Wax moth in my super

[Swarm]

The


The grubs will eat through just about anything... I've seen timber hives riddled with holes where the grubs have burrowed in and what the did to a poly nuc that I had in storage had to be seen to be believed - totally destroyed it.

Yep, but don't worry Shiny hasn't told them

 

[ShinySideUp]

I don't think the adult moths will eat through plastic so if you put them in sealed plastic when there are no eggs or larvae already the supers you should be OK.

Exactly. I put my supers in bin bags immediately after they are extracted. There is no evidence of wax moth before the event and there is certainly not going to be wax moth afterwards.

 

[viridens]

Every time I see the title of this thread the song 'Lipstick on your collar' runs through my old head.

Sorry for the irrelevance, but I just had to get it off my chest!

 

[enrico]

I am afraid I am one of the sceptics that doesn't believe freezing kills them all. 48 hours in my freezer at Norma freezer temperature and it definitely didn't kill all mine! I also find it contracts the foundation and cracks it. It may not worry the bees but not great!
E

 

[drdrday]

I am afraid I am one of the sceptics that doesn't believe freezing kills them all. 48 hours in my freezer at Norma freezer temperature and it definitely didn't kill all mine! I also find it contracts the foundation and cracks it. It may not worry the bees but not great!
E

I agree, I'm far from convinced that freezing is as effective as some seem to claim. I'd rather err on the side of caution and ensure that I use several approaches to attempt to deter them, like using Certan, storing supers wet, storing them outdoors, putting dividers in the stack between every couple of supers etc. Who knows exactly how effective any of these approaches is on its own, if at all, but at least if I cover as many bases as I can my supers have a greater chance of surviving the winter.
The difficulty is that wax moth infestations are so unpredictable. A beekeeper might store their frames a particular way for years without any difficulties, but unfortunately the absence of an infestation isn't proof that the method is effective.

 

[Hedgerow Honey]

I'm seeing an awful lot of waxmoth this year, even on hives the occasional top super a moth will fly when removing crown board. I've always stored supers outdoors & sulphur four times, with no issues, until last winter when I stored indoors in a cow shippon that I have use of.
This year I'll sulphur burn every couple of weeks, might even help keeping mice away too.

 

[Murox]

I am afraid I am one of the sceptics that doesn't believe freezing kills them all. 48 hours in my freezer at Norma freezer temperature and it definitely didn't kill all mine! I also find it contracts the foundation and cracks it. It may not worry the bees but not great!
E

I think I agree with that. Most domestic freezers do not get cold enough to do the job effectively. I seem to recall seeing a documentary some years ago about how deep freezing was used as part of national bio security (not uk) point is it was below minus 20 and for at least 48 hrs.

 

[Antipodes]

Freezing at the prescribed temperature and for the prescribed time will kill all stages of the moth, but doing so comes with the warning (of course), not to put the treated combs back in untreated supers for storage because those supers can contain moth eggs in their joints. The eggs hatch and the grubs crawl easily to the frames and comb to chew away.

 

[Swarm]

Exactly. I put my supers in bin bags immediately after they are extracted. There is no evidence of wax moth before the event and there is certainly not going to be wax moth afterwards.

Yes, I've always done the same. Mine are also individually bagged when removed from the hive.
Years and years with no problem, I treat them before storage now rather than leave things to luck, comb is too precious to lose.

 

[bontbee]

Re sulphuring combs... Is it effective when combs are wet? I understand it reacts with air to produce sulphurous acid. Can anyone advise if this is this going to be problematic for the bees, or combs?

 

[BernardBlack]

Are wax moths attracted to empty stored frames? Or just those with honey?

Just wondered, as I have drawn empty frames in storage.

 

[drex]

Any drawn frames, preferring those that have had brood in. Have burned sulphur for ten years without any problem on wet or dry combs

 

[bontbee]

Any drawn frames, preferring those that have had brood in. Have burned sulphur for ten years without any problem on wet or dry combs

That's great, thank you