American foulbrood cleaning and control

[Tim23]

Following inspection by the local Gov vet for final release of shut down of my apiary it has been confirmed that AFB is (still) present in 4 of my 8 hives. After the first diagnosis of AFB in 2019, I cleaned everything thoughly and destroyed frames etc. and adhered to very tight biosecurity.
With the latest diagnosis and my frustration to finally get rid of AFB, I am now thinking of destroying all hives in the apiary (infected and not infected and feral colonies close by) as well as the needed cleaning of equipment, sheds, areas, cars, extractors, clothing etc. etc.
All advice welcome please- have people destroyed all hives as a safe guard? And how do I acheive the disinfection needed to totally eradicate this going forward?

 

[Erichalfbee]

What did the vet suggest? Is there no protocol in place? Here AFB colonies are destroyed, the frames burned and the boxes thoroughly cleaned.

 

[Ian123]

what’s your location.

 

[Erichalfbee]

what’s your location.

Tim looks to be in Jersey

 

[Finman]

[QUOTE="Tim23, post: 791649, member:
[/QUOTE]
Your plan is out of mind.

 

[Tim23]

What did the vet suggest? Is there no protocol in place? Here AFB colonies are destroyed, the frames burned and the boxes thoroughly cleaned.

Absolutely- thats the minimum but I want to go overboard so it does not r

[QUOTE="Tim23, post: 791649, member:

Your plan is out of mind.
[/QUOTE]
My plan which I am keen to hear thoughts on is, of course, to follow all required protocols as I am under notice.
I am keen to hear members views on how best to clean everything and to comment on my thoughts on how to do this effectively. My plan at the moment is to:
1. To kill off all bees on the apiary
2. To get rid of any surounding feral bees and block these off (there on one in a neighbours house)
3. To burn all frames and foundation, botton boards and crown boards at the incinerator (as required under notice)
4. To clean all wood national hives bodies (brood and supers) soak them in 50/50 bleach for 10 mins and then scorch with blow torch.
5. Clean all other equipment, sheds etc and hive stands plus areas with bleach.

All thoughts most welcome.

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

sounds a good plan to me (unsure about the ambition of wiping out all w'feral' colonies in the area though
You need a decent gas burner though rather than play around with a little hand held hobby blowlamp. It only needs a quick sweep over but you want a big flame that penetrates every crack and gap

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

And don't forget to give your smoker a good scrub!

 

[Finman]

[QUOTE="Tim23, post: 791732, member:
5. Clean all other equipment, sheds etc and hive stands plus areas with bleach.

All thoughts most welcome.
[/QUOTE]

Virkon S is modern sterilizing stuff instead of bleach.

 

[Jules59]

Also don't forget your bee suits/boots etc

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

Also don't forget your bee suits/boots etc

and even your vehicle wheels when leaving the site

 

[Wilco]

This might give some ideas.

In the mean time, my thoughts would be as above- keep a separate set of kit at that site, including suit, shoes gloves and tools; all boxes need to be labelled and specific to a colony so no moving between colonies of supers etc. even within the apiary. Wash all of it regularly and use an approved sporicidal disinfectant, clean hands once kit taken off at that site before driving, disinfect vehicle wheels etc.. Wash tools and gloves between hives when inspecting/handling. The idea being you're doing everything you can to minimise risk of spread; control the factors you can control.

 

[Apiarisnt]

[/QUOTE]

Virkon S is modern sterilizing stuff instead of bleach.
[/QUOTE]

Virkon S would fit with a strategy of going overboard as it is a viricide as well as a bactericide, whereas AFB is the result of a bacterium.

 

[Apiarisnt]

This might give some ideas.

In the mean time, my thoughts would be as above- keep a separate set of kit at that site, including suit, shoes gloves and tools; all boxes need to be labelled and specific to a colony so no moving between colonies of supers etc. even within the apiary. Wash all of it regularly and use an approved sporicidal disinfectant, clean hands once kit taken off at that site before driving, disinfect vehicle wheels etc.. Wash tools and gloves between hives when inspecting/handling. The idea being you're doing everything you can to minimise risk of spread; control the factors you can control.

Interesting paper, thanks.

 

[Finman]

Virkon S would fit with a strategy of going overboard as it is a viricide as well as a bactericide, whereas AFB is the result of a bacterium.

It has been researched in Sweden that Virkon works with AFB. University doctor study.
Leach breaks many kind of surfaces, like paint.

 

[oliver90owner]

One way is to stop keeping bees on that site for about 25 years. Boiling at 100 degrees Celsius is not effective at destroying AFB spores. I expect boiling the kit in strong Lye would eradicate the spores…

 

[Finman]

One way is to stop keeping bees on that site for about 25 years. Boiling at 100 degrees Celsius is not effective at destroying AFB spores. I expect boiling the kit in strong Lye would eradicate the spores…

Strong lye?

3% lye is proper and practical.
Hot lye solution melts wax and propolis droplets and lye stetilizes free microbes.

 

[Apiarisnt]

Just to cheer you up:
Hasemann L. How long can spores of American foulbrood live? Am Bee J. 1961;101:298–9

 

[Finman]

Just to cheer you up:
Hasemann L. How long can spores of American foulbrood live? Am Bee J. 1961;101:298–9

Good heavens! 1961 information. 60 years ago.

At least in this discussion chain over half of advices are wrong or useless. Drawn from own hat.

 

[Wilco]

It has been researched in Sweden that Virkon works with AFB. University doctor study.
Leach breaks many kind of surfaces, like paint.

Virkon's pretty nasty too! Used for cleaning some fishing kit here but can delaminate the rods if left on too long.

The other thing for people to remember is contact time. Many of these agents need to be present for a specified amount of time to have their full effectiveness-- not waiting long enough means it won't work. It's like when people spray a table with disinfectant then wipe off straight away... Almost pointless.

I tend to use this: Anigene HLD4V High Level Disinfectant Cleaner

Obviously make sure whatever you're doing complies with local laws...