I have four hives, have extracted all of my honey for 2009 (phew!), and need to store my shallow supers. They all have drawn comb and I live in a high altitude area and we do have wax moths here. The supers will freeze and thaw over the winter in my barn - but how do people store their supers now that some of the traditionally used chemicals have been banned?
It's organic and stays dormant until consumed by a wax moth larva. It then hatches in them and basically consumes them from within. It's like a landmine that's harmless to everything else but waxmoths.
If your frames had no pollen or brood in the combs then wax moths shouldn't bother them. The moths larva are after protein in the pollen and pupa casings and destroy the wax getting to them. Honey only frames have no protein in them for the wax moth larva to want.
Also, store them in your barn. Moths like warm and dark. I have my old brood frame boxes stored out so they get first 1/2 day full sun. They are tipped 45 degrees to the sky with no upper covers or lids. No moths in any of the 8 or 9 boxes except on 3 or 4 frames total. Your barn is cold to freezing, just those temps should deter the moths, store them open and up off the ground so mice can't get to them.
If your frames had no pollen or brood in the combs then wax moths shouldn't bother them. The moths larva are after protein in the pollen and pupa casings and destroy the wax getting to them. Honey only frames have no protein in them for the wax moth larva to want.
Thank you for your answers. I have a few more questions..
I understand that paradichlorobenzene has been outlawed in CA. (I could be wrong about this..)
Alternatives would be best - my question about BT treatments is about when the supers are back on the hives next year. Does the BT effect brood?
I can't store my supers outside like RayMarler, because we have ground squirrels. To those of you in the West who have ground squirrels, I don't have to say anything else. (To those who don't, you can't believe the level of destruction that they can achieve when they are storing food for the winter.) Think mice on steroids.
If your frames had no pollen or brood in the combs then wax moths shouldn't bother them. The moths larva are after protein in the pollen and pupa casings and destroy the wax getting to them. Honey only frames have no protein in them for the wax moth larva to want.
Either freeze them in a chest freezer and then store in large contractor-style trash bags, tightly closed with duct tape, or use BT such as Bruce sells.
I used to use those giant Christmas tree disposal bags to put a bunch of supers in with some paradichlorobenzene and then seal the bag. I found a much easier way and have been doing it this way for years with excellent results.
I stack my supers (after the girls have cleaned them) on top of each other (not cross-stacked) and place a spacer box (basically a short super made from 1x3 or you could use an empty super) every 5th super high with a plastic tray (Rubbermaid/Tupperware/whatever) filled with paradichlorobenzene. I stack them 10 to 11 high and place a piece of cardboard cut to the size of the super on top of this stack (it acts like a gasket). I then place a piece of plywood (cut to the size of the super) or a few queen excluders on top of this to weigh it down and provide a good seal. This basically creates a sealed gas chamber of supers. It keeps everything out...wax moths, SHB, ants, spiders, mice..everything. I then air them out for a few days before I put these supers back on the following year.
Does anyone know if paradichlorobenzene is still legal in California?
It appears that the health rating (according to the latest MSDS) has been changed from a 2 to a 3 - severe/cancer causing and that there are some environmental precautions.
24 hours below freezing will kill wax moth larvae. If you want, you can freeze them in a freezer and then wrap them up tight. You can expose them to sunlight and that helps too.
Putting a sealed crown board below and above the super once you have ensured that there is no wax moth larvae in there.I usually stack them and put tape round the box joins, this stops the entrance of ants or similar creatures.
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