Peter Dillon said: > 3. Urinate into the box... > Comments(esp. from Jim Fischer!) and observations awaited. Ce qui? Quest-ce que cest? Qui je? I'm not touching THAT "beekeeping practice" with an 11-foot pole! But it should be fairly easy to figure out quickly which component of urine is the "active ingredient", in this, ummmm... "application", if the phenomena is not just a hoax/myth, like the old "banging pans" to bring down a swarm technique or the 100,000 other bit of foolishness associated with beekeeping (like the one that came up this week about an entire colony suddenly becoming less aggressive today just because you re-queened yesterday! What a hoot!) If I recall my biochem correctly, human urine is mostly: a) Uric acid b) various phosphates (mostly magnesium and ammonium) c) Calcium oxalate Now the uric acid ("urea" to doctors) was the root cause of the distinctive ammonia stench of the Paris Metro before they cleaned the place up. The breakdown of urea to ammonia is going to happen, and happen quickly once the urea is exposed to oxygen and bacteria (they do the actual "breakdown" work). So, if the "active ingredient" turns out to be either the ammonia, or one of the compounds that breaks down into the ammonia, that would be an odor I would not want anywhere NEAR even the smallest amount of wax or honey, no matter how good the short-term results might be. jim (A new proverb - "He who urinates in a beehive gets stung where he was never stung before!") :::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: -- Visit www.honeybeeworld.com/BEE-L for rules, FAQ and other info --- ::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::