I extracted about a month ago and had my extracted frames in the boxes in my barn. I thought I had everything sealed up tight, but over the past day, but some smart bee must have found a way into my barn. This morning I found my barn full of bees trying to further rob out the frames, clustered on everything looking for ways in (they found some) and trying to get back out stuck in the window sills by the hundreds. They even managed to get into my plastic totes with lids that had frames in them :shock:. Now I had to take all the boxes back outside to lure the bees out and it is a robbing frenzy again (i already let them clean up the frames after I extracted and had everything put away for winter). Any suggestions of how the rest of you store your frames and equipment? Should I try stacking them in the supers in black garbage bags? Thanks.
I let the bees clean up the boxes and then freeze them before storage. I keep the drawn supers in an old freezer and a commercial glass door cooler to keep the bees and bugs out.
I agree with Allen, let the bees clean them up. They will clean them dry, even the sticky. Then, spray them with XenTari BT and stack for storage. Put a cover over the top to keep rats and other critters out. I bought a bunch of equipment from an estate that had been in storage for 15 - 20 years. The supers that did not have critter damage looked great. I used some this year.
Steve
I make sure they are good and clean OR even stuffed with capped honey. Tie them up in garbage bags and stack in my basement. I always freeze for 24 hours and thaw before that though. Make sure nothing is living in them. Never had an issue and the honey stays good for feeding back to the girls in the spring. I reuse the garbage bags for trash after I take the boxes back out to the outyard in the spring.
If you put them in the freezer, you have to be really sure they are good and dry after you take them out or you can get moldy while in storage.
Do NOT put them in bags, unless you can freeze them first and seal them up really really good. A nice no airflow bag without predators is the newly hatched waxmoth's dream home. And they don't need to get out to mate and restart that cycle.
I always let the bees rob them out really good before storing them...it almost sounds like you do too and that they are attracted to the empty dry comb? That sounds weird though...
I usually put a bit of wax moths crystals in there in the fall, it is there long enough to get to the cold weather when the moths can't do much anymore (keeps bees out too), and by spring it is long gone and aired out.
Rick
I read bout someone hanging their frames out in the open under a lean to. said there was too much light for the wax moths??
I think they were still a little bit wet and dripping some honey when I put them away. I let them rob out the frames again and got all the bees off after dark. They are alot more dry this time, so I stacked them away again in the loft of my barn (not in my workshop) and they are bee and rodent tight, but not airtight. Hopefully, that will work. It should drop below freezing within a week or two and I am not aware of wax moths being a problem in this area.
I have heard of storing boxes with boards between the hives to let in the light and storing them over fire ant nests to eat the wax moth larvae. But that does not keep the mice out.
Quote from: Hethen57 on October 04, 2010, 02:13:56 PM
I am not aware of wax moths being a problem in this area.
I thought the same, but lost some comb to them this year. I'm in a slightly warmer climate than you but only a couple hours away.
Let the bees clean them by putting them on the hives. Wait for a hard freeze. Stack them up on a bottom with no way for mice to get in and leave them where they freeze. Put them back on the hives before the main flow and the wax moths won't be going yet. Sealing them with wax moth eggs in them will benefit the wax moths... storing them wet will benefit the wax moths. Storing them anywhere warm will benefit the wax moths...
Quote from: Michael Bush on October 05, 2010, 01:00:00 AM
Let the bees clean them by putting them on the hives. Wait for a hard freeze. Stack them up on a bottom with no way for mice to get in and leave them where they freeze. Put them back on the hives before the main flow and the wax moths won't be going yet. Sealing them with wax moth eggs in them will benefit the wax moths... storing them wet will benefit the wax moths. Storing them anywhere warm will benefit the wax moths...
What an elegant solution!
Hethen,
Even though the bees have already cleaned them up once, many times later in the season they will hit them again for more than the easy pickings they had the first time. They could be after propolis, useable way, and even pollen. Sometimes it only takes a few cells of honey to get a crazy frenzy going, especially at this time of the year when there may not be much out there.
The only problem with this happening is that they get very aggressive and even though they are focused on the supers, I can bet they are also heavily challenging the entrances of every hive.
I store most of my supers in the open with plenty of sunlight under an overhang of the pole barn. This works great if your one of the beekeepers that has figured out how to properly use a queen excluder and keep brood out of your supers.
When putting back on the hives for cleanup, I put them above the inner cover. The bees seem to percieve them as not a part of their hive & clean them in a day or two and don't start storing more honey in them. If it's a strong hive, they seem to defend the area pretty well for months. You may need to close the outside hole in the inner cover to prevent robbing. Then I freeze for a day and either seal them tight in trash bags or put back in supers. Moths can get thru small holes easily. If in supers, I use wax moth crystals, but you have to replace them every week or so in hot temperatures.