Wax moth damage cleanup

[farmerjohn]

I removed 2 frames of comb from a hive that have wax moth larva damage.  Theres a couple of "trails" left by the larva.  Whats the best way to clean that up or is there?  I was thinking of mixing a MILD bleach/water combo and spraying the comb as well as just cutting out the damaged area.    The comb is all wax its not a plasticell piece.

[JP]

If you're worried at all that some larvae may still be present you could freeze them or spray with BT.

Other than that could use a knife or hive tool to clean up, but a new colony will do the majority of the cleaning for you.


...JP

[Kathyp]

i have not had a wax moth problem, but i got some frames that had been badly damaged in a bulk buy.  i had planned to cut out the comb and let  the bees rebuild.  instead, i grabbed those frames for a last min swarm catch.  the bees cleaned and repaired all the comb.  worked out ok even though they probably would have been better off with new stuff :-)

[specialkayme]

I've taken boxes that have been completely destroyed by wax moths and put it right on top of a strong hive. Come back two weeks later and there isn't a trace of wax moth larvae, castings, or 'trails'. The wax does look like swiss cheese though.

Probably not as good for them as giving new foundation, but it takes alot of time to re-foundation frames, and it takes next to no time to just slap the box on top. I go for the least amount of work that still gets the job done.

[kedgel]

If I have wax moths in frames I freeze them to kill everything and then let the bees clean and repair them.  The only problem I've had is that large voids get rebuilt with drone comb.  Not necessarily a problem if you use batches of drone comb as a means of detecting and reducing varroa.  Some beeks use a capping scratcher to uncap and pull drone larvae out.  Varroa prefer drone larvae and are easily seen on the white larvae.  Regularly pulling drone larvae out removes mites and takes a bite out of their breeding cycle as well as giving you an idea of how bad the infestation is.

Kelly