Frame storage - brilliant idea ...

[Little John]

Here's a truly brilliant idea for storing frames - from the Ukraine ...
(and she has the most delightful voice, too)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-R-f92J67AU

Here is how we keep frames with empty combs. This method is environmentally friendly, does not require a lot of money and safe for bees and people. This method helps to kick away the wax moth and other pests. In most cases mice do not touch the frame with this substance. As fast as possible after extraction we need to sprinkle frames with empty combs with ASH. Yes we use ash, wood ash from a stove or a bonfire or ash from straw. You need to sprinkle frames with empty combs with ash in the [wearing a] respirator. We take frames and sprinkle ash on frames from both sides how could you see in this video.
Ash is an alkali. Wax moth does not like alkali. Ash clogs the pest's airways and the wax moth will die. Also mice do not like the smell and taste of ash. When we need to put a frame with empty combs in the colony of bees we must to shake off the ash well from both sides of the frame and rinse the frame with water. Then put the wet frames in the hive. Bees occupy such frames quickly. Bees will clean the frame. Bees are thrown ash residue to the bottom of the hive. We need to clean the bottom of the hive after that because bees should easily move on the bottom of the hive when they need. Also during the cleaning bees are smeared with ashes. In such way ash helps fight with varroa mite because varroa mite does not like ash too.
There is a small amount of ash in frames and ash is wet, that why bee`s airways do not clog. There is no danger to bees. We use this method about 4 years. We know for sure, 100 % that frames with empty combs will be clean and remain intact after using this method. Such frames bees occupy fast and there are no negative consequences for bees.
Before, we used sulfur for keeping frames with empty combs. Sulfur did not give a hundred percent result that the frames remain intact. Frames with sulfur bees were occupied worse, that led to swarming. Sulfur is not an environmentally friendly substance. Also I did not use poisons for saving frames. Such poisons are not an environmentally friendly substance.
How did I discover this method? One day there was no place for part of the frames with empty combs in the storage. I put them in the workroom, where I often used angular grinding machine. There was a lot of dust in the work room. I forgot about the frames for two years. When I found them, the frames were not damaged at all. Frames were in dust. Then I realized that the wax moth is afraid of dust. Ash is dust. From that time I began to sprinkle the frames with ash.

Until now, all my wood ash has either been going to landfill or spread around the land ... but not any longer.
LJ

 

[alfazer]

This sounds great and I'd never heard of it before. Tempted to try it next winter.
She does sound delightful, but unfortunately very camera-shy.

 

[enrico]

Will definitely give that a go... Thanks

 

[pargyle]

Will definitely give that a go... Thanks

I always have loads of wood ash from my wood burner - going to start seiving and saving a bit for next year ... it sounds to me like a much cheaper solution than Certan (which works and is an ecologically sound treatment). Good find .. some of us are always up for a new idea.

 

[Little John]

About the only down-side I can see to this, is the need to have some kind of shed - or similar area - in which wood ash can be splashed about without contaminating other bits of kit in the process.
I'm going to knock-up a small shed now, dedicated to frame storage - thus far I've restricted storage of brood frames to just a few dozen, precisely because of the hassle of wax-moth storage issues.

BTW - I've taken the liberty of inviting the author to join this forum, so - she may have other useful tips to share ...
LJ

 

[Into the lions den]

Just remember that a generic cover all called 'ash' is a feature of almost all qualitative analyses of honey.

If your honey DID get analysed this might give you some explaining to do.

Being instructed to do it by an 'exciting' sounding eastern European female voice might not be an excuse that stands up in court.

 

[linoleum bonypart]

Wellbim going to start storing my ash now

 

[enrico]

Just remember that a generic cover all called 'ash' is a feature of almost all qualitative analyses of honey.

If your honey DID get analysed this might give you some explaining to do.

Being instructed to do it by an 'exciting' sounding eastern European female voice might not be an excuse that stands up in court.

At least it is sterile!
E

 

[pargyle]

At least it is sterile!
E

I was thinking of using it for storage of brood frames which seem to suffer from wax moth more than super frames do .. so, I suppose there is a chance of remnants of ash being carried up to the supers by the bees but from what I could tell from the video the frames are well washed with clean water before they are given back to the bees. In addtion ... Bees are very fussy about what they want in the hive and I would suspect that they would remove or encase anything that they were not happy with ?

 

[Bee Bumble]

Just remember that a generic cover all called 'ash' is a feature of almost all qualitative analyses of honey.

If your honey DID get analysed this might give you some explaining to do.

Why is 'ash' part of the analysis?

 

[alfazer]

I thought ash analysis of honey (or any food) is burning the honey to create an ash, from which they can determine it's constituents?
So I suppose if there's a little bit more ash already in the honey, then they will also find traces of whatever was used to create the ash in addition to what happens to be in the honey.

So although in the video she speaks about ash from wood or straw, it's possible that ash could have come from burning wood products with paint, varnish or tanalising. Or even coal, plastics, who knows what.

 

[sipa]

Ash content represents the total mineral content in foods.

Ash or mineral content is the portion of the food or any organic material that remains after it is burned at very high temperatures.

The ash constituents include potassium, sodium, calcium and magnesium, which are present in larger amounts as well as smaller quantities of aluminium, iron, copper, manganese or zinc, arsenic, iodine, fluorine and other elements present in traces.

