I have a few frames of really old drawn foundation. Can I scrape the wax off them and use them again?
Yes, if you know where they came from, IE, your hives and you know they did not come from a hive that was being treated for American Foul Brood. If you bought them from a commercial beekeeper, I would say no.
Jim
I would use the old foundation in my Bee Trap boxes!
If they were infected, in about 3 years all of your hives would be collapsing from AFB.
Jim
The sheets of foundation came out of my own hives, just old and want to refresh the frames.
Then in that case, just put them back in the hive, the bees will clean them up.
Jim
Some have mold, old pollen, and crystalized honey... kinda nasty foundation.
Quote from: GaryMinckler on July 15, 2015, 08:45:45 PM
Some have mold, old pollen, and crystalized honey... kinda nasty foundation.
even old larva...I have some large burr comb I took off and put in a coffee can and they totally molded on me. Guess they need air? Should I just put those on the inner lid for them or will it hurt them?
I would presume the foundation is plastic. I would scrape down to the foundation, then set in the sun for a few days and let the sun do it job (some wash with bleach and then water and set to dry, I am just not a fan of doing that unless there is a lot of wax moth damage.) -Mike
Or you could leave it and just use it...
I would either take MB's approach or cut it all out and let them build out the comb again. But then I would not use foundation in the first place so cutting it out is no big deal to me.