But for many, this has become too time consuming. In addition to the pure wax foundation, we now have various types of plastic foundations.ĭuragilt, Plasticell, Pierco, Ritecell, Permacomb and the option of an empty frame with no foundation at all.ĭuragilt is a sheet of very thin clear plastic that is coated with beeswax and has the hexagonal worker cells embedded in the wax. Some beekeepers enjoy using Duragilt and others do not like it. What's new :) I have tried Durgilt and it proved unsuccessful for me. The bees drew it out unevenly or in small pockets. Rarely can I get an even frame of comb off of Duragilt foundation.

I like pure wax foundation, but I don't like the complexity of the assembly and how venerable it is to mice and wax moths. To reuse the frame means a lot of disassembly and cleaning, pulling out nails, and removing the wires. Permacomb is fully drawn plastic foundation, not wax comb. In other words, it is a plastic version of a fully drawn wax comb. It sound great as it would allow a fresh package of bees the ability to immediately start storing honey. I've never tried it due to the fact that it is expensive. I know this can be confusing, so let me HIGHLY encourage you to take my ONLINE BASIC BEEKEEPING COURSE from the comfort of your home, on your schedule at your own pace. I'll teach you via video that you can watch when you want! CLICK HERE FOR MORE INFO NOW. Then, there is plastic foundation by various names: Ritecell, Pierco and Plasticell. This is my preference! This is a very thick piece of plastic, probably 1/8 inch think and has the hexagonal worker cells embedded in the plastic. I use only the beeswax coated sheets of plastic. I love plastic foundation in wooden frames. I'm not as impressed with the one piece plastic frame and foundation. In fact, my queens love deep frames that are solid one piece plastic. Here are the reasons I have gone totally to plastic:ġ) Bees love it and pull it fast. I often entice them by spraying each sheet with sugar water.Ģ) It is VERY durable. You can scrap the comb off with a hive tool and never damage the cell.ĥ) It is very easy to spot eggs against the black brood sheets.Ħ) You can spin it in an extractor at any speed and never blow it out.ħ) It doesn't droop in a hive or bow out.Ĩ) It snaps into frames rather than having to use wire and nail in a wedge.ġ0) It is much more cost effective than constantly replacing damaged foundation.ġ1) It can be shipped without damage in any temperature. Sometimes there can be challenges with plastic. When there is not a strong nectar flow, bees can be slow in drawing out the comb on plastic. However, this is true with all foundation. Bees need nectar to produce wax to draw comb. However, I have also seen this with wax foundation and especially with Duragilt One side of a frame can be drawn out into the empty side of the frame next to it. The plastic foundation that we sell is coated with real beeswax helping the bees to take to it better.Īlso, be aware that different foundation types require matching frames. You cannot use wax foundation in a frame built to hold plastic. A frame that holds plastic foundation is known as a top and bottom groove frame with a solid bottom.ĭuring heavy nectar flow, we take several strips of plastic foundation, usually about 2' wide and place two or three in a frame.

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