When was months attack!

[DaveS]

A couple of weeks ago discovered gazillions of wax moth larvae in a poly nuc - made the mistake of leaving and forgetting about a few frames i was planning on burning.

They have made a real mess of the nuc with lots of quite deep holes - what do people use to repair poly hives?

Thanks

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

A couple of weeks ago discovered gazillions of wax moth larvae in a poly nuc - made the mistake of leaving and forgetting about a few frames i was planning on burning.

They have made a real mess of the nuc with lots of quite deep holes - what do people use to repair poly hives?

Thanks

polyfilla

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

In all seriousness, was party to a chat on repairing polynucs at Maisemore's last year - they recommended making a paste up of ordinary portland cement and PVA adhesive

 

[Millet]

The best thing for next year is do not let it happen..this year you are cream crackered..

 

[Erichalfbee]

Well I would throw it away and start again in the sales.

 

[pargyle]

I lost a poly nuc a couple of years ago to the bloody wax moths ... they seem to prefer burrowing into the poly than what's in the frames. It's a bit late for Certan/Dipel but before you do anything I'd give the inside of the box a good spray with one of them. If you haven't got any PM me and I'll post you enough to do the job.

Secondly, you need to remove and/or kill the grubs. They will be deep in the holes in the poly. The big ones you can pull out with a pair of tweezers or stab then with an electrical screwdriver, horrible little worms - there's some satisfaction in getting your own back. I then used a wallpaper steamer with a thin nozzle I made and that got the little ones out of the holes and I hope sorted out any eggs..

Reparing the holes I found the best stuff was car body filler .. sets in minutes and can be sanded back to match the original surface. A coat or few of my propolis varnish rendered the box serviceable again.

Like you .. it's a mistake I won't make again .. a couple of weeks is a long time when it comes to wax moths - A month - potentially ruinous !

 

[DaveS]

Thanks all. I may try polyfilla but I'll try not to make the same mistake again.

On the positive side the chickens enjoyed eating the many grubs.