Can you use eastern red cedar to build beehives or with the aromatic wood harm bees or production?

Question

Can you use eastern red cedar to build beehives or with the aromatic wood harm bees or production?

Answer 1

I have heard that cedar is a good choice for beehives because it is more resistant to weathering. Don't use something with the idea that is strong enough to keep moths out though! it would not actually hurt the bees, but if the scent is too strong it can repel the bees.

I have also heard cypress is a good choice. there are places which sell both.

Answer 2

I don't think they'd stay in it either.  I also think it'd be a shame to put such beautiful wood into building beehives.

Answer 3

Eastern Red Cedar will not harm the bees but the bees won't stay in the hive.

Answer 4

I have never tried it. You could try to make just one to see how the bees do in it.

I don't know anything about Eastern red cedar, but western red cedar is very soft compared to the pine that most hive bodies are made of. I don't think that the natural anti rot quality of the wood would make them last longer than the regular type.

Just a note. I taught beekeeping in Latin America for 5 years as a Peace Corps volunteer and cypress was a wood that people prized because it was not eaten by insects and did not rot quickly. But the beekeepers always said that the bees would "leave" if they were put into boxes made of this aromatic wood, so maybe they would not like cedar either.[ I must admit however, that I have never tried to introduce bees into a cypress box and some of the things that the people I worked with were old wives tales.]

Answer 5

I'VE NEVER HEARD OF MAKING BEE HIVES FROM CEDAR BUT I DO KNOW THAT SWEET GUM IS AN EXCELLENT WOOD FOR HIVES.