Green mould under roof of WBC - Advice please...

Beekeeping & Apiculture Forum

Help Support Beekeeping & Apiculture Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.

Lesley Hoppy

House Bee
Joined
May 26, 2011
Messages
123
Reaction score
0
Location
cheshire
Hive Type
WBC
Number of Hives
2
Can anyone advise me how to get rid of this?
I'm sure it cant be good for the colony.
I was wondering if there is any anti-fungal powder that I could puff onto it rather than adding moisture.

Obviously it needs to be a product that is harmless to the girls!
 
Under roof or under crown board? Either way use another one while you take the other away and give it a good scrub with anti bacterial soap, rinse well, dry out and replace!
E
 
Under the roof ... haven't got a spare, but could borrow one I guess...
 
Need to deal with the root cause not just the symptom.

Check ventilation would be my first thought.
 
I could have a leak ... it does seem a bit damp inside - the quality of both my WBC roofs is appalling. Only two and three seasons old, bought new from Th****s - do I have grounds for complaint do you think?
 
Doest it get heat leak from from the hive and it makes condensation moisture into loft.

- Have you ventilation gaps enough in the loft?

- some dirty or nutrition where the mould grows? Pure surface does not make mold.

- rain cover leads the water to supporting structure
 
Did you make them correctly or did they come ready made, if the latter then two years is not hood enough if they are leaking!
Find a nice person to make some decent ones for you. Nothing kills bees quicker than damp.
E
 
Can anyone advise me how to get rid of this?
I'm sure it cant be good for the colony.
I was wondering if there is any anti-fungal powder that I could puff onto it rather than adding moisture.

Obviously it needs to be a product that is harmless to the girls!

Are the ventilation holes clear? (might have bee escape cones over them but air should pass freely)
Is the roof metal clad with the top joint waterproof?
Is the inner box/crown board joint close fitting and sealed?
Are any crown board feeder/clearer holes closed up?

I would act quickly by removing the roof, temporarily covering with a heat retaining waterproof cover and scrubbing the underside of the roof with a solution of bleach then allow it to dry and air off indoors until the smell of bleach abates. There should be no contact between the bees and the underside of the roof of a correctly assembled WBC hive.
My WBC has a sheet of 25mm polystyrene positioned on top of the crown board for the winter which is cheap and keeps the heat in.
 
... Nothing kills bees quicker than damp.
E
that is an incorrect and misleading statement. Research has shown that High humidity is only a secondary factor, i.e. it requires cold to be applied as well for it to have any significant effect.
 
...
Are any crown board feeder/clearer holes closed up?
...
My WBC has a sheet of 25mm polystyrene positioned on top of the crown board for the winter which is cheap and keeps the heat in.

My suspicion is that the crownboard might simply have feeder/Porter holes, and that these are open.

High hive humidity (evaporating Ivy nectar) plus cool nights would then lead to condensation on the underside of the roof.
Apart from WBCs, this is not uncommon with Nationals, where the fibreboard under the tin gets soggy and rots over winter.
Doesn't usually turn green though. Any copper (like nails) in evidence?
 
It was bought ready assembled and the roof is coming apart so I think I will contact them for their comments...
Meanwhile, I have got hold of a spare, so will remove and clean up the mouldy one.
I think it is condensation... one hole in the crown board is has a bee escape and the other is covered by a rapid feeder.
Thank you for all your helpful advice.
 
Can anyone advise me how to get rid of this?
I'm sure it cant be good for the colony.
I was wondering if there is any anti-fungal powder that I could puff onto it rather than adding moisture.

Obviously it needs to be a product that is harmless to the girls!
Thymol in an oil solution as per Hivemaker's recipe?
 
If you have finished feeding, remove feeder, remove bee escape, cover holes with a pice of wood, put a layer of insulation, packing polystyrene will do. And then the roof......but it does sound as though the roof is naf! Try a few screws to pull it back together and consider putting a cover of waterproof something over the top for this winter!
E
 
As long as the cover board and brood box are completely dry, I would say that the roof is doing its job quite adequately. You would obviously want to patch it up somehow to make it more waterproof and increase its lifespan. Is it one of those ones with a wooden batten along the ridge? I've always thought that was a naff design.
 
Can anyone advise me how to get rid of this?
I'm sure it cant be good for the colony.
I was wondering if there is any anti-fungal powder that I could puff onto it rather than adding moisture.

Obviously it needs to be a product that is harmless to the girls!

One of my lids did this because the eke it was on had some 1" celotex at the top, there was no gap between the roof and the celotex creating a damp trap, I blasted the mould with a blow torch and pushed the celotex down 1cm, it has remained mould free since.
 
As long as the cover board and brood box are completely dry, I would say that the roof is doing its job quite adequately. You would obviously want to patch it up somehow to make it more waterproof and increase its lifespan. Is it one of those ones with a wooden batten along the ridge? I've always thought that was a naff design.

It is one of those - the wooden batten on top seems pretty secure but around the side edges, the roof itself seems to be made up of layers of thin wood which are all separating. It weighs a lot too ....sodden with water I think, so I now have it drying out indoors before assessing how I can repair it. The wood is turning black inside and there is also dusty green mould/mildew. If they weren't so expensive I would chuck it on the bonfire! :hairpull:
 
Put it down to experience and move on - school fees.

Smelly stuff needing time to air, but produces a tough water proof membrane. Flag Roofix 20/10 from ToolStation, product 12672 black 5L, 89362 grey 5L and 23070 white 5L - around £39. Coverage one litre per square metre and it's not fussy to use. Sticks like sh. . . you know what on a blanket.

By my reckoning that would be between fifteen and twenty roofs. Obviously as the temperature falls it becomes less easy to use as the drying time would stretch into infinity.
No sharp edges to catch your gloves either. Certainly something to give a metal cover a run for it's money.
 

Latest posts

Back
Top