Post Flooding frames

[Macdee]

Hi all,

Post the flooding of my field and the hives that were on that field, I now have two boxes of frames that contain quite a lot of capped honey and also mud from the river. It is over the cappings, which I have washed off, and in the cells.

Do you think the bees will just clear them up if I add them to the hives in April, or will this cause issues ?

I am concerned about contaminating the spring honey later in the year, by adding the frames back onto the hives; so maybe I should melt them down and discard the honey. However I don't really want to waste the honey that the bees worked so hard to store, nor the wax frames that they spend so long building.

What are your thoughts please.

Al

 

[Angry_Mob]

Are they brood or super frames?

Scratch them with a fork or hive tool at the beginning of the seasons and the bees should work the stores.

 

[Macdee]

One box of brood frames and one box of supers.

Should I discard the frames after the honey has been relocated by the bees, due to the mud ?

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

Should I discard the frames after the honey has been relocated by the bees, due to the mud ?

I would - what's the point of taking the risk for a few pennies worth of kit

 

[Millet]

One box of brood frames and one box of supers.

Should I discard the frames after the honey has been relocated by the bees, due to the mud ?

If the frames where mine i would keep them regardless of numbers..i have been saving shallow and deep frames over the past few years..the shallows are the blown ones when extracting and the deeps are old or with knackered foundation..they will be getting cleaned with the hive tool and stuck in a old burco boiler with soda crystals added..some folk do hundreds at a time which can save you a few quid..once they are cleaned all you need to do is buy and add the foundation.