[curt.anderson1867]

What would wipe out an entire new hive within two weeks of putting in new hive. I used old drawn comb that had had some moth damage. I eliminated the moths by freezing. The supers have been stacked in the garage for two years and I used a packed of moth balls in the bottom of the stack. the frames were aired out be for using. Comb looked old and black with some old pollen and some webbing. I purchased three packs of bees from Rossman on May 16. The one hive is doing great, no dead bees. Hives two and three were all dead in the bottom of the full super. I burned all of the frames and bleached soaked hive body parts. What ever killed them was fast acting.

 

[ericweller]

If I had to guess, I would say it was the moth balls. You should not use ordinary moth balls to prevent wax moths. Purchase a product called Para-Moth (https://www.mannlakeltd.com/para-mothr) to control wax moths on drawn frames.
It could be that the bees absconded due to the moth ball smell instead of dying.

 

[ifixoldhouses]

What would wipe out an entire new hive within two weeks of putting in new hive. I used old drawn comb that had had some moth damage. I eliminated the moths by freezing. The supers have been stacked in the garage for two years and I used a packed of moth balls in the bottom of the stack. the frames were aired out be for using. Comb looked old and black with some old pollen and some webbing. I purchased three packs of bees from Rossman on May 16. The one hive is doing great, no dead bees. Hives two and three were all dead in the bottom of the full super. I burned all of the frames and bleached soaked hive body parts. What ever killed them was fast acting.

I'd say moth balls, you might try a nuc out, Bruce's Bees on Youtube is in Dothan, He might sell you one, has 5,000 subs on YT.

 

[ericweller]

Another treatment that I tried with some success is XenTari BT. If the frame you are spraying has no pollen in the cells, the BT works great. If there is pollen, nothing will stop the moths or SHB larvae from moving in. I sprayed all of my honey frames last August and the ones I have pulled out of storage are perfectly fine. This is where I purchased it https://www.7springsfarm.com/xentari-df-biological-insecticide-bt-1-lb-bag/

 

[curt.anderson1867]

Thanks. I am reasonably sure it was the moth balls. I have been using moth balls for years with no problems. I never paid any attention to what type. I was in a hurry several months ago and grabbed a bag without really looking at it. It said "MOTH BALLS" in nice big letters. I went back and looked closer at the bag and in small letters I read, "Kills moths, larva, and beetles" the active ingredient was p-Dichlorobenzene. Hard lesson learned. I removed all moth balls from my storage area. I freeze all frames coming off a hive for two weeks and then stack them in the garage. I may have to do a weekly check and just refreeze when I see any evidence of new moths. I may get in touch with Bruce Bees. I really need to start attending the local bee keepers association meetings.