for them to sell it real low then pay to have it disposed of in a hazmat landfill.

[Eric Bosworth]

I don't paint the insides of my boxes,but I do paint the outside to make them last longer. Besides the paint only cost be $5. Was a miss matched color mix at Lowes. Cheaper for them to sell it real low then pay to have it disposed of in a hazmat landfill.

I don't paint my boxes. I doubt it makes them last any longer. If I had the equipment and the wax to wax dip that would be a different story. How much time does it take you to paint your boxes? My hives are made out of cheap hemlock. Perhaps it is because I have a lot of larch trees but going forward I plan to use larch for my boxes. My father hired somebody with a portable saw mill because he needed some lumber for a building. So I have quite a bit from that. When it runs out I will get more logs have him come back. It isn't worth the time to paint even if it is only $5/per gallon. By the time you chip the edge with a hive tool any protection the paint gives is gone. With wax dipping the wax penetrates do that isn't an issue. I think my time is better spent building boxes then painting them.