Wax moth in brood box

Beekeeping & Apiculture Forum

Help Support Beekeeping & Apiculture Forum:

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

whynothot

New Bee
Joined
Jul 8, 2012
Messages
27
Reaction score
0
Location
Crosshands, Carmarthenshire
Hive Type
National
Number of Hives
2
Checked my small hive with a collected swarm in. Three of the unused frames in the box were dripping with wax moth, horrible state, grubs everywhere.

Cleaned it out and killed (hopefully) all the moths and grubs, and intend to move the brood to a new unused box tomorrow. I'll blowtorch the old box and hopefully get rid of the pests.

But given the brood only covers 7 frames, how best to fill the void in the box? I know i could put more frames in, but don't want a repeat of the moth attack

Any ideas?
 
And give them a new floor too.

Use Kingspan or Celotex insulation material cut to fit the inside of the hive - cover the cut edges with aluminium foil tape (not duct tape) - the bees will thank you for it and there's nothing for the wax moths to feed on.
 
Checked my small hive with a collected swarm in. Three of the unused frames in the box were dripping with wax moth, horrible state, grubs everywhere.

Cleaned it out and killed (hopefully) all the moths and grubs, and intend to move the brood to a new unused box tomorrow. I'll blowtorch the old box and hopefully get rid of the pests.

But given the brood only covers 7 frames, how best to fill the void in the box? I know i could put more frames in, but don't want a repeat of the moth attack

Any ideas?

Certan/B401
 
Agreee with Pargyle. (insulate above the crown board will also help conserve heat and reduce winter fuel consumption).

Do you have a small entrance?
(no, not personally!)
 
Great - i thought Kingspan would be the way to go but wanted to be sure I wouldn't harm the bees - and I've got some spare sheets around too :)

I'll reduce the entrance on the hive as well.

Thanks for the suggestions - appreciated
 
Great - i thought Kingspan would be the way to go but wanted to be sure I wouldn't harm the bees - and I've got some spare sheets around too :)

I'll reduce the entrance on the hive as well.

Thanks for the suggestions - appreciated

I've seen some hives with the insides virtually reduced to charcoal in attempts to sterilise. When wax moth eggs are in crevices it's still likely they are missed hence my preference for B401 as protection from the pest.
 
Didn't know what Certan was - googled it and I do now. I'll get some of that too.

But isn't it only for protecting stored frames, not for use in an active brood box.

I've moved the brood to a new box and floor and just hope there's nothing in the frames.

I will flame the old box and floor and use the Certan recommended to make sure it's clean.
 
Hi whynothot,
Sorry to inform you that Certan is not effective on eggs or pupae. I have not seen it used in active colonies only on stored frames with disastrous effect. However, if you make sure your colony is occupying all frames it should not be a problem as the bees can sort it out themselves.
 

Latest posts

Back
Top