clean or leave mould?

[biglongdarren]

i have a cedar hive with open mesh floor,sitting well off the ground and have inch Polystyrene under the roof,it is a national hive and i have an empty super on to house my feeder in.
there is a black fluffy like mould starting to appear on the top of the crownboard in one of the corners,i didnt lift the crownboard to see if it was on the underside,i have now put matches between the crownboard and broadbox to try and dry it out,should i try and clean the mould off or what?
Darren

 

[oliver90owner]

You are trying to dry the top of the crownboard by putting matchsticks under the crownboard? Not the best of ideas, I would have thought.

I would think this is water ingress, if the roof does not cover the joint, or condensation on the roof inner leaf which is dripping down. The roof ventilation should be adequate to keep the roof area dry of any small amount of vapour coming through a crownboard.

Or is the 'inch polystyrene sealing above the super. If it is, there will be no ventilation for the super and the small amount of moisure will not escape.

Perhaps need more detail from you. Just guessing in the dark at present.

RAB

 

[MuswellMetro]

i have a cedar hive with open mesh floor,sitting well off the ground and have inch Polystyrene under the roof,it is a national hive and i have an empty super on to house my feeder in.
there is a black fluffy like mould starting to appear on the top of the crownboard in one of the corners,i didnt lift the crownboard to see if it was on the underside,i have now put matches between the crownboard and broadbox to try and dry it out,should i try and clean the mould off or what?
Darren

i suspect the mould in in the corner either to the north west side ( coldest) or on the area farthest away from the cluster and cuased by warm wet air coming through the feed hole and condensing in the coldest corner
causing a area for mould to grow on split syrup or linseed oiled cedar

if you are in a damp area, it mould is very common, personally i would leave it ( and remove the match stick though they are your bees not mine )

 

[biglongdarren]

yea the roof does not come down over the crownboard/broodbox joint,the polystyrene is tight to the underside of the roof and i have cut around it so not to block the ventilation holes in the roof....i will go now and remove the matches,i didnt think it was a good idea at the time but try'd it anyway to see if it would help.....would it be still worth trying to wipe the mould off with a cloth or what?

 

[MuswellMetro]

yea the roof does not come down over the crownboard/broodbox joint,the polystyrene is tight to the underside of the roof and i have cut around it so not to block the ventilation holes in the roof....i will go now and remove the matches,i didnt think it was a good idea at the time but try'd it anyway to see if it would help.....would it be still worth trying to wipe the mould off with a cloth or what?

yes, if you want to, just rub of with a very small drop of bleach of a damp cloth

 

[tonybloke]

ahhhhh, not bleach, use vinegar for moulds !!