hive lost to nosema now need to clean up.

[milkermel]

A swarm I collected at the end of last year had a medium infestation of nosema, they made it through winter but have since given up. presume the long cold on a small colony was too much? They had plenty of food, but just seemed to give up in the last week when the other hives were getting going.

Anyway I now need to clean things up and wanted to check with the experts (Yes I meen all of you lot on here!) what the best way to deal with it is.

I presume a torching of the hive is best, but what about the frames and comb, do I destroy wax and torch frames?

As usual I did search the forum, but have real problems trying to find what I am looking for, I am more than happy for someone who can work the search option to tell me where to find a suitable link!

 

[greatbritishhoney]

Personally I'd stick the frames (wax and all) onto the bonfire. The risk of reinfestation (and the cost of treating it) outweighs the benefits of saving a few frames.

 

[oliver90owner]

Fumigation with 80% ethanoic acid is the standard accepted method to destroy nosema spores.

Regards, RAB

 

[milkermel]

Fumigation with 80% ethanoic acid is the standard accepted method to destroy nosema spores.

Regards, RAB

Ok so please explain to a new bee what I need to do where do I get it etc! will this meen that frames can be saved and reused, dont mind losing them as it will only be 6 frames admittedly new but. . .

 

[Hivemaker.]

Best to cut the combs out, and boil the frames to sterilise if you wish to save them,then fit new foundation. Acetic acid will sterilise the combs,but may not be effective if they still contain stores,Thornes sell acetic acid,but expensive,e bay and other places are much cheaper.

 

[oliver90owner]

This should help.

http://www.bees-online.co.uk/downloads/Acetic_Acid_Fumigation.pdf

You obviously don't need much acid (normally supplied as glacial (100%)), but it is useful for comb protection against waxmoth.

Th*rne do it for an extortionate price (80%), collection only. For about half the price you can get about three times the amount from Bonnyman's chemicals.

bonnymans.co.uk/products/shopfront.php will bring up the header page (with the www in front). Lots of usefulo chemicals on that site. I reckon it is cheap, cheap, cheap, but others may know of alternative suppliers.

Corrosive, PPE to be worn, etc etc. Can be nasty stuff until diluted to vinegar strength.

Regards, RAB

 

[Poly Hive]

As above but best done away from the house as powerful smell.

I used to build a stack of combs and fumigate them at a rape site.

PH

 

[Ruary]

Right, get some glacial acetic acid, mix it 4 parts acid to one part water, adding the acid to the water. Make sure you are wearing nitrile gloves the solution is corrosive and will go through marigold washing up gloves (the yellow ones).

You need 100ml of the solution per brood box.Use absorbent material to soak up the acid so soak it in units of 100ml.

Place a solid board under the first brood box, the the absorbent material on the top of the broofd frames, then the next brood box and the next absorbent pad etc. Final cover with a closed crown board or another solid board and a roof on top to keep the rain off. Seal any joints (ducktape) and leave for 14 days.
Air before using.
This will not poison any stores or pollen.
Ruary

 

[milkermel]

Thanks folks, will get busy, as always you come up trumps! might get rid of wax, better to be safe than sorry. (have candle making kit so will put it to use!!)

 

[BobH1]

another resource: britishbee dot org dot uk /files/Oxalic_Acid_Cleaning_B13.pdf

 

[Ruary]

another resource: britishbee dot org dot uk /files/Oxalic_Acid_Cleaning_B13.pdf

afraid not, or at least not for Nosema. This is for dealing with Varroa which is a very different type of creature.
Ruary

 

[RoofTops]

I'm with the "bin the lot and start again" group. You cannot be sure all they had was nosema. However, you could cut out all the wax and give the frames a good soaking in hot caustic soda. That should sort out any remaining bugs but is the effort worth while?

 

[mbc]

A New Zealand study found nosema in 100% of the hives tested - I suspect if you looked closely enough the same would be close to the truth here. If it is an endemic desease common to all/most colonies and some dont seem to notice its there, others seem pegged back but eventually shrug it off while others die in splatters of their own poo, wouldnt it be best to let nature take its course and then only breed from the best colonies ?
Taken further you could deliberately innoculate your hives with heavy loads of nosema by putting in infected combs to sort the men from the boys.
One reason many colonies derived from imported queens go down to niosema is that most queen breeders fumadil the snot out of every bee involved.

 

[greatbritishhoney]

A New Zealand study found nosema in 100% of the hives tested - I suspect if you looked closely enough the same would be close to the truth here. If it is an endemic desease common to all/most colonies and some dont seem to notice its there, others seem pegged back but eventually shrug it off while others die in splatters of their own poo, wouldnt it be best to let nature take its course and then only breed from the best colonies ?
Taken further you could deliberately innoculate your hives with heavy loads of nosema by putting in infected combs to sort the men from the boys.
One reason many colonies derived from imported queens go down to niosema is that most queen breeders fumadil the snot out of every bee involved.

It's a good argument, but it would never work in the UK. You'd have to persuade all the hobby beekeepers (as most of us are) to accept 100% losses. There'd be very few beekeepers left if they had to restock every year.

 

[winmag270]

personally, for six frames is it worth the faff of sterilising with Acetic / Ethanoic (two names, same chemical)?

no one has mentioned that the acid fumes will corrode the frame nails to some degree......

The cost / time / effort involved, surely would be better spent buying / making a few new frames / foundation.

by all means render the comb down for candles if you wish, but i'd just burn the lot..

 

[Monsieur Abeille]

Agree it cant be worth the bother for 6 frames, but a helpful thread none the less.

 

[milkermel]

Thanks folks, So If I am scrapping the frames, time is precious and I dont have much at the moment! Then I presume its just blow torch the hive? It got pretty poo splated in the last few weeks when some did venture out.