Mason bee tube liner options.

A couple of different methods to make harvesting easier and preserve your cardboard tubes for reuse.

[@nancyjacobs2013]

Thank you so much for this video! I ran out of paper tubes as soon as I received my nest box, and I have parchment paper, so I am ready to get this going!

[@paulsimpson9056]

Oh great, glad it helped someone else. Thank you!

[@sherrialahmad180]

Great idea! Thank you for sharing.

[@Rudimentary007]

Good info.👍

[@paulsimpson9056]

Thanks, I'm glad it was of some help.

[@7891234able]

Ty so much. I will do the making my own. Your appreciated

[@paulsimpson9056]

Larry, I have tried before with just the rolled up parchment and it worked okay. I just continued to use the cardboard tubes as I already had them.

[@nikkilyne36]

Im going to be making some of these houses cor the bees.got my parchment paper last night lol

[@gwis100]

Fatty, Cannondale, Kirkland, Costco…America!

[@bobmariano3731]

Where can you buy the white paper tube inserts to be placed into the cardboard or bamboo ones ? Thx great info . 👍⚾️

[@paulsimpson9056]

Mason Bee Central is the first place that came up for me but I'm in BC, not sure your location. I think originally I bought them online from a supplier on Vancouver Island....

[@stevetracy437]

Was wondering if one could just put your parchment tubes directly into the holes in the wood instead of having the liners? But I just had the thought: do you remove the liners immediately when you see they are full? And the replace with new ones. I could see that might be an advantage to protect from predators, then keep them still and protected till winter, when you could then free them from the paper tubes? Also might increase your production with fewer roofed boxes?

[@paulsimpson9056]

Hi Steve, I see no reason the parchment would not work. The potential problem would be if you removed the parchment tubes prior to the egg/larvae/bee formation is completed (October ish) and pulled them as soon as they are full, you would run a risk of the larvae being dislodged or disturbed from the pollen/nectar ball its feeding on and being killed as the parchment is not rigid and tends to unroll itself. Also, it would likely mean you would need to disinfect the houses as the pollen mites would infest the wood block, whereas with a cardboard tube they wouldn't. (obviously only if your cardboard tubes were the style that had one end sealed) I have pulled my cardboard tubes when full and replaced them with empty ones in bumper years when I was running low on space in my houses. But its also a great way to keep your $ expenditure on bee houses to a minimum. In practice though I do pull them as soon as all my bees are died off (mid June) for the very reason you mentioned re predators. Care must be given in doing this though as to not dislodge the larvae, so I tip them back, so the tube opening is up. This ensures the larvae stays attached to pollen ball as its placed on the back mud wall of the cell. I then store them in my unheated garage, still vertical, until October when I process them and refrigerate til the Spring. I have put them in my garden shed in the past but found that predators still access them to some degree, so then wrapped them in mosquito netting the next year with better success. Now, I have found the garage to be the best as I don't need to wrap them. Hope this helps, regards, Paul

[@larrydavis7008]

Do you need the cardboard tubes or could you just put the rolled parchment paper tubes directly into the wood?

[@eccentricoldcow]

Yeah Larry, you can roll up paper for any nest tube. I always do, as it means if there is no disease inside the nest tubes or damp you can reuse them and not have to break them open ruining a second or even third use. Bees prefer once used cells to brand new. Which is why they favour home made tubes as opposed to card I spose. I just use some brown paper I either get with parcels and iron them out or I bought a nice roll of thinner brown paper used by decorators in the diy shop, quite cheaply. Will last me years. Here's my video for your interest kzbin.info/www/bejne/fHmueqpmgtGFfqc

[@farnorth13]

When you do it this way, do you reuse the cardboard tubes at all ? or do you throw them away ? if you do reuse them...about how many uses would you get from them ?

[@paulsimpson9056]

Diane, I reuse the tubes and so far have done that for five years. But I do shake out the tubes and then bake them in the oven at about 225F for an hour to make sure the pollen mites are dead.

[@farnorth13]

@@paulsimpson9056 sounds good.... I'm a cheapskate, I don't mind buying them and making paper inserts...I just don't want to have to buy them every year... so much of this sort of thing seem overpriced to me for what they are they should be 5 cents each if you ask me. thanks again.

[@paulsimpson9056]

Diane Cadeau Totally agree! In the first two years I had an explosion of bees and was buying hundreds of these, quickly researched and came up with cheaper alternatives though!

[@37Iulian]

Hello! Where can I buy cardboard tubes? What size (inside diameter)?

[@paulsimpson9056]

All depends where you live.......I'm in Vancouver B.C.

[@paulsimpson9056]

Inside dia is aprox 1/4"

[@munchkin5674]

Ok, don't jump all over me for asking this. Many folks new to this are probably wondering what Im about to ask. Can you use plastic straws with paper inserts?

[@paulsimpson9056]

munchkin5674 I’m not sure to be honest. I would say definitely no for overwintering but if just for egg laying then pull the insert for storage it sounds plausible. I’ve heard lots saying not to because the straws are impermeable and you need air exchange but for short term it may not have a negative effect?