TouchyMcFeely posted:

I ran across something interesting regarding cell sizes. Some folks are claiming that wild bees build much smaller cells than the typical size found on pressed foundation. The argument is that the larger sized cells result in larger bees but it also promotes mite infestation.

These guys (I've also come across posts of theirs on the Beesource forums) are the folks making the claim. They recommend using foundationless frames and allowing the bees to return to their natural cell size.

I have 1 piece plastic frames and am thinking about cutting out the foundation and giving the foundation free framing a shot. I have enough frames that I could experiment with a single deep to see how it works out. If things go horribly wrong I can swap out the foundation free frames with the normal plastic ones.

Hopefully I won't kill my colony doing it this way but I think it's worth the risk to avoid using any harsh chemicals.