# propolis



## mare (Aug 31, 2006)

am a newbie with a question---when you start a new hive is it a good idea to put a propolis frame in the hive or does it take away from the honey making process?


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## marinemomtatt (Oct 8, 2006)

Huh?
The Bees make the Propolis themselves, it's their weapon against 'invaders' and it's an awesome crack filler and glue.


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## mare (Aug 31, 2006)

i realize they make it themselves but i have seen (i guess frame was the wrong term) propolis traps in the catalogs. to collect the propolis. i guess what i am trying to ask is if i use a propolis trap and they fill it are they doing more work to fill it and not making honey


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## alleyyooper (Apr 22, 2005)

Propolis or bee glue can be a good money maker with those who have many hives. Last fall with out doning any more thanfreezing the traps then wringing them out we got $12.00 a pound plus the cost of shipping.
I personally think a person should get a bit of experinace before fooling with the by products of the hive. Learn to care for the bees and robbing honey before jumping to the next page of the book.It is a long learning curve.
Traps go on top of the top bars.

 Al


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## mare (Aug 31, 2006)

thanks Al--just been doing reading and browsing ect. i dont think i am ready to do more than just get started raising bees but i am a real curious person. and i think its cool that there are more than a few ways to branch off with this. i have a tendency to ask alot of questions. i dont see myself ever getting real big but in the future i am thinking of trying this for my own personal use.


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## BjornBee (Jan 17, 2011)

We sell ours for $8 a quarter pound. You do the math... 

While it sounds like an easy thing to do, you get no more than a quarter pound per trap on a good day. many times it's far less than that. If you look at the equipment and time, it really means your making very little. For personal use, it makes sense. For commercial production,....many other ways to spend your time being productive.


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## mare (Aug 31, 2006)

thanks BjornBee. i am real interested in the health aspects of raising bees--more so than making alot of money. if i can make a little money at it though that would be fine by me .


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## tom j (Apr 3, 2009)

yea I have thought about putting a trap in the hive .. this year I think I will put one in just to see what I get ,, I to am looking at the health thing ..


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## alleyyooper (Apr 22, 2005)

I forgot to mention most places I know of will not take less than 10 pounds at a time.

You can also get a bunch of proplis when cleaning up the honey supers as the girls just love to glue the frames down.

We also keep records of the proplis gathering work done by the different hives. Some bring it in by the semi truck load it seams and some don't even bother with the stuff it appears.

 Al


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## mare (Aug 31, 2006)

well duh--i never thought that i will get some when i open the hives, thanks Al. and good info from you guys if i ever decide to go there and collect for more than myself.


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## indypartridge (Oct 26, 2004)

mare said:


> well duh--i never thought that i will get some when i open the hives, thanks Al. and good info from you guys if i ever decide to go there and collect for more than myself.


In the bucket of stuff I carry out to the hives, I have a cottage cheese container that I put propolis scrapings in. If you're collecting just for yourself, you'll get plenty just from the scraping you do while performing routine inspections.


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## tom j (Apr 3, 2009)

Ok ,, Now ,, how do you clean it once you get all your scrapings


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## AverageJo (Sep 24, 2010)

And what do you do with this stuff once it is cleaned? I need to get out more...


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## alleyyooper (Apr 22, 2005)

We don't need to clean at all, guess that is why we only get $12.00 a pound.
Once we collect 10 pounds we box it and send it to a company we found googling proplis buyers.
Takes us some timeto collect 10 pounds and we do use proplis traps.

 Al


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## Maverick_mg (Mar 11, 2010)

oops. I never cleaned mine either. Just put it all in a jam jar in the freezer and broke off a piece when I needed it. I wonder how u clean it? Ill have to look into it now. Its pretty sterile stuff, maybe there isn't much too it. hummm.......


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## tom j (Apr 3, 2009)

Maverick_mg
how do you use it ???? just chew on it or ??


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## mare (Aug 31, 2006)

tom j said:


> Maverick_mg
> how do you use it ???? just chew on it or ??


the research i have done says to either chew it or swallow chunks--it said that it is darker (i have never seen it before) and if you chew it it could stain your teeth brown??????????? is that what you guys that have used it found?


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## tom j (Apr 3, 2009)

others have said it is not the best taste ,,,,I have put some in my mouth but I have no taste at all ,, to tell the truth ham and a banana taste the same to me ,, as there is no flavor to any thing I eat . and to me they smell the same , like nothing ,, no smell ether .. I kind of wondered how much you would take a day .. and how long it takes to work .


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## Maverick_mg (Mar 11, 2010)

I put a little pellet in a hot toddy mix. 1/2 shot Jack, 1tsp lemon juice, 1tbs honey, propolis smaller then a pea. Heat it up in the microwave for a few secs. then add about as much verners to the mix as you can drink in a few sips. I save that for when Im real sick. For just a sore throat heat up the propolis in a grain alcohol until it dissolves and put a few drops of that mix into a glass of water and drink it. The alcohol is hard enough to get down that i never noticed if the propolis had a taste. lol


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