Author Topic: moths on stored frames (Read 10370 times)

rober · « **on:** October 01, 2016, 11:50:59 am »

I typically have put extracted frames out for the bees to clean, frozen them after, & stored them with moth crystals. this year I froze them & stored them wet. I have spacers with drawers for installing crystals. the crystals evaporate over time & need replacing periodically. yesterday I found dead moths in the drawer & upon checking the stack found 2 boxes that were infested.
I'm dealing with those. the other stacks were not bothered. could storing them wet have made them more attractive? I've not had this problem before even when I stored some outdoors. the shed the frames are in is new. it has a vented soffit & I haven't installed the bird block yet could have given the moths access. the door is weather stripped & all the sills are thoroughly sealed. I'm installing bird blocks today & will use some aerosol bug bombs to kill any hiding moths. should I refreeze the rest of the infested stack or will spraying them with BT & adding fresh moth crystal be enough?
here's the moth drawers I designed. wood frames with pvc pipe slide out drawers.:

Lburou · « **Reply #1 on:** October 01, 2016, 01:00:05 pm »

Quote from: rober

...today & will use some aerosol bug bombs to kill any hiding moths...

What chemical(s) are in the bug bomb? Hearing you say that makes me wince at the possibility of contaminated honeycombs after bug bomb use. I would freeze and use paramoth before trying bug bomb. But, if it works for you, let us all know.

Our local WalMart sells the Dichlorobenzene crystals (paramoth label calls it Para-Dichlorobenzene 100%). You could put those crystals in your PVC pipe too. Air the supers ouT a few days before use and you are golden. Label also says not to use with 'wet' supers. HTH

Be sure not to buy moth balls or crystals with naphthalene, they will kill the bees.

brooksbeefarm · « **Reply #2 on:** October 01, 2016, 01:22:51 pm »

Like Lburou said, also after i treat with BT i don't use moth crystals, but i don't store wet supers. Sounds like the wax moths found your supers again and probably laid eggs in them?i would think if you sprayed bt on them and let them dry before storing them that would kill any larva that hatched out. I have frames that are sprayed with bt that have a 2 in. to 4 in. streak were the wax moth larva traveled, but that's as far as they got before the bt killed them. Jack

kebee · « **Reply #3 on:** October 01, 2016, 02:18:13 pm »

Like Jack I always let the bees clean the super of honey than spray with bt and stack them up and cove with a piece of cardboard with a 3/4 inch plywood cut a little larger than the boxes and put a concrete block on top. Have never had any moths in them yet.

Ken

rober · « **Reply #4 on:** October 01, 2016, 02:25:15 pm »

1st-when I use the bomb all stacks will be covered. anything porous or any surface the bees will contact will be covered or removed. the bomb is for treating the room, not frames or equipment. I went thru 4 stacks of boxes & they were only in one which was actually a stack of deeps & they mostly in older comb. I added a 2nd spacer drawer for crystals to each 7' tall stack.
I might have missed freezing a frame or 2 or the moths came in thru the soffit. I just came in for lunch & will be headed back out to install the bird blocks in case that is how they got in.
with as many hives as I have now freezing frames is going to be a royal pita unless I buy another freezer. I know the girls clean up the honey & BT takes care of the moths but when the frames are out while being cleaned they can invaded by beetles which I why freeze them.

Lburou · « **Reply #5 on:** October 01, 2016, 02:45:44 pm »

Quote from: rober on October 01, 2016, 02:25:15 pm

...the bomb is for treating the room, not frames or equipment...

That will work! Whew, glad I misunderstood you rober.

rober · « **Reply #6 on:** October 01, 2016, 03:10:10 pm »

Lburou-there are moths lurking in the shed & they are hard to see. i'll set off the bomb after I install the bird blocks. I used a commercial hollow metal door so i'll need to caulk the jamb where it meets the siding as well. the sills were sealed with a good grad of urethane caulk & I caulked the plywood sheathing where it overlapped down past the sill onto the concrete. I get kinda' anal & overbuild things. if I'm building for hire & get a callback it's to build something new not to fix a screw up. I'm not saying that I never make mistakes but I learned early on that if you keep your eyes, ears, & mind open you can learn a from other peoples mistakes.

Lburou · « **Reply #7 on:** October 01, 2016, 06:47:49 pm »

You reminded me of a similar situation with my shop. We built it and used foam insulation. Come to find out there was a four inch strip along the floor of the attic storage without foam which allowed the moths to move at will. They destroyed quite a bit of wax that winter and the next. We resprayed the foam and this year and it has been a lot better. STill have a few, but not many. Noticed an improvement when I re-caulked around the window A/C unit. Fingers crossed now.

LazyBkpr · « **Reply #8 on:** October 01, 2016, 09:09:37 pm »

Just spraying the frames with BT should keep the moths out of them. tossing the paramoth about the shed should keep the moths out of IT.. I have not had any issues with frames I sprayed BT on...

CBT · « **Reply #9 on:** October 01, 2016, 09:22:13 pm »

We let the bees clean them up spray with BT then place on a pallet covered with plywood. Stack 5 foot high place a paper plate on top with moth balls the right kind, wrap with pallet wrap and put in a open shed. You can buy a hand held stretch wrap and stack hives and wrap edges and top with it. Makes a cocoon for your boxes.

gtrr4 · « **Reply #10 on:** October 06, 2016, 12:36:42 pm »

Take this from a new Beek that has experience with wax moths. I did same process as last year, let the bees clean and store in a heavy duty landscaping bag. Had no issues last year, this year the moths ate through the plastic and now I have a mess. I will invest in BT next year.

rober · « **Reply #11 on:** October 07, 2016, 09:12:51 am »

BT is not a silver bullet either. it needs to be renewed yearly. the frames I just lost were sprayed with BT last year. they also had had moth crystals put on them. the crystals evaporate over time & need replaced. that's what happened with this stack. when I pulled out the pvc drawer I found dead moths in it because the crystal were spent. I'm lucky I found them when I did. I only lost 8 frames of comb. there were 10 full boxes of comb in the stack. 2 more stacks that still had crystals were unbothered. that's why I've gone to the drawers. it makes it a lot easier to add new crystals. i put 2 drawers in taller stacks. one on the bottom & one near the top. the gaps at the soffit have been sealed & the shed has been bug bombed so hopefully all is well. I will check the stacks again before freezing weather hits.
I have some mite away strips that I no longer use for mites. i'm putting those in the moth drawer frames hoping to help with beetle larva. you sometimes beat the moths only to lose frames to beetle larva.

Lburou · « **Reply #12 on:** October 07, 2016, 09:21:19 am »

Quote from: rober on October 07, 2016, 09:12:51 am

...I have some mite away strips that I no longer use for mites. i'm putting those in the moth drawer frames hoping to help with beetle larva. you sometimes beat the moths only to lose frames to beetle larva.

FWIW rober, formic acid is heavier than air. I doubt it would help with the larva and it is a breathing hazard for you and your pets.

rober · « **Reply #13 on:** October 07, 2016, 09:39:15 am »

i'm aware of the hazards. if you look at the moth drawer frames you can see the empty spaces next to the pvc. that's where I put the mite away. so it's sealed in the stacks. they should be gone by the time I need those boxes next year. i'll NEVER use mite away in my hives again so i'm trying to get some sort of use out them.

Lburou · « **Reply #14 on:** October 07, 2016, 10:54:29 am »

Quote from: rober on October 07, 2016, 09:39:15 am

...I'll NEVER use mite away in my hives again so i'm trying to get some sort of use out them.

Tell us about your experience with MAQS rober, if you have already told us I missed it.

rober · « **Reply #15 on:** October 07, 2016, 05:36:01 pm »

the one time I used it I lost 1/2 of my queens & the rest of the hives declined in population. 1 hive absconded. I followed the directions & the temperatures were within their recommendations. since then IF I treat I use apiguard. i'm also going to do follow ups with oxalic acid.

Lburou · « **Reply #16 on:** October 07, 2016, 07:00:41 pm »

Thanks rober, that does sound like a horror story.

iddee · « **Reply #17 on:** October 07, 2016, 07:41:08 pm »

That story was repeated so many times and by so many people that they changed the formula. It's not happening like that with the new maqs.

rober · « **Reply #18 on:** October 08, 2016, 09:34:15 am »

I had not heard that iddee. I just shared my personal experience from 4 years ago. M.A.Q.S. should advertise that fact. I paid a lot of money for something that killed my hives. they'd have to give me a tub of pads to get me to try it again.

LazyBkpr · « **Reply #19 on:** October 08, 2016, 04:31:21 pm »

Did not know they changed the formula either. I will stop slamming them so hard. Thanks Iddee!