Topic: cleaning beehives

[zeed]

Hi, I have been lucky enough to have someone, very experienced, to offer to teach me beekeeping. I asked him about cleaning the hives, and he said "Oh, the bees do that".
Is this so? What about diseases? Another beekeeper, who I know, said he is what is known as a "dirty beekeeper". Any advice? Should I still learn from him and bear in mind that hygiene is important? Beekeeping courses are always fully booked around here. Thanks. Zeed

[tonybloke]

Hi, and welcome to a4a.

to clean hives, first remove and either discard or melt down the wax, the frames can be cleaned in washing soda ( but don't cost enough to justify this for me, I but new)

the inside of the hive body (brood box, supers, crown board, floor, etc, are cleaned by firstly thoroughly scraping, then going over with a blow-lamp, to lightly scorch the wood ( this kills almost everything!)

rgds, Tonybloke ( Norfolk Beekeeper)

Oh, and join
http://www.beekeepingforum.co.uk

[Melbourne12]

Hi, I have been lucky enough to have someone, very experienced, to offer to teach me beekeeping. I asked him about cleaning the hives, and he said "Oh, the bees do that".
Is this so? What about diseases? Another beekeeper, who I know, said he is what is known as a "dirty beekeeper". Any advice? Should I still learn from him and bear in mind that hygiene is important? Beekeeping courses are always fully booked around here. Thanks. Zeed

As so often with these things, the answer is "yes ... and no".

Bees are indeed very hygienic creatures.  They remove dead bees, dead larvae, and any debris from the hives.  They fly outside before going to the loo.

BUT

Remember that we're keeping them in artificial conditions, very often with more colonies close by than is natural.  (They may not be your colonies, but unless you're really in the boondocks, you can be sure that there'll be other beekeepers nearby.)  Disease can easily spread, as can infestations of varroa mites.

You'll learn about the different diseases and parasites from your mentor, but it's good practice to keep things clean:

• Wash your gloved hands and hive tools in washing soda/bleach solution as you move between hives
• Similarly, keep your bee suit clean
• Keep the area around the hive clear of long grass and weeds which can harbour pests and give them access to the hives
• Don't dump sugar syrup, bits of comb, or anything near to the hive
• Swap at least a third of brood box frames for new ones each year
• Swap the brood boxes occasionally, cleaning the recycled ones with washing soda and bleach (this is a good time to re-apply cuprinol and mend any gaps)  Also swap out and clean floors, crown boards, and even roofs if they look a bit mouldy.

As well as this, you will of course need to take specific disease and pest management and control measures, but keeping clean will minimise potential problems.

We wish you well - it's a great thing to do.  :)

Edit: Oh, and good recommendation from Tonybloke about the beekeeping forum

[Robert_Brenchley]

As long as the hives aren't filthy, there's only one disease which you really have to worry about, and that's American Foulbrood (AFB). I'd say burn the frames rather than salvaging them, as replacements are cheap enough. If you want to keep them, follow Tony's advice, though I'd use caustic soda rather than washing soda. It does the same thing but more powerfully. Handle it with care though, and always add it to water not the other way round. Scorching the inside of the hive as Tony suggests will deal with AFB, which is mainly on the frames anyway if it is present. It's very unlikely, but it's mainly spread by beekeepers moving frames between hives, and it's a horrible thing, so it's as well to be careful!

You can melt the old combs out in the oven if you're careful. Cut it out of the frames, and put it on some sort of mesh; I use an old anglers' maggot sieve. Leave it in an extremely low oven for several hours, and don't let it drip anywhere near a flame! A lot of wax will remain in the crud left behind, but there's not much you can do about that unless you can improvise a steam melter. The wax can be used to make candles, handcream, polish, all sorts of things, or exchanged for new foundation.

[cjb02]

cleaning hives is very very important. As Tonybloke says scorch with a blow torch, America foul brood (AFB) and European foul brood (EFB) I would say are your most serious diseases to be concerned about but not the only ones.

wikipedia tells you about AFB and EFB  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diseases_of_the_honey_bee

bee keeping forums are great, I recommend the beekeeping forum to but there are others.

The Scottish bee keeping association forum http://www.sbai.org.uk/sbai_forum/
The British bee keeping association forum http://www.britishbee.org.uk/forum/index.php
and an excellent American forum called beesource http://www.beesource.com/forums/

I would also suggest joining a local association.

And lastly in bee keeping there is a saying "ask 2 bee keepers for advice and get 3 opinions"

by the way bee keeping is lots and lots of fun so enjoy

CJB

[zeed]

Thanks everybody for the advice. I shall. certainly keep everything as clean as possible. I use caustic soda in my work so I am used to handling it. I always neutralize it after use with vinegar, so I shall do that. Regards, Zeed

[Robert_Brenchley]

The difference between AFB and the others is the sheer indestructibility of the bacteria which cause it! As long as you get rid of the old comb, you don't really have to worry about passing anything else on. EFB