[rad798]

Have been using Xentari for a couple of years now with good results.
Although I have always stored treated comb in the house.
This year, I plan to store under a lean to shed. Does freezing temps kill the BT? Just curious how other folks have fared using BT with comb stored outdoors where it freezes in the winter. I guess I should not have to worry about moths in winter but worried about early next spring.

Read through the old threads and seems like a lot of different amounts are used. What amount do most people use with a gallon of water.

Last of all, just ordered a new bag online. Does anyone have the meanings for the latest date codes on Xentari.

 

[Ravenseye]

Not sure about the codes. It does expire after a while. Not long ago Amazon was selling expired BT and a lot of us thought we were protected and learned over the winter that we were not.

I spray my comb, stack the supers in my very cold barn and I'm good to go. Here's a link regarding the mixture. I took a pic of the instructions. You may find it useful!

https://www.beesource.com/forums/showthread.php?315229-Xentari-BTA-for-treating-Wax-Moth

 

[Eikel]

Pretty much the same as Ravenseye but sometimes the drawn comb only comes in by a super or two; too few frames for a gal and I don't like BTa solutions sitting around very long. Seems to pick up an unpleasant smell. For small frame quantities I put 1/4 tsp in one of the 28-36 oz sprayers.

 

[Vance G]

I have used aiazawa strain bt zentari for years. I freshly mix small quantities to spray frames before long term storage. I spray frames as they come out of the extractor for storage and Deadouts and other brood combs are hopefully sprayed before the commercial guys bring the wax moths north with them in May and June. I leave a bucket of water by my stacks. When I get a wax moth problem, a number of silver moths are drowned in the bucket and I know I need to do a little looking.

I have no idea how long the spores last but I read that out of shelf life dated powder loses about 2 1/2% effectiveness a year. I think that your sprayed boxes should be good for several years and you should have used them by then or sold them.

 

[NY14804]

Contact Valent Biosciences (maker of Xentari) directly, to have them decipher their date code. They did it for a friend a few years ago.

 

[rad798]

Well, just got off the phone with Valent. The Lot number for the 1 lb bag I just received is 272-437-PG.
The Valent person said it was made in December 2016 and has a 2 year shelf life. I thought it was 3 but she said 2.

Bought mine on Ebay where seller had in all caps saying "YOU WILL RECEIVE BRAND NEW INVENTORY DIRECT FROM VALENT! Packing it up now to be returned to seller.

Also, currently have emails in to 2 other sellers to see what lot code is before I buy again.
Will update, if I hear anything.
If anyone else knows where to buy fresh stock, please let me know.

 

[Beebeard]

My first bag of xentari expired and quit working. I’m trying Monterey this season, comes as a liquid concentrate. I can’t remember which strain it is, but I’ve heard it’s good for wax moths. I’ll find out soon enough.

 

[Randyw]

https://www.forestrydistributing.com/xentari-df-biological-insecticide-omri-listed-valent

Bought from here last year, fresh stock.

 

[BowersBees]

I reached out to Valent regarding expiration date, and i got a response stating:

"XenTari has an incredible shelf-life so you do not need to worry about expiration date. This particular lot was created 2 years ago, but I’ve tested product after 8 years without any loss in potency. The insecticidal component of XenTari is crystalized proteins which, since crystals are the sturdiest structures in nature, gives them their unusually good stability."

So i guess i will see if my product works this year or not.

 

[JasonA]

How long after using BT is it safe to use back in the hive. I'd much rather use BT as opposed to moth crystals on brood comb.