wax moth chemicals

[abates99]

I have two deeps with drawn frames, some have pollen and a couple have a little bit of honey still in them.  I looked this weekend and saw the early signs of a wax moth, so i put paradichlorobenzine crystals on and closed them up.  After the fact I thought about it and I wonder if the pollen and honey will be safe for the bees now.  I plan to air the frames out good before using again but will there be a residual amount of PDB in the pollen that could harm the bees?

[Bennettoid]

My father in law used to store his equipment in moth balls over the winter. A couple of moth balls doesn't seem to hurt if you air it out real well, but dusting the comb with crystals doesn't sound like a good idea to me.

[tillie]

For future reference, you could have just as easily set the boxes uncovered outside in the sunshine and that would have done it for the wax moths - they don't like the light of day.

Linda T in Atlanta

[Michael Bush]

I use Certan.

http://www.beeworks.com/catalog/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=1&products_id=18

I only used PDB once.  PDB is a carcinogen.  There are enough of those already without putting them in my honey supers.

[amandrea]

I found this, I think in this forum and used it. I don't know if they were wax moths or not but it certainly  killed a very big pile of them.

Take a 2 liter plastic pop bottle and drill a 1 inch hole just below the slope on the neck, then add 1 cup water, 1 cup sugar, B= cup vinegar and finally 1 banana peel. Wait a few days till it starts to ferment, and then tie it into a tree close to the hives. This trap will draw the wax moth, they enter the hole can't get out and drown in the liquid, this will even draw in and kill the bald faced hornet.

[tillie]

What is

B= cup vinegar

?

LT in Atlanta

[abates99]

Thanks for responding.  I placed the crystals on cardboard, on top of the frames, put an empty super and lid on tof of that.  What I have read is the crystals evaporate and form a gas that basically fumigates the frames,  there is no contact between the frames and the PDB.  I will take them apart and let them air out. But I wonder if the pollen in the comb is safe, even after I let it air out?