Acetic Acid Fumigation

[Saradan]

Hi Beeks

Your thoughts/experience appreciated -

I've recently set about fumigating five National Brood Chambers and their frames with 80% Acetic Acid.

I stacked and sealed the chambers with the frames inside, protected any metal bits and placed the recommended amount of Acetic Acid in a tray above them.

Literature suggests leaving them to fumigate for approx a week before airing. I had a peek at the amount of acid remaining in the tray after a week and there didn't appear to be a significant amount of acid loss due to evaporation.

The temperature around here has ranged from approx 4C down to -6C since I started the fumigation process, which I presume will have a significant effect on evaporation rates.

I'd appreciate your thoughts on

• Whether I should expect to see a noticable loss of Acid from the tray.

• Can any remaining Acetic Acid be rebottled and used again?

 

[peterbees]

I suggest that the weather is far too cold for the acetic acid to evaporate. After Easter may be better.
Acetic acid is very nasty stuff to handle. You should wear long nitrile rubber gloves, eye protection and a respirator, NOT a dust mask.
See http://2011.igem.org/Glacial_Acetic_Acid_Safety_Notes
It will take the skin off your arms very easily, as I found out. I suggest that you don't try to rebottle it.

 

[Poly Hive]

As above.

Wait for the right weather.

PH

 

[Finman]

.
I do not use acetic acid fumigation , but I suppose that it needs summer temp,about 20C.

Boxes are used to put inside large airtight plastic bags.

It kills nosema spores, EFB spores and chalkbrood spores. So, not much help.

From EFB and chalkbrood you get rid off when you change the queens.

Nosema is a disease of Autumn and winter. It goes away when Spring comes and bees can discard poo every day.

 

[oliver90owner]

It will take longer at those temps. How much longer, if any (as the week quoted may be well 'overkill'), I don't know. Better to do it at 'more normal' ambient temperatures. Certainly should be 'no rush' at this present time for most.

Yes, ethanoic acid is corrosive, but if you follow the safety data sheet for the handling, you should be safe. A dust mask is for filtering particles around micron sizes up, not for filtering a gas (after all, air goes through the mask). Gloves, apron and suitable footwear will be advised as well as a visor (not just safety specs for the inexperienced), along with a close and handy source of irrigation (should a spillage occur).

I would have to look up the constant boiling point for ethanoic acid to be sure that the remnants could, or should not, be returned to the bulk. A large bulk and it would not matter (although as a chemist, I would never return used reagents to the bulk stock - it would go into a separate suitably marked container for later use).

Use of an appropriate sized funnel would make re-bottling a safe, easy, and effective operation.

There is no hassle about using the acid - as long as you follow the rules. If you flaunt those rules, as is seemingly apparent with the above post, then trouble may well follow. A bit like you never put your thumb on top of a nail head when about to hit said nail with a hammer - just a different set of common sense rules for chemicals.

Remember, too, never raise any of the reagent above your eye level. That is another basic chemicals' handling rule.

RAB

 

[beebreeder]

And when you have finished any metal that is ferrous will be rusty, if the frames have foundation the wire will go black with rust, I used it once and never again, burn the frames and scorch the box, its a better all round result, if you do use it again protect any steel with vaseline (messy to clean up)

 

[xgeordie]

Sulpher strips in a burner would be easier to use than acetic, although I don't know how effective it is in destroying spores.