Flexible plastic Propolis Trap

01 · WHY THEY SEAL IT THEMSELVES

A gap under 4 mm is a gap to close

The perforations are under 4 mm, too narrow for a worker to pass. The colony does not read them as a way through but as a crack to be closed, and fills them with propolis on its own. That is the whole point of the system: no intervention, nothing to trigger, no weekly opening to see how it is going. It sits under the crown board, resting on the frame top bars, and you let the hive work until the sheet is well loaded.

02 · WILL IT FIT MY HIVE?

It is sized by the box, not the frames

This is the most repeated question and it comes from how we tend to name it. The trap is not measured in frames: it is a sheet that covers the mouth of the box, and 510 × 423 mm is the outline of a 10-frame Dadant or Langstroth body. That is why it fits a super holding 9 frames just as it fits one holding 10 — it covers the box, not the frames. For other footprints the plastic simply cuts with scissors. And one condition that really is limiting: if your frame top bars do not let the bees reach the upper face — the case with many Layens hives without a rebate — the trap will barely be propolised however well you cut it.

03 · THE FREEZER DOES THE HARVEST

Cold makes it come away on its own

When the sheet is loaded, take it out and put it in the freezer for at least an hour. Cold makes propolis lose its tack and turn brittle: flexing the sheet or a gentle scrape is enough for it to flake off. Because it was deposited on plastic and not on painted or varnished wood, it carries less wax, splinters and paint residue than propolis lifted with a hive tool. It is a physical separation that improves the cleanliness of what you collect; it is not a guarantee of purity and does not replace a batch analysis.

04 · BEFORE YOU BUY

Two things worth knowing. First, the timing: the trap collects while the colony is propolising, which is mainly from late summer into autumn; fitted in mid-spring with the hive busy elsewhere, it takes far longer to fill. Second, the crown board will end up stuck to the trap — that is normal and the hive tool frees it, but it is no place for a crown board you want to keep clean. The sheet is sold on its own.