Mice got into some supers from last year and ate some comb, pooped all over the frames, etc.
If I throw these supers on an established hive, will the bees clean it up?
Can I safely harvest honey from there, or will it be toxic mouse urine death honey?
Thanks!
I don't know the answer, but I got a good laugh from the "toxic mouse urine death honey!"
I have had mouse damaged comb repaired by the bees so you couldn't even tell. If the honey is capped in the frame you can rinse the comb off with a hose let it dry some and put it in the hive. I can't guarantee it will work.
If I find a container in the pantry the mice have gotten even a small hole in the corner, the whole container goes in the garbage. If I find mice damaged comb, that comb gets trashed. I don't eat after rats, nor do I sell honey made on rat infested wax.
For clarification, there is no honey in these supers.
Just a bunch of frames, some with comb, some without.
Curious as to whether or not I should just ditch all the frames.
Probably should have figured this out prior to putting the super on the hive yesterday.
HA!
One problem with adopting a 'purity stance' with regard to honeybees, is that when they are out of your sight, you've no way of knowing what they come into contact with - and thus what indirectly gets into your honey.
I've seen bees drink from stagnant ponds, even when clean fresh water has been provided for their use nearby. And they rather like drinking urine, as it contains salts. Bees love salt.
LJ
Bees love poop. Every egg eaten on this planet came through an orifice that previously pooped. Humans have such hang ups. Your frames are probably fine. Most of the urine is on the bottom board not on the frames anyway. Bees will not use the comb or put honey in it if there is something wrong with it. Let them tell you if there is something wrong with it.
While we're talking about Poo and Urine - there's a film called: "Dirt - The Movie" which is kinda relevant to this topic. With the exception of the occasional "I inject my soul into the soil"-type of comment, the rest of the film is spot-on in terms of a reality-check: that all that each one of us is composed of ... is dirt. The very stuff we have come to despise in our nice clean homes, and that we wash from our shiny cars ... is actually the stuff of life.
Worth watching, imo.
https://www.youtube - dot - com/watch?v=lvrww8iMl-A
Suggest you download it to watch later (I use http://en.savefrom.net/1-how-to-download-youtube-video/) as it's 80 mins long.
LJ