When Do I Scorch?

[LenInNorCal]

My girls did not make it :cry: and I took down the hive today.
I am going to scorch the supers and everything else but I need to know should I do it today and then store them for a couple of months until I get new bees? Or should I store now and then a week before I get bees, then scorch stuff? Or both?
TIA

[Ravenseye]

You don't HAVE to scorch unless you suspect disease. Even then, scorching MAY help but may not. If you decide to scorch, I would do it close to re-using the woodenware. Technically, scorching and storing is fine but I'd be cleaning them as close to when I give them back to the bees as possible.

[LenInNorCal]

Thanks. Though I don't suspect disease, I'll torch as a prophylactic just because it makes sense to me.

I told SWMBO (She Who Must Be Obeyed) your tag and we both smiled.

[mike haney]

Thanks. Though I don't suspect disease, I'll torch as a prophylactic just because it makes sense to me.

I told SWMBO (She Who Must Be Obeyed) your tag and we both smiled.

while this is absolutely a personal choice, it doesnt make economic sense to waste comb thet is valued and useful. good luck,mike

[LenInNorCal]

while this is absolutely a personal choice, it doesnt make economic sense to waste comb thet is valued and useful. good luck,mike

You make a good point, but if there is any chance of disease, bugs, etc, then I don't want that going to my bees as another stress . And as a first year guy I've not reused comb, but I may in the future. Just this time, no.
I like the bee thingy more than the chance in reuse.
Also finished a TBH so the comb factor will be even more of a secondary matter. Or really, none at all!

[Sundance]

Have you done any analysis of your bees death?
I would recommend that you do before destroying
equipment. It's not just the cost of the equipment,
it's a learning process as well.

Did they have plenty of stores??

Did they die in cluster? Head first in empty
cells?

Wing deformation?

Varroa mite indications?

Any brood present??

Moisture issues?? Ventilation??

The death of the colony can be a operator error
and the possibility of the new bees meeting the
same fate is a big possibility without defining the
reason this colony died.

[bigbore]

I agree whole heartedly. If the bees died of sarvation in "head first in sells, no stores" then there likely isn't anything wrong with your comb and by forcing your new bees to draw it again your setting them up for the same failure. Definately do an "autopsy" on the colony yourself or with an experienced keeper. Dont destroy anything until you know why.

[kopeck]

Scorching is really for AFB (but it will kill other things). Unless you know you have AFB I wouldn't do it.

If you do have AFB I would be trying to figure out how you got it, that's serious stuff...

K

[Ben Brewcat]

I agree with Sundance et. al., scorching is a lot of work and comb is valuable. It'd be like autoclaving your kitchen after Rover died before getting a new puppy. Rover may well have had a heart attack which would mean autoclaving would be expensive and labor-intensive without much benefit.

If you're worried it might be AFB for observational reasons, find out for sure! And if it is, burn the equipment. Otherwise there are a LOT of other, more prosaic reasons a colony could have perished that scorching doesn't have anything to do with.

'Course if you're just itching to spend a day with the weed burner anyways, and if being denied your day of Promethean, high-BTU glory will cause you to build potato cannons or something instead, scorch away! I did scorch my very first hand-me-down equipment for peace of mind, and it was fun, but it was definitely overkill in hindsight.

[beedeetee]

And as a first year guy I've not reused comb, but I may in the future. Just this time, no.


I wish that I lived closer to you. I would drive over and give you brand new frames with your choice of foundation in exchange for your one year old drawn comb. I would check for AFB scale, but otherwise I would have not hesitate to use it.

Over the years I have decided that the most valuable asset that I have in beekeeping is drawn comb. In a couple of weeks I can get a new box, some new frames, a new queen and almost anything else that I need. A box of comb takes me a year. It is amazing how much faster hives start up on drawn comb.

I do cycle my brood comb by scraping plastic or putting wax foundation comb in the solar melter, but I admit to having pangs of regret unless it is misshapen or otherwise badly drawn (my small cell attempt).

What I would do if you don't want to use the comb right now is just put new frames in. Store the comb for a while in case you change your mind. I wouldn't drive over to get 10 year old comb, but I would for first year comb.

[IABeeMan]

[QUOTE=beedeetee;399580]I wish that I lived closer to you. I would drive over and give you brand new frames with your choice of foundation in exchange for your one year old drawn comb. I would check for AFB scale, but otherwise I would have not hesitate to use it.

I would race Beedeetee to you and even offer a few extra new frames and foundation for the drawn comb. Especially if there are no signs of AFB. Given the time of year it is safe to assume you had a starvation or temp related death. I would most deff inspect before scorching. If it was a mite issue the mites died with the bees.

[No_Bivy]

We have a local "gas chamber" to fumagate old equip......I thought scorching really did not work anyway.

[SlickMick]

I imagine that the issue that you guys have with having bees draw new comb each season is the shortness of the season hence your preference for old comb. I live in a subtropical climate and dont have that problem. I may be incorrect and I hope that you set me right in that.

Having lost my 2 hives to the ravages of the SHB I am thinking of not putting old comb back into my hives and instead using the foundationless process to try and avoid providing hiding places for the SHB. I figure that the girls will draw new comb as and when they need it rather than try and protect a super of stickies.

I had a look in one of my swarm nucs this morning. I hived the swarm with 2 deep frames and 2 half height frames. The deep frames had drawn comb and the half height frames had foundation. The girls have built a beard of comb on the bottom of both of the half height combs (no starting strips). These are now being used for brood while some of the foundation is now drawn and is being used for honey. The beards were drawn long before the girls drew the foundation. I admit though that the 2 deeps are chockers with brood.

ps The reason for the half height frames is that I am now moving to deeps for the brood and half height for the supers, again working on the theory of reducing hide places for the SHB. And of course they are easier to lift with my aging :rolleyes: body.

[beedeetee]

Without feeding I can get comb drawn from mid May to Mid July. If I feed I can get some more out of some hives, not so much out of others from from mid April until Mid September. I really struggle to get comb built. I think that if I had to start over with new comb each year that I would not harvest honey.

I am envious hearing of comb being drawn easily.

[SlickMick]

Yeah that must be really difficult to deal with.. in fact I sometimes wonder how beeks that have to winter their hives under a metre of snow manage to have bees at all let alone produce honey. It amazes me how much stores you need to see you through the winter. I can leave half a deep of honey in March and more still comes in before spring.

Our biggest issue at the moment is the introduction of the SHB and that is a year long management issue in this climate. Take your eye off the ball for a moment and the hive is lost. In fact I think that is why we are still getting swarms this late in the season.. the SHB is invading either feral or domesticated hives and they are absconding. Makes it a bit of an issue to build up the stores enough to keep the swarms going over the cooler months, so I will probably have to feed this winter for the first time.

[Southern_Sun]

Down here in New Zealand we are not allowed to treat for AFB. If we discover it we gas the bees burn all of the frames and acrap any wax, honey or propolis off the boxes and feeders. Plastic feeders are then dipped in Bleach for 24-48 hours and boxes are dipped in Paraffin wax at a temp of 160 degrees Centigrade for 10minutes to kill the spores. Scorching has been found to be ineffective here and is therefore not allowed as a way to deal with diseased equipment.

All of that said I wouldn't be going through all of this unless I was sure it the hive falling over was caused by AFB, it gets expensive over time ;-)