I am considering storing my cleaned out honey supers on a deck by the house under the roof overhang. My concerns are mice, raccoons, chipmonks, ants, etc. and exposure to the weather when the overhang is not sufficient. I would place them on a sheet of wood to keep critters access from below. The shed is an option but gas cans and lawn equipment are in there :(. Any place you have successfully overwintered yours would be appreciated. Thankyou in advance.
I dont care about putting nothing on my super like BT, or certan, or storing with crystals, etc,,,, the way I do it is after the bee's clean the supers I go buy some large, cheap garbage bags, put each super in a bag ( sometimes 2 supers per bag if bags are large enough) and tye it up tight, then put in chest freezer for 24 hours, after I remove baged super I will put in a second bag (2 bags) and tie it tight them stack in shop and put a hive top over them,,, I have done this for 4 years and not the first wax moth or mice yet!!!!!! might be alot of work for some but I dont have to pull every frame either...........
The important things are that they freeze and the mice are kept out of them. This year the wax moths have been the worst ever and we have not had a freeze to kill them, so I would be concerned. I usually get a freeze before I get any Bt put on them so I often skip it. But if the first hard freeze is late and the moths are bad, like they are this year...
I'm stacking mine inside, finished basement w/dehumidifier (<50% rel hum). I have plenty of room and they smell nice. I have some Bt but, when storing inside, is there any cause for conern about any pests?
>I have some Bt but, when storing inside, is there any cause for conern about any pests?
Wax moths thrive inside. They die when they freeze. Mice, being warm blooded, will move in either way.
Quote from: Michael Bush on September 25, 2007, 08:01:02 PM
>I have some Bt but, when storing inside, is there any cause for conern about any pests?
Wax moths thrive inside. They die when they freeze. Mice, being warm blooded, will move in either way.
Gotchya - well the mice, at least, I can verify aren't in the supers
or my house (thank God, lol!). My cats are making quick work of any outside as well and on to the rats and even squirrels. :evil: ha! But if the moth eggs and/or larvae are extremely small, they could very well sneak past me. I think I'll treat regardless with the biological larvicide strain Bt aizawai. A little harmless preventative maintenance. ;)
Bt, I don't get that. How do you apply Bt to supers? The Bt that I used to use to spray for caterpillars was mixed with water and then sprayed on the crops. We are talking about Bacillus thuringiensis, right? Please elaborate. Have a wonderful day, best of our great life. Cindi
Quote from: Cindi on September 27, 2007, 02:22:12 PM
Bt, I don't get that. How do you apply Bt to supers? The Bt that I used to use to spray for caterpillars was mixed with water and then sprayed on the crops. We are talking about Bacillus thuringiensis, right? Please elaborate. Have a wonderful day, best of our great life. Cindi
Same deal - just spray on the foundation/comb, all over inside really.
Hmmm. Bt is as "natural" as they come, but I don't think that I would want to spray it on frames, just doesn't give me a good feeling about that. Best of our wonderful life, greatest of days. Cindi
QuoteHuman beings, as all animals, play host to many types and high numbers of microbes. Microbes live on our skin, in our mouths, in women's vaginal tracts, and all the way through our gastrointestinal tract. In fact, in reference to the human body,it has been estimated that there are more microbes associated with it (about 1014, or 100,000,000,000,000 bacterial cells) than there are human cells in it (about 1013). In addition to this very large number of bacteria, there also is a very large diversity of bacteria. It has been estimated that more than 400 different species, or types, of bacteria make their homes on humans.
As long as the Bt aren't pathogenic to either the bees or humans, what's a few more bacteria? Come on in and join the party Bt, I've invited 100,000,000,000,000 of your friends! :lol:
Quote from: TwT on September 24, 2007, 09:00:14 PM
I dont care about putting nothing on my super like BT, or certan, or storing with crystals, etc,,,, the way I do it is after the bee's clean the supers I go buy some large, cheap garbage bags, put each super in a bag ( sometimes 2 supers per bag if bags are large enough) and tye it up tight, then put in chest freezer for 24 hours, after I remove baged super I will put in a second bag (2 bags) and tie it tight them stack in shop and put a hive top over them,,, I have done this for 4 years and not the first wax moth or mice yet!!!!!! might be alot of work for some but I dont have to pull every frame either...........
I think I will do it this way, although I have to freeze the frames first then place back into the supers. I do not have freezer space large enough to fit a super. But this way seems like it would work for me.
Annette
Dane, funny, funneeeee!!! YOu say the funniest things :) Have a wonderful day, greatest of our life. Cindi
I also store in my basement, the smell is awesome. I freeze and then stack with a screened board on the top and botton. Wax moths can't get it. :-D
I'm thinking of storing mine in my carport stacked at angles after the frames have all been frozen - any reason not to do that?
Linda T in Atlanta
I have not recovered from the one year I decided to store them in the basement wet. I still see several wax moths a day in my house and even more in my basement.
I decided to do the freezer thing as the beekeep I bought everything had suggested. I did not want to buy a freezer so I looked on criagslist.com and found a lady giving away an old fridge. I pick it up and with a small modification(removing the baffle between the freezer and fridge part) I made a large upright freezer. I can get 5 supers in at a time.
About keeping the supers in the basement. I would not do it without some type of treatment ie freeze and in a bag or BT. Last year I put a HB with drawn comb in the basement and kept an eye on it. Nothing happened for over a month so I stopped checking on it. Then one day I looked and there was a bunch of Wax moths ruining the comb. So they can get in the house and ruin your stuff.
>I have not recovered from the one year I decided to store them in the basement wet. I still see several wax moths a day in my house and even more in my basement.
I should point out, that was seven years ago. There are still wax moths down there and everywhere in my house. If you wanted to show what one looked like you could walk through my upstairs and find several of both the greater and the lesser. If you go in my basement you could find more.
If stored outside in a plastic bag won't they then freeze and be alright. Depending upon climate of caorse. We usually get a good freeze here by November.