 

[Into the lions den]

I thought ash analysis of honey (or any food) is burning the honey to create an ash, from which they can determine it's constituents?
So I suppose if there's a little bit more ash already in the honey, then they will also find traces of whatever was used to create the ash in addition to what happens to be in the honey.

So although in the video she speaks about ash from wood or straw, it's possible that ash could have come from burning wood products with paint, varnish or tanalising. Or even coal, plastics, who knows what.

Not in the case of the analysis that shows ash content as a percentage of the overall constituents of the sample. It is expressed as a percentage.

An example might be Sugars 81%, water 18%, protein 0.3%, ash 0.7%, and there will often also be a figure for yeasts and moulds. If the ash figure moves outside its normal parameters it is highly probable that an explanation might be sought. However ash actually includes almost all insolubles not otherwise categorised, of which the biggest is of course ash. Tiny particulates are all around. With the bees best efforts it would seem likely that this method would elevate, even by a little, the ash in the product.

Not saying that its harmful of course, but can you PROVE what was burned to make the ash and that it contains no nasties? The quantities would be miniscule and likely benign, but heaven knows who might make mischief with it.

I can say this from the luxury of being in an area where greater waxmoth is not a problem. Not everyone is so lucky.

 

[Into the lions den]

Ash content represents the total mineral content in foods.

Ash or mineral content is the portion of the food or any organic material that remains after it is burned at very high temperatures.

The ash constituents include potassium, sodium, calcium and magnesium, which are present in larger amounts as well as smaller quantities of aluminium, iron, copper, manganese or zinc, arsenic, iodine, fluorine and other elements present in traces.

Not exactly how it was explained to me by an analyst, as they said honey contains a lot of thing adventitiously from general things that are around and get mixed in.....however I do accept your take on this having had a quick check of some library data. Real ash would however add to this.

This thread made me dig out my books from way back when we used to do a lot of packing.....and has highlighted something I had forgotten......some of my best books were borrowed by someone else and they never brought them back....including the Eva Crane bible...'honey'.....grrrr. Now if I could only recall just who it was.......

 

[Poly Hive]

Ah yes that issue.

Who has my "Guide to Bees and Honey" for a start?

RE ash.... remember the devil is aye in the detail... and if it sounds too good to be true..........

PH

 

[Bee Bumble]

Thanks. I am very tempted to try the ash treatment for storing brood combs, but after ITLD's post not sure about honey shallows. If they were washed out well it may not be a problem?

A few years ago, I had a colony that collected ash from the ground under an incinerator which was only used to burn paper. Often wondered what in particular they were after - which element? ..carbon?

 

[Little John]

Being instructed to do it by an 'exciting' sounding eastern European female voice might not be an excuse that stands up in court.

You found her voice "exciting" then ? Oh well, everyone to their own.

I thought it was simply a very, very pleasant voice - charming even - to listen to. Much nicer than some of our regional accents.

On the subject of the constituents of honey - how does one explain away the stagnant water which my girls prefer to clean tap-water, or their attraction to cow-pats ? Makes a bit of wood-ash seem quite innocuous.
LJ

 

[user 6228]

At least it is sterile!
E

Sterile isn’t enough
burnt anything organic (chemical sense) and it contains all sorts of stuff from heavy metals to dioxins to potassium hydroxide...

 

[Into the lions den]

You found her voice "exciting" then ? Oh well, everyone to their own.

I thought it was simply a very, very pleasant voice - charming even - to listen to. Much nicer than some of our regional accents.

On the subject of the constituents of honey - how does one explain away the stagnant water which my girls prefer to clean tap-water, or their attraction to cow-pats ? Makes a bit of wood-ash seem quite innocuous.
LJ

Lol.....was just picking up on the comments of others..........have plenty eastern European females here on my own staff! If I said anything like that to them I might get excitement of a very different kind...involving pain and suffering to my ears.

lol about the bees and their personal habits...............mines just adore the black liquor seeping from the bottom of dung middens. Where do they put the stuff? Vile. In very dry hot weather I have even been able to smell in from inside the hives. today they are at the bird feeders picking up all the dust from the bird food, and there are countless thousands of them in the grain store of one of our farms picking up the dust from the floor.

Their more unpleasant tastes are a bit like me and salad...you know its clean and healthy but why eat that muck???? Much tastier unhealthy stuff right round the corner.

And of course there is the old 'What is in the stuff in your bee smoker?' question.

and on accents???? I remember being harangued about something from a girl from somewhere down south, it might have been Essex, not sure, but it was like having my ears rubbed across a cheese grater whilst a nail was being scratched across glass as well......................and a Glasgow girl who you thought was about to kill you just by the way she asked if you wanted salt and vinegar on your chips and you had not understood her the first time due to it not being easy to understand with my softer spoken east coast ways.

 

[Little John]

a Glasgow girl who you thought was about to kill you just by the way she asked if you wanted salt and vinegar on your chips and you had not understood her the first time due to it not being easy to understand with my softer spoken east coast ways.

Tell me about it ...

I live about 100 yards from an A52 lay-by - and a Glaswegian lorry driver knocked on my door one day, asking for directions. I found it very embarrassing as I had to keep asking him to repeat himself. He could just as well have been speaking Greek. Luckily he brought his mate in tow, who wasn't quite so broad in the accent department. Interestingly, neither of them were particularly phased by my lack of understanding - so I guess they were well used to this reaction when delivering goods 'darn sarf' ...
LJ