What to do with a dead hive

[the naked beekeeper]

Not sure whether to post this here, or in the health section, but, what do beeks do with their die-offs?

If you know they haven't succumbed because of disease, is it ok to let the bees rob out the frames?

Do beeks re-use any of the combs at all?

 

[Erichalfbee]

I haven't had any.....touch poly.....but I certainly wouldn't let the stores be robbed out.
I would junk the frames ,clean the box and move on.

 

[For want of a better word]

If you are sure the reason was not disease.... freeze frames and use in nucs?

Scorch, scrape dip everything else in NaOH and in hypochlorite.. but not in same plastic tub!

IMO not a great idea to encourage robbing ( or wasps!)

NBK did you get onto the man at Polbathic TRE*****?

 

[Mike a]

Depends on the frames and the amount of stores left and how the colony died out, the last thing I would want to do is transfer disease between colonies.

In the past I've given some of the frames to other colonies
or
Removed any brood and placed the best frames in a plastic bags and put in a deep freezer until a day or so before I do A/S.

 

[Tim1606]

I haven't had any.....touch poly.....but I certainly wouldn't let the stores be robbed out.
I would junk the frames ,clean the box and move on.

Thats what we did with our two dead out's.

 

[dickbowyer]

is it ok to let the bees rob out the frames

 

[mbc]

Oh mun !
Why junk good frames ?
Collect dead outs, perform autopsy ( look for signs of AFB scale ), check records (did you have EFB last year ?),recycle any poor old frames and store any reasonable frames in their bee proof box ready for acetic acid fumigation when rthe weather warms up.