Quick comb storing question

uglyfrozenfish · July 25, 2011, 10:50:52 AM

Just read a couple of previous posts and still had some questions about storing frames of comb. Is there a difference in storing a frame with capped honey and a frame of just comb?

After freezing for 24+ hours can I store them in one of the rubbermaid plastic totes? Or should I stick to garbage bags.

Thanks for your input

AllenF · July 25, 2011, 11:35:26 AM

First, after you pull comb from the freezer, let it warm back up and dry off before backing it up or it will mold bad. I leave them in the basement for a day after I pull boxes from the freezer before putting them up. You can use anything that is mouse/ moth proof. I got a hold of some store front commercial fridges and store in there. They hold a lot.

L Daxon · July 25, 2011, 02:37:37 PM

Yes, I would think there is a difference between storing capped honey frames and plain drawn foundation. Ants and other critters will try and eat the honey, but won't care so much about just the drawn wax frames. I put a frame with some honey on it in a Rubbermaid tub but the top didn't seal completely tight and the ants were able to get in.

Wax moths, on the other hand will go after the drawn foundation. But last year I left a super of with some drawn foundation on my back covered porch for the winter and didn't have any problems. Frames would freeze as the temperatures dropped, but it also got a lot of light-- I leaned a box of frames on its end against a wall -- and the wax moths don't like light so they didn't bother it.

I don't have a deep freeze where I can store frames--that is the best place to keep drawn frames if you have a freezer and the room.

AllenF · July 25, 2011, 07:32:23 PM

If you have the room in your freezer, you can leave honey supers in all winter. I had uncapped frames from several boxes that I combined at the end of summer to store up until spring a few years ago. I just left the supers in the deep freeze all winter.

uglyfrozenfish · July 25, 2011, 08:06:15 PM

Oh how I wish I had room in the freezer. Deer season takes up all the freezer space, and I think my wife would be really unhappy with me if I took up more room with honey frames. :-D

Thanks for all your input. I think I will freeze them and put them in rubbermaids with many layers of duct tape to keep ants out and mouse traps all around perimeter to keep mice out. HAHAHA

Lee

gaucho10 · July 25, 2011, 08:40:09 PM

Sealed honey suppers will survive a little longer than freshly extracted comb. The wax moths like to bore through the wax. If they are full of honey it takes them longer to ruin your wax and honey. If the frames are empty then it will take no time in getting infected with wax moths. I keep all my extracted frames outside near my hives. After I allow the bees to clean off the comb I then put the frames inside their boxes/suppers. These suppers are store on top of a screened base that allows no insects to enter from the bottom. After stacking several empty suppers (6-8 med.) I then cover them with a screened cover that has a top plexiglass cover to keep the rain out but allows air to circulate from top to bottom. The plexiglass allows light to enter and keeps the wax moth population down (wax moths do not like light). I do this throughout the honey season. I usually reuse the honey suppers during the summer so if there are any wax moth larvae the bees take care of them. After the Fall honey flow I keep the frames outdoors during the sub-zero temps so there is no problem with wax moths. I never had to store extracted honey suppers/frames for longer than several weeks because like I said before...I continuously re-use them. I used to store frames indoors after the honey season after I treated them with Naphthalene...that is a no-no...bad choice...but I did not know that 30 years ago....but it worked....

OOOps....forgot to mention...this only works if you keep bees in northern latitudes where the outside temps get bellow freezing during the winter months. If you live down South then disregard what I posted above. Also another thing to keep in mind is that as a small time beekeeper I extract as soon as I remove my honey suppers (20-50 lb. honey at a time).

abishiai · July 26, 2011, 02:24:21 AM

Quote from: uglyfrozenfish on July 25, 2011, 08:06:15 PM
Oh how I wish I had room in the freezer. Deer season takes up all the freezer space, and I think my wife would be really unhappy with me if I took up more room with honey frames. :-D

Thanks for all your input. I think I will freeze them and put them in rubbermaids with many layers of duct tape to keep ants out and mouse traps all around perimeter to keep mice out. HAHAHA

Lee

If you want to keep the ants away from your boxes, sprinkle a line of Comet or Ajax around the base of the box. They won't cross it.