I recently acquired some boxes and frames that have been sitting up a while. What is the best way to clean them, and what should I be looking for in signs of alert?
Do the frames have any comb left in them (assuming wax moths)? If the comb looks good, let the bees clean it up. But only if you know where the hives came from to keep AFB out of your bees. If the comb looks like crap, scrap it off the frames. They do not have to look perfect.
I don't think I would recognize AFB. Most of the frames don't have any wax pulled on them. Their just dirty and have had mice and rats in them looks like. Some of the frames has some black stuff in some of the cells. I didn't know if that was old pollen, honey or what.