Most of us have researched and tried to find the best beehives for ourselves with lots of options. Today I decided to take a look at the beeswax coated beehives from Hoover Hive and write my review. I hope it helps you decide if you are considering buying this hive.
Is Hoover’s Hive Natural Beeswax Coated Beehive Worth Buying? According to my research, this is one of the best options. This hive comes with everything you need to start beekeeping. As the hive grows, you can remove unwanted parts and add more boxes. A good thing about this beehive is that it has been coated with natural beeswax.
When you buy a beehive, you want to choose one that doesn’t require any extra equipment, is easy to assemble, and doesn’t cost a lot of money. In this review, I’ll go over the company’s features, pricing, and customer service.
Features First
Hoover Hives beehives coated with natural beeswax come with:
- 2 deep incubators: with thick wax coating and dovetail pine wood frame
- 1 medium super box with heavy wax coating and pine dovetail frame
- 30. Beeswax coating, food-safe plastic foundation
- Waxed solid base
- Telescopic cover with metal cover
- Inner cover
- Plastic barrier
- Input reducer
- Nails assembled with instructions
Wax Coating
Wax coating is an important factor, not only because it helps keep the wood strong and healthy, but bees are more likely to accept the hive if it is covered in wax.
Bees sometimes reject hives that don’t have this wax coating, so you’ll have to wax the hive yourself. Hoover Hives Natural Beeswax Honeycombs are already waxed, so you can skip this step and start assembling right away.
Many beekeepers use paint to coat their hives, which can often harm bees if the wrong color is chosen. Wax coatings allow beekeepers to avoid putting toxic paint on their hives.
I read that some people have come across this hive and they have noticed that the wax is unevenly applied or not applied at all in some places.
Plastic Basics
The base of this honeycomb is made of plastic covered with wax. The advantage of plastic foundations is that plastics are stronger than pure wax foundations. Plastic foundations do not sag in warm temperatures or break easily during honey extraction.
Another benefit of the plastic base is that pests and parasites that burrow through the comb can be easily controlled through the plastic base. The waxed foundation helps the bees feel comfortable while they work.
These foundations are black, which makes it easy to spot the small white eggs, which also reminds you that the queen bee is alive and well. Another advantage of black foundation is that black absorbs and dissipates heat better, which is important for the temperature of the hive.
One downside to waxed plastic foundations is that sometimes you’re not sure where the wax comes from and may contain contaminants; fortunately, Hoover Hives beehives are coated with natural beeswax.
Entrance Reducer
Hoover Hives are coated with natural beeswax with an entry reducer, which is important for a number of reasons. The main advantage of an entry reducer is that it is needed when there is a risk of bees attacking the colony from outside or when the weather is bad.
Bees are able to control the temperature of the hive; however, their thermoregulatory task becomes more difficult when the weather is too cold. Inlet reducers can also provide protection against wind, rain and snow.
If the colony begins to show signs of weakness, using an entry reducer can give the bees time to regroup and strengthen to protect themselves from intruders.
Some beekeepers don’t like to use an entry reducer, so the good thing about this is that you don’t have to use it unless you really want to.
Plastic Queen Eliminator
The queen bee barrier is used to prevent the queen bee from entering the container of honey for human consumption. If the queen bee becomes super good in honey, you have a chance of laying eggs in honey.
Some beekeepers choose not to use queen rejection and have found other ways to keep the queen out of this honey. One of the reasons people choose not to use repelling is that bees generally don’t want to go where their queens can’t.
This hive comes with a plastic queen remover that can be removed when not in use.
Inner Cover
The inner cover is located between the telescope cover and the Super. The purpose of this cover is to provide enough space for the bees while promoting good ventilation within the hive.
Most inner covers are designed with grooves for better ventilation. Unfortunately, there are no grooves on this inner sleeve.
Telescopic Cover
The bellows is the roof of your hive and you want it to be strong and sturdy while sliding over the top of the hive to keep water, wind and snow out of the hive.
Hoover Hives beehives are coated with natural beeswax and feature a retractable lid with a metal cover that virtually protects the hive from bad weather.
Instructions
Coated with natural beeswax, Hoover Hives are removable and come with everything you need to assemble a beehive. They contain the parts needed for a complete beehive, including nails and detailed instructions.
The detailed instructions that come with this hive make it an easy choice for novice beekeepers.
Because of the waxed wood, gluing the pieces together is not recommended as glue won’t stick together either, so Hoover Hives includes the nails needed to assemble the hive.
When using nails, there is a risk of the wood splitting when nailed together, so I recommend drilling holes in the wood before installing the nails.
One problem with the instructions that came with this hoover hive is that they don’t specify which nails go where, so some people have had issues with putting the smaller nails where they don’t and have to disassemble them again first. So be sure to check all nails before hammer time!
Price
When I checked the price on some online stores, it was about $180. In my experience, everything you get is fine. This kit contains everything you need to build a large beehive. The parts are already coated with beeswax, so you don’t have to buy the wax separately and apply it yourself.
The price of this hive is very reasonable for its quality, what it contains and how beautiful it looks. The wood also has beautiful bee details printed on it, adding an extra touch to the hive.
The wood is a high-quality fir that allows for tight connections and long-lasting durability.
Customer Service
One possible downside of the Hoover Hives company is customer service. Several people had problems with the kits they received and were unable to get in touch with the company’s customer service.
Customers received the wrong product, couldn’t reach anyone, or took a long time to respond.
Advantages And Disadvantages
OK, now let’s take a quick look at the strengths and potential weaknesses of this hive.
Advantage:
- Contains two deep incubators
- A medium-sized super box
- Complete Beehive Kit
- Detailed instructions plus nails
- Waxed
- Very detailed
There are few downsides to this project:
- Wood split report
- Uneven application of wax
- Customer service
I also recommend checking out other customer reviews of this beehive on Amazon.
