Secondhand hives

[stealth]

Hello everybody
I have been offered some very old second hand hives that used to belong to a now deceased bee keeper. They are fairly sound although some do have a bit of woodworm, and have been in storage for the last ten years or so, but I am unsure as wether or not to aquire them as apparently the previous owner lost all of his colonies to disease (don't know what) Will it be safe to use these hives again? Thanks

 

[thurrock bees]

if you use them put a blowtouch to them, all second hand hives i buy are blowtouched even if the seller has already done it

 

[sherwood]

No he doesn't mean burn them just to scorch them. I might also suggest That Acetic acid treatment might not be a bad idea it will at least displace the the spiders.

Mind you if the the kit is WBC I dont know whether I would bother using it as beehive it might make a good composter or stand for advertising your honey . In my opininion it is not a practical size as a standard brood box, to support a decent sized colony.

 

[Hebeegeebee]

Welcome Stealth.
I would scorch and use 80% Acetic Acid (check the Thornes web site for instructions in a pop up window).
You can probably get acetic acid locally at a cheaper price than Thornes btw.

I'll disagree with Sherwood; if you have WBC's, go ahead and use them!

Adam

 

[The Hyde Ranger]

Will scorching eliminate the woodworm too or will some other treatment be needed ?

 

[MuswellMetro]

Will scorching eliminate the woodworm too or will some other treatment be needed ?

any chemical treatment that will kill woodworm is likley to the kill bees, scorching will not kill woodworm lava, but a cold heavy frost might, so if stored or outside the woodworm is unlikely to get much worse if the winter is cold

but the hives much be strong so if the woodworms gone too far burn them

 

[shonabee]

Am sure this is obvious - but don't put the hives anywhere which currently doesn't have woodworm, if still active (which is likely to be). It does spread surprisingly rapidly (bitter experience of my parents!).

 

[RoofTops]

If they are this old I would suspect you will have no end of problems with them. If they are WBCs the lifts will be wobbly and the bits of wood which are nailed to the inside of the lifts will be falling off. If they are Nationals (or WBCs) they will be on solid floors which most beekeepers have moved away from.

Expect wasp incursions though the leaks in the Autumn as well.

However, if you like to spend your leisure hours doing woodwork they will be fine.

 

[stealth]

Thanks to everyone for the replies and for giving me the benefit of your experience. The hives are WBC so perhaps should be discarded. Once again thank you all.

 

[rourkie]

Hi stealth why would you want to discard you wbc they are perfectly good for keeping bees in. biggest draw back is moving them. if you feel the bb is to small go to 14x12 bb. if nothing else put them on ebay you will be suprised what they are worth and will give you some cash to buy the hive you want. regards rourkie

 

[oliver90owner]

Parts with wood worm? How long will woodworm survive at -20 or lower? A period in a freezer might be the answer.

Regards, RAB

 

[Black Comb]

Stealth where are you?

I'm looking for an old WBC to advertise my honey at the door.

 

[the beehive lodge]

 

[Queens59]

I use second hand WBCs - you have to be fit (!) but after scorching etc are fine to use...and the bees seem happy enough...a free hive is a free hive. If it is clean and firm - use it. Check my album I think I posted before and after on there...

 

[keithgrimes]

Thanks to everyone for the replies and for giving me the benefit of your experience. The hives are WBC so perhaps should be discarded. Once again thank you all.

WBC's, while not everyone's first choice, are perfectly OK as beehives as long a sthey are in good nick, or salvageable. It would be a shame to discard them

 

[BKF Admin]

Why not clean them up then give them a coat of white paint,put them on ebay,be honest in your description and see the bidding rise.

You should get enough for new hives with the money made.
They are free so nothing to lose.

 

[Queens59]

Why not clean them up then give them a coat of white paint,put them on ebay,be honest in your description and see the bidding rise.

You should get enough for new hives with the money made.
They are free so nothing to lose.

I'm doing that next year, and swopping to Poly and National hives - easier to work by far!

 

[Monsieur Abeille]

Why not clean them up then give them a coat of white paint,put them on ebay,be honest in your description and see the bidding rise.

You should get enough for new hives with the money made.
They are free so nothing to lose.

- well restored WBCs go for a small fortune on eBay

 

[aseeryl]

I was given enough WBC parts to make up 5-6 hives by a chap who is retiring. This was a few months ago.
The position is very similar to Stealth.
I scorched the insides, but have used mainly new inner brood boxes (bought and home made - an advantage of WBC is that the internals can be of cheap material).

They aren't too small for an average colony. But I made up a 14x12 bb which requires 2 lifts to fit a roof. You can also use brood and half. Another thing is you can make the boxes slightly larger than the plans would say and fit 11 DN4 frames and still get standard supers to fit nicely on top.

As far as woodworm goes - there was some infestation - don't know how old (there were makers badges from defunct companies) - leave them outside at the bottom of the garden. If weakened get rid or use them as decoration.

Looking at the rip-off prices for equipment in this country, as rourkie said, ebay is your friend. It's surprising how uncommonly WBC parts appear.