[max2]

I have just taken some honey off my bees and replaced a good number of OK but rather old and dark frames with lovely new foundation. I would like to keep them to put in some " Catch hives" in the hope of catching a few swarms in a few ( about August) months.
We have Small Hive Beetle and of course wax moth. What is a realistic way to store Stickies?There are to many to put in a freezer and I don't want to let the bees clean them up ( illegal here anyway).

Any suggestions? It has always been an issue for me.

 

[rwlaw]

What about letting ants clean em up and storing in boxes w/ moth crystals? Let the frames air out before use.

 

[Ted n Ms]

I just put mine back on the bees . They clean'em up nice. :thumbsup:

 

[concrete-bees]

yeah just put them back on the hives - within a week they will have them dry - soo dry ants wont find intrest in them !!!!!

 

[StevenG]

When I've extracted during the season, the supers are returned to the hives, hopefully for refilling. Extracting at the end of the season, I store them wet, protected against wax moth and other critters. I've found that when i then put them on the hives the next year, the bees take to them real quickly, because they're already "wet".

 

[Naturegoods]

and I don't want to let the bees clean them up ( illegal here anyway).

Sounds like a piece of misinformation there to me, I'd put them right back onto the hives they came off from. If you have an inner cover, put the super above it and they'll pack any honey back down in the brood chamber. At least that's the way it works in the fall in NY
After a few days they'll be clean & dry for open air storage without attracting other critters.

 

[max2]

I probably was not clear enough - legally I'm not allowed to let the bees at them OUTSIDE the hive. I have replaced the frames with new ones. The old ones I would like to store for a few month and use them as a " lure" for catching swarms.

 

[max2]

yeah just put them back on the hives - within a week they will have them dry - soo dry ants wont find intrest in them !!!!!

There is a honey flow on at the moment and the bees would start to fill them - I would like to store them EMPTY for later use in Trap Hives. The bees will draw the new comb I have replaced the old ones with.

 

[Beeslave]

Put them above a cover with a hole in the middle. If you have enough empties on the hive the bees shouldn't go through the hole and store nectar but they should go up there and remove the honey residue.

 

[DrakeB]

I know that there was something that was mentioned in one of the Brushy Mountain DVDS about swarm traps (this is rather old, early 90s) that could be sprayed on the comb to protect it from wax moths. I think it was something to the affect of zirkan(?) zirtan(?) something like that, my memory fails me at the moment, but I can post back later on, assuming that it is still available and legal for use against the war on the wax moth, but I do not know about how affective it is against the war on small hive beetle as this was long before its era.

 

[ccar2000]

I hear you about putting them back on the hive not being an option for you and too many for a freezer. Could you stack the boxes in large trash bags, seal them up and keep them in a cool dry place? Would that create mold issues for you? Sounds like a tough spot. Good luck. Please post your resolution, I would like to know how it goes for you.

 

[max2]

Back to the sticky stickies issue.
I tried giving the wet stickies back to the hives and - in the case of 1/2 frames - after a few days they where dry enough to store. It did not work with FS frames. No idea why.
I also packed some away - turned into a mess. Moths got into them somehow.
I can't ( and don't want to let the stickies just out for the bees to clean them
I may only take one or two frames out of a hive and to have a super with only say two frames above the supers seems to invite wild comb building.
Placing them in a sealed box with only an ant-sized hole is worth trying. Plenty of ants around. They may destroy the combs/eat the wax?
Any ideas most welcome.

 

[ccar2000]

Max,
Have you tried to use BT (bacillus thuringiensis) on your stored frames? It is used to kill caterpillars. I have used it in the garden sucessfully. This year I sprayed my empty comb with it and am storing them in an open sided shed. I will let you know how that goes. I have heard great success stories at the bee club meetings. If you do not want the bees to get at them you will have to seal them up somehow because they seem to find honey/syrup wherever it is hidden