Black Mold Problem
My hives are in south Texas and with recent rains the black mold has returned on the landing boards and outsides of my hives.
In the past I have used a concentration of 2 ½ cups bleach, 3/4 cup Jomax to 3 1/3 quarts of water. After several hours, I rinse the surfaces with a 3 parts water to 1 part Bleach solution and wait a couple more hours before rinsing them with plain water. If the weather is warm and dry enough to dry the cleaned hive boxes and landing boards, I give them a couple coats of paint.
The mold problem causes a lot of work and I am not really sure if I am killing all of it since the problem seems to return when the weather turns wet.
I have read that glossy latex paint is less likely to encourage mold. I have been told that KILZ does not stop mold. My questions are:
Is there a mold resistant treatment for hives? Is there an easier way to clean, prepare and retune the hive boxes and landing boards to service in the bee yard?
My hives are in south Texas and with recent rains the black mold has returned on the landing boards and outsides of my hives.
In the past I have used a concentration of 2 ½ cups bleach, 3/4 cup Jomax to 3 1/3 quarts of water. After several hours, I rinse the surfaces with a 3 parts water to 1 part Bleach solution and wait a couple more hours before rinsing them with plain water. If the weather is warm and dry enough to dry the cleaned hive boxes and landing boards, I give them a couple coats of paint.
The mold problem causes a lot of work and I am not really sure if I am killing all of it since the problem seems to return when the weather turns wet.
I have read that glossy latex paint is less likely to encourage mold. I have been told that KILZ does not stop mold. My questions are:
Is there a mold resistant treatment for hives? Is there an easier way to clean, prepare and retune the hive boxes and landing boards to service in the bee yard?
Hope that helps!
