[casper_zip]

I saw a beehive about 25 miles from here that if I can will go and take pictures. On the landing board, was a pile of rotten goo, like the whole hive erupted into a sickening mess. I am looking up all bee diseases to see if I can identify it. The owner said he was going to completely burn both hives. There were no living bees to be seen. However, in his apiary, were 4 0r 5 hives healthy, doing good. Anyone who can, please chime in. As soon as I can will go back there and take pictures of this huge disaster.

Thanks and all the best,

casper_zip

 

[robb2k]

Won't smh beetle do that? The honey will ferment and then ooze right on out.

 

[Robbin]

Yep, sounds like that got slimed by SHB. Which means he has a problem in all his hives. If they are weak, he's going to lose them. He should treat them while he still has a can.

 

[Michael Bush]

The ONLY reason to ever burn a hive (other than it's so rotten you can't piece it back together) is AFB. There is no reason to burn it because of anything else. Not SHB. Not Wax moths. Not mice. Not Nosema. I think the idea of burning to fix problems gets planted in people's brains and they start to see it as a solution... it's only a solution for AFB.

 

[casper_zip]

Don't think either hive is worth saving. They are pretty well ready for the fire pile. I will go one day when we can get together and get rid of these two, and he will replace them with new hives. There are no bees to save in both these two. They were neglected far too long to be saved. I hate it for the bees, they deserve better living conditions. I hate SHB, too.
casper

 

[Ravenzero]

I was driving along the 5 Freeway in Salem OR and saw a couple of hives at the edge of a farm. the hive boxes were dilapidated and some didnt even have a hive cover, just left out in the air.... No bees anywhere. Just abandoned boxes....

 

[Andrew Dewey]

It may be that what Casper_Zip reports is true - that neither hive is in condition to be physically saved. In that case burning is a decent way to dispose of them.

What Michael says is very true also - the only disease the warrants burning is AFB.

 

[rsjohnson2u]

Not to change the subject, but what about EFB? I have a hive that has EFB that did not respond to requeening, and was placed on all new foundation and requeened a second time. The hive next to it became cross contaminated. Now I have as many as thirty frames that may be affected. As a third year beekeeper, this number of frames represents a significant percentage of my drawn comb. what should I do with it?

 

[mdax]

Burning them right off seems rash, I'd open them up and see what's going on first.
Probably all gooped up with shb's everywhere, wax moth webs and other bugs...definitely in need of a deep cleaning, but not burning unless you believe it's American Foulbrood.

 

[homesteader824]

The reason to burn hives infected with American Foulbrood (AFB) is because the disease creates spores that can live 50-70 years on its own. Antibiotics don't kill the spores. European Foulbrood (EFB) can be treated with antibiotics, and it does not create the long-lived spores associated with AFB. Requeening breaks the brood cycle. Since EFB only attacks brood, and not adult bees, a break in the brood cycle can "starve out" the disease. AFB is the only disease that lingers on in the hive; all others can be eliminated with medication and/or management.

 

[rsjohnson2u]

On the EFB, anecdotal evidence that beekeepers experience a reoccurrence or new EFB outbreak each spring or when the flow is over and the hive stressed makes me wonder. I realize that in even in the colder north, there is probably never a completely brood less period, it would seem the bacteria survives in the hive for some time, even if it doesn't create spores. I've read in theses forums of UNtreated hives with perpetual outbreaks, such as three years in a row.

 

[Bees In Miami]

I agree with the others...he probably has two Small Hive Beetle breeding boxes right now. As others have said, there is no "need" to burn the equipment....but having dealt with one of these "shb colonies' myself, the clean-up is as disgusting as it gets...and at about $1 a frame, I chose to discard the frames. I hosed off the box and bottom board. If he has anybody with chickens near by, they LOVE shb larvae! They will gladly peck them off the frames! Depending on how long you leave them for the birds, the frames may be salvageable....I can tell you that two days wasn't long enough... He better make sure he keeps the rest of his colonies strong. He also needs to get those boxes out of his yard....like....yesterday!