Cleaning a Bro. Adam Feeder

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I am in the process of trying to sort out a decrepid 7year old rotting hive and getting the bees up into some decent equipment. (Owner had left them for years.)

It's all rubbish except for 2 bro Adam feeders, which, while dirty, are functional.
My question is what is the best way for me to clean them up?
 
lol.

Nothing else needed to sterilise it?
Or might that soak into the wood and possibly contaminate the syrup?
 
Use some bleach......cannot soak into wood as it should be sealed.
 
Some Milton will probably steralise it without any bad effects. Any slight residue would be no worse than swimming pool water.

Ian
 
Some Milton will probably steralise it without any bad effects. Any slight residue would be no worse than swimming pool water.

Ian

Milton is bleach essentially .

John Wilkison
 
Toxic to what.....not bee's thats for sure, as some beekeepers add a teaspoon of bleach to the syrup feed.
 
I've read about adding 5ml of bleach per gallon of feed, and doesn't give me a problem.

As to toxicity Milton is much friendlier
 
OK........i agree, wash the feeders with milton and rinse, much safer.........feed the bee's normal bleach.
 
Use some bleach......cannot soak into wood as it should be sealed.
Hi sorry to be thick here but, why on earth would feeding bees (or anything) bleach be a good idea????
I know that Hydrogen peroxide (Food grade) in the correct very small dose is good for many things and it does occur in nature, even in honey but surely bleach is manmade chemical c**p. Or, am I wrong????
 
Hi sorry to be thick here but, why on earth would feeding bees (or anything) bleach be a good idea????
I know that Hydrogen peroxide (Food grade) in the correct very small dose is good for many things and it does occur in nature, even in honey but surely bleach is manmade chemical c**p. Or, am I wrong????
Ooh sorry again, quoted wrong bit but you know what I'm getting at.
 
Is that 1 to 1 bleach? Do I need to add thymol and lemongrass oil? If I don't have any made up can I just put a bottle on top of the hive.?

(Removes tongue from cheek)
 
You need to go do some of your own research....plenty of imformation out there....but you have to make the effort to at least look....

for a start.....
In Chile, where nosema decimated colonies this past year, Juanse Barros and his associate Eduardo Moena, experimented with a bleach drench for nosema control. After some experimentation, they used 100cc of 10% sodium hypochlorite solution mixed into 250cc HFCS and 150cc distilled water (corrected 4/12/08), dribbling 5cc of the solution onto each seam of bees. Spore counts had dropped considerably in the test group when checked one week later. Juanse then went ahead and dribbled bleach solution twice again at weekly intervals. Winter survival was much better for treated colonies vs. the untreated controls. The numbers of colonies in each group was small, but the method appears to show promise.
http://www.scientificbeekeeping.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=56
 
You need to go do some of your own research....plenty of imformation out there....but you have to make the effort to at least look....

for a start.....
In Chile, where nosema decimated colonies this past year, Juanse Barros and his associate Eduardo Moena, experimented with a bleach drench for nosema control. After some experimentation, they used 100cc of 10% sodium hypochlorite solution mixed into 250cc HFCS and 150cc distilled water (corrected 4/12/08), dribbling 5cc of the solution onto each seam of bees. Spore counts had dropped considerably in the test group when checked one week later. Juanse then went ahead and dribbled bleach solution twice again at weekly intervals. Winter survival was much better for treated colonies vs. the untreated controls. The numbers of colonies in each group was small, but the method appears to show promise.
http://www.scientificbeekeeping.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=56

I've already agreed with using bleach and said that it doesn't give me a problem, I've read enough to satisfy myself of that. I was simply pointing out that Milton (which is bleach) might MIGHT be a better option. Now that you've given us some more evidence it supports what I've already read.

Yes I'm well read, just not experienced.

But if you're going to give flippant answers OK........i agree, wash the feeders with milton and rinse, much safer.........feed the bee's normal bleach. then I will respond flippantly.

Now I have a question.. What does a Bro Adam feeder look like?

Ian
 
[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gtNiuTDeVAI[/ame]

http://www.dave-cushman.net/bee/adamfeeder.html

If you decide to feed your bee's bleach.....milton...then perhaps if they get wind you could give them some gripe water....should not get to pissed as i hear it does not contain alcohol anymore....lol:drool5:
 
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That will come as a great disappointment to mothers everywhere . . . gripe water with no alcohol . . . tut :)
.
 
I think you have this all wrong. Last time I met up with Juanse and Eduardo (hell those boys can party) they were drinking bleach but reading Milton.

Seriously just do as Hivemaker has suggested, Washing soda or bleach. Hypochlorite and/or sodium hydoxide are strong oxidising agents. At a microbilogical / biochemical level they essentially cause death through cell lysis not poisoning. If you are washing with it then there is so much organic matter that it is coming in contact with the hypo / NaOH solution (the whole of the feeder surface area) then the hypo will soon be neutralised / loose its oxiding power. A good scrubbing rinse afterwards with water and then of course the diluting effect of the syrup .... QED
 
What a fuss about something so rediculously unimportant.

And mostly, eventually, the chlorine (if a clorine based bleach is used) will finish up as chloride - a fairly abundant ion in seawater! Or in your salt cellar for that matter. Bees need minerals so that should not be a problem in such small amounts.

If you are not sure, simply work out the amounts concerned. Bleach (10% hypochlorite?), 5ml per....... Likely more residual chlorine in your tap water.

RAB
 

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