Storeing Supers

[bobba]

I am hoping to take the supers of my hives in the next few weeks.

I had been under the impression that storing supers dry was standard practice, and this is what I intended to do. However from the conversation in another thread, it seems many of you store wet and say it is less faf.

Could some of you please explain how you store your supers (wet or dry) and what wax moth prevention you use.

Thanks as always.

 

[enrico]

If you want to store wet then put them on flat board wth flat board on top and ratchet the all together with straps. I have had wax moth in dry and wet so this year I will spray with dipel and I will store in a sealed room on parallel bars so they can breath and I can inspect them easily.
E

 

[madasafish]

I store wet in stacks ten high with ratchet straps. CB on bottom , roof top.
Any dodgy looking joints gaffer taped. On stands in garden . No other protection.

So far - touch wood - no wax month in 5 years

 

[Erichalfbee]

12 years of storing wet nine high.
Plastic crown board every three
Garden tray on the bottom with a few layers of newspaper
Crownboard and roof on top.
Strapped and stored in cold shed.
Any pollen is dealt with by pollen mites which just falls out in the spring.
Never had wax moth

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

I am hoping to take the supers of my hives in the next few weeks.

I had been under the impression that storing supers dry was standard practice, and this is what I intended to do. However from the conversation in another thread, it seems many of you store wet and say it is less faf.

Could some of you please explain how you store your supers (wet or dry) and what wax moth prevention you use.

Thanks as always.

To store them wet, you can either stack them up with a blank piece of plywood top and bottom, then cinch them up tight with a couple of hive straps, they can then be stored outside in either an open sided shelter, cold shed or with just a spare hive roof on top.
If there's only a few supers then you could pack them , sealed up in a strong plastic bag.
They don't need treating with anything
*strange, I posted this an hour ago, and now it's turning up!

 

[Swarm]

I pray for you dear people.
Never had a WM problem until a few years ago and then it appeared. I've always stored wet and always will but I treat them now because comb is too precious to lose.

 

[pargyle]

I pray for you dear people.
Never had a WM problem until a few years ago and then it appeared. I've always stored wet and always will but I treat them now because comb is too precious to lose.

I've always stored supers wet and generally not had a wax moth issue although year before last I left a super frame in the stack that had not been filled with honey... that one and a bit of one either side of it got attacked. No damage whatsoever on the frames that had been honey filled. Any frames that have not had honey all the way across I now spray with Dipel - did all my stored brood frames last winter and no sign of moth in any of them. I also do like Dani does .. stack them in a 500 x 500 garden tray with some baking parchment in it and a polycarbonate crown board every two or three supers. I may have to use heavy duty polythene to divide the stack this winter as I have more supers to store.

I bought a plastic Ketor storage bin last year off Gumtree for a tenner and that will take two stacks of supers side x side and 8 high and that has been really useful (for hiding kit from the eagle eyes of the kit counter general !)

 

[bobba]

My storage options are outside or musty shed. Its a metal shed and the air gets stale in the winter, I had some other equipment get black spotty mold on it after overwintering in the shed. So I favor the outside option.

" I will store in a sealed room on parallel bars so they can breath and I can inspect them easily. "

I am not sure what you mean by "so they can breath". Surely if they are sealed top and bottom the inside cannot breath, do you mean so the air can get around the outside easier? But why would storing them on parallel bars facilitate better air flow than a stack?, I am confused, please clarify enrico.

I have not been able to obtain any dipel. So ordered some XenTari. Has anyone got any experience using XenTari?

I have 7 supers to store, so think I will do one stakes and divide it with as many boards as I can muster.

I don't have any hive straps, so do you think I will get away with stacking a load of bricks on top?

" just a spare hive roof on top" - I don't even have enough roofs for my hives let alone a spare, one of them leaks too because it has a hole in the bin bag!! Seriously one of my hives just has an old bit of chicken coup on top that a neighbor was throwing out.

The accounts department has loosened the purse strings since she was sweetened by the first honey harvest. So alas I have the £s to get some much needed kit.

I still intend to get that roofing felt as you advised pargyle, but was hoping to sort the last roof out 1st.

I have been hoping wicks will reopen their cutting service, but I think I will just have to take my cordless jigsaw and chop some ply in the car park. I know I need to sort the roofs before the weather turns, and it looks like I will need an additional one for the super storage stack.

Thanks to everyone for the advise.

And particular thanks to jenkinsbrynmair and Dani for opening my eyes to the pros of wet storage in another thread.

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

I don't have any hive straps, so do you think I will get away with stacking a load of bricks on top?

Best investment you'll make, hive straps have a myriad uses. Google the ratchet shop or, Amazon is your friend

https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B07BCXNCSS/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o03_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1