Certan & Sulphur burner for wax moths

[EDT]

Hi, PDB crystals for the control of wax moths have now been withdrawn in the UK, and therefore the only products available are Certan, and the sulphur burner.

I have used Certan successfully, but found spraying each frame VERY time consuming, and tedious. I used a hand spray, and found that it kept getting blocked. Can anyone suggest a better way of doing this? How often do the frames need to be sprayed?

E.H.Thorne (UK) are now selling sulphur burners and strips to replace PDB, and I am considering using it. HOWEVER, although I am told it is very effective against wax moths, it is TOXIC, and CORROSIVE, and causes severe respiartory distress in humans. I would like feedback from anyone who has experience with using this product, or has any useful information.

Please e-mail me at: edward.thomas@ntlworld.com if you prefer

Thanks.

Ed

[BjornBee]

I know one beekeeper who uses the sulfur. He has a room just for this. It is lined with plastic and sealed airtight. Once all the supers are placed inside, he will light the sulfur and let set till the following year. He has supers in the room that once treated, have been untouched by moths for years. Not alot of pests attempt to go inside the room. Everything is coated. Very effective but not sure the residue factor or carryover taste to the honey. If I had no other options I would cosider it.

[Michael Bush]

When I have used certan I just sprayed it on the foundation before I put it in, or if I forgot to do that, on the drawn comb after the bees had cleaned it up. It is spores like AFB except for wax moth larvae. It will live in the wax and will be consumed by the larvae when they eat it. The spores will last pretty much forever.

Mostly I try to use freezing to kill them and keep the supers either on the hives so the bees will keep them out (when the weather doesn't freeze at all) or sealed up off the hive during freezing weather, outside where they will freeze.

I don't use PDB.

[odfrank]

Keep your honey super combs brood free and yellow with queen excluders. Keep your unused hive body combs on top of other hives. Keep your eyes out for dying hives and merge them with good ones. You won't have moth problems.

[magnet-man]

It would be nice if you could purchase foundation with certan in the wax.

[Michael Bush]

>It would be nice if you could purchase foundation with certan in the wax.

I was going to point out the similarities of Paenibacillus larvae and Bacillus thuringiensis but and the fact that the studies I've seen show that AFB spores in the wax are not believed to be the cause of AFB because they are sealed in the wax, but then I thought, the spores in the wax are being consumed by the wax worms. It probably would work.

But someone would object to having it in their wax.

[Michael Bush]

Not to mention they would sell a LOT less foundation if the moths never ate any of it. http://www.beesource.com/ubb/smile.gif

[Robert Brenchley]

I sprayed with certan in May, and have had no problems at all this year. Lesser wax moth is around now so I'm intending to spray again as a precaution. My main worry is greater wax moth; I never saw it before last year. I probably imported it myself, in some nucs I got from down south where its common. We need a really cold snap to finish it off, but with global warming there's anecdotal evidence of it extending its range in my direction.

Does anyone know how they winter? If they do so outside the cluster, they'll be a lot more vulnerable to cold. Is there a web page anywhere which details the life cycle?

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Regards,

Robert Brenchley

RSBrenchley@aol.com
Birmingham UK

[Michael Bush]

I don't know how greater wax moths winter for sure, but I find them hiding in corners of things. My guess is that most of them that survive are in hives. http://www.beesource.com/ubb/smile.gif

I know I live in a very cold climate and every year by summer they are thick.

[EDT]

Thanks to everyone for their useful feedback.

Ed

[EDT]

Thanks to everyone for their useful feedback.

Ed

[magnet-man]

In my backyard I have a bug zaper on a timer. I do get quite a few moths. If you leave it on 24 7, you will zap a number of bees. My timer is set for an hour after it gets dark.