AFB Sterilisation question.

[biglongdarren]

Is scorching a hive with a gas blow torch enough to kill the spores of AFB?? after the rest of the hive parts have been burnt.

Darren

 

[For want of a better word]

Depends if it is polly!

Beebase has the answers on foul brood.... a big blowtorch is needed to get into and scorch every crevice and a good 24 hours soak in 5% bleach....

Yeghes da

 

[bjosephd]

AFB?

I'm pretty sure is burn the lot. Bonfire, not scorch.

 

[Plenty of honey]

AFB?

I'm pretty sure is burn the lot. Bonfire, not scorch.

Nonsense, burn frames and combs, clean up hive, bleach and scorch the rest. Be thorough, but no need to burn the hive.

 

[Eyeman]

In the UK the national bee unit guidelines are:
AFB is a notifiable disease under the Bee Diseases and Pests Control Orders (for England and Wales) and is subject to official control by a programme of apiary inspections carried out by the NBU. Control of the disease is through compulsory destruction of infected colonies, which is a very effective measure. This eradication policy has been highly effective since first introduced in the 1940s, bringing the incidence of AFB down from several thousand infected colonies per year to less than 100 nowadays. In recent years disease incidence has been characterised by sporadic but large outbreaks, which have been rapidly brought under control by the Inspectors and beekeepers working together. Methods of control for AFB using antibiotics, which are used in some overseas countries, are not effective – they only serve to suppress signs of the disease without eradicating it and, through frequent use, allow the development of resistant bacterial strains.
The use of antibiotics to control AFB is not permitted in the UK.

 

[biglongdarren]

All the hives are wood. I have a big electric boiler, does any one know if the super frames had the wax cut out could they be boiled in bleach? Would this be enough or do i burn all? all the brood frames and bees have been burnt in the infected hives.

Darren

 

[eddyh]

scorch and bleach the hives, burn the rest.frames are cheap to replace anyway.

 

[philipm]

In Wales I understand the procedure for AFB after it is confirmed by the Bee inspector is that the bees are destroyed and the complete hive is burnt in a hole dug beforehand.The Bee insurance then covers the cost of a replacement hive but not the Bees.

 

[mbc]

All the hives are wood. I have a big electric boiler, does any one know if the super frames had the wax cut out could they be boiled in bleach? Would this be enough or do i burn all? all the brood frames and bees have been burnt in the infected hives.

Darren

Not worth the risk imho, it's probably enough to make the frames usable but a sneaky spore could hide and fire up again years later, frames are cheap enough.

 

[mbc]

Wax and propolis need to be scraped off as well as the scorch, but 99.9% of the infective material is in the brood combs.
I had afb years ago but have been clear for over a decade now so it is possible to see the back of this scourge.

 

[Finman]

All the hives are wood. I have a big electric boiler, does any one know if the super frames had the wax cut out could they be boiled in bleach? Would this be enough or do i burn all? all the brood frames and bees have been burnt in the infected hives.

Darren

Frames are not so expencive that you do not have afford to burn them and combs. It is better that they are not stored so that bees can rob contaminated honey, or frames will be mixes to healty hive.

But you can do, like i do, that I soak the combs into boiling water and I get frames ridd of combs. Then wires are OK and I can tighten them and reuse.

To clean the franes I dip then into 3% lye water, which is near boiling point. Boiling with lye makes wax to soap, and it dilutes into water.

I have dibbed wooden medium boxes and inner roof and floor into lye too, and theg will be sterilized. Propois and wax melts away.

So you do with excluder and what you have there like snellgrove boards ...feeding boxes...so on.

Very fast way to clean many kind of things.

Let the lye to affect several hours and then wash with pure water.

.

 

[MuswellMetro]

In the UK the national bee unit guidelines are:
AFB is a notifiable disease under the Bee Diseases and Pests Control Orders (for England and Wales) and is subject to official control by a programme of apiary inspections carried out by the NBU. Control of the disease is through compulsory destruction of infected colonies, which is a very effective measure. This eradication policy has been highly effective since first introduced in the 1940s, bringing the incidence of AFB down from several thousand infected colonies per year to less than 100 nowadays. In recent years disease incidence has been characterised by sporadic but large outbreaks, which have been rapidly brought under control by the Inspectors and beekeepers working together. Methods of control for AFB using antibiotics, which are used in some overseas countries, are not effective – they only serve to suppress signs of the disease without eradicating it and, through frequent use, allow the development of resistant bacterial strains.
The use of antibiotics to control AFB is not permitted in the UK.

it is the colony not the box, you are allowed to reuse the box, crown board, solid floor but not the OMF or wire queen excluder see BDI insurance rates below but if i got AFB i would burn the lot and close the apiary

If AFB is present then the bees will be killed and the bees, comb, and wooden frames destroyed by burning. If EFB is present at a low level and the colony is large a shook swarm can be done, in which case the bees are transferred to a new hive and only the comb and wooden frames will be destroyed by burning. If EFB is present at a high level or the colony is small then the bees will be killed and the bees, comb, and wooden frames destroyed by burning. If EFB is present at a low level and the colony is large and it is late in the season and the bees are unlikely to survive a shook swarm then the antibiotic Oxytetracycline may be used. In all the above cases all wooden hive parts not destroyed will be sterilised by scorching. The bee inspector will discuss the options with you and for further details please see the advisory leaflet ‘Foulbrood Disease of Honey Bees’ that can be downloaded from NBU statutory inspections here..



Compensation Rates for 2016 season

The rates of compensation for property insured are:-
British Standard Brood Frame £2.35
Top Bar Hive Frames £1.75
Warre Hive Frames £0.74
All other Brood Frame sizes £3.20
British Standard Shallow Frame £1.70
All other Shallow Frame sizes £2.35
Slotted Zinc Queen Excluder £6.90
Wire Queen Excluder £17.10
Plastic Queen Excluder £3.80
Polycarbonate Quilt £16.95
Glass Quilts £15.75
Open Mesh Floors £10.00
Saleable honey - £2.50/lb; maximum 40lb per colony

 

[Finman]

.
Good compensations.... Let them burn..

 

[Teemore]

No Bee Disease Insurance available for Bee keepers in Northern Ireland although Jane Mosley was in the process of negotiating this. Unfortunately I gather she is parting company with the BBKA.
Darren - Sorry to learn you or someone you know had a colony with AFB. Reported levels of AFB in 2015 were stated as having been over 25 times higher than in the rest of the UK and the story continues in 2016. It is leaving a bad legacy for other beekeepers. I understand that Northern Ireland may have a differing strain of AFB....
I would get rid of all the frames by burning rather than run any risks. Tom or Kevin should have advised on this point. I had a colony with AFB a few years ago and I was "fortunate" in that they did not have any supers on when I spotted the problem and notified the Bee Inspector. Routine procedure as noted elsewhere is, cull the bees then burn all the bees, frames and comb, scorch the beehive components and wait for the bee inspector to give you (hopefully) the all clear after 6 weeks or so. Get hold of some Red Label Hypochlorite and use that to soak the hive components in after scorching and scraping (should have added that you need to burn scraped off porpolis) and give the whole lot a good rinse in fresh water and leave it to air.
Kevin Bradley and Tom Williamson must be flat out doing inspections. Its about time DAERA got some more qualified bee inspectors on the ground. They have the opportunity to bring over some of the GB seasonal bee inspectors but there is no sign of that happening. The regional bee inspectors in GB manage areas comparable in size to the whole of NI and they are supported by teams of up to 7 seasonal bee inspectors. Northern Ireland gets 1 1/2 bee inspectors despite prolonged lobbying by the INIB and UBKA.

 

[madasafish]

Some compensation is better than none at all. I lost 7 out of 8 in 2015 to AFB , all my drawn comb outside the remaining one colony and I decided to burn all my home-made nucs just in case although none were in use at the time.

In the UK mainland, a BI HAS to view/control the burning and do the flaming of hives..

I also lost all insulation in contact with bees - not compensated for..So 6 hive covers plus floor insulation..

SO far - touch wood - I am disease free this year. Not something I would wish on anyone.

Took a lot of work and money to get back to where I am today - and get a honey crop this year.

Poly hives are treated by immersion in bleach solution for 20 minutes - mine was the only unaffected hive - different position in garden so less chance of drifting.

 

[For want of a better word]

In Wales I understand the procedure for AFB after it is confirmed by the Bee inspector is that the bees are destroyed and the complete hive is burnt in a hole dug beforehand.The Bee insurance then covers the cost of a replacement hive but not the Bees.

And how much compensation for 11 brood frames would you get from BDI ...3s4d?
enough to go to a dance i suppose?

Yeghes da

 

[alldigging]

And how much compensation for 11 brood frames would you get from BDI ...3s4d?
enough to go to a dance i suppose?

Yeghes da

Compensation Rates for 2016 season

The rates of compensation for property insured are:-
British Standard Brood Frame £2.35
Top Bar Hive Frames £1.75
Warre Hive Frames £0.74
All other Brood Frame sizes £3.20
British Standard Shallow Frame £1.70
All other Shallow Frame sizes £2.35
Slotted Zinc Queen Excluder £6.90
Wire Queen Excluder £17.10
Plastic Queen Excluder £3.80
Polycarbonate Quilt £16.95
Glass Quilts £15.75
Open Mesh Floors £10.00
Saleable honey - £2.50/lb; maximum 40lb per colony
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