I have an empty hive that I picked up used last year, and the comb and foundation in it is pretty trashed. I'm thinking of trying frameless with this hive, but not sure how to start. Can I clean all the frames and just leave the wires and expect a swarm (when I get one) to build everything from scratch, or do I have to use starter strips? If they do build on the frames, should I expect this hive to be as easy to work as my other, which is all Pierco?
Thanks in advance!
Sean
Get somewhere beekeeping book and read there more.
Get foundations and start with them.
The inside surface of hive is good to clean with gas flame.
Some bees build beautiful comb on empty frames (with some kind of comb guide) some don't build nice comb with foundation spaced perfectly. But if you leave an imprint of the comb on the edges of the frame the bees will probably build comb just as straight as the last one was. You can remove the wires or leave them. You have to handle foundationless frames carefully until they get attached. In other words you have to pay attention to which way the go and not turn them flat ways and not try to shake bees off of them until they are attached at least a little on all four sides.
Thanks for the prompt responses! As I clean bad comb out of the old frames, how do I know what to keep and what to pitch? There were apparently some wax moth issues, and several mice turned the hive into a condo complex before I sealed the entrance for winter, but there were no disease issues that I am aware of. Can I just cut out what looks obviously bad, or should I toss it all to be safe?
Personally, if it's not full of webs I'd keep it. Otherwise I'd just push it out of the frame and leave what's on the edges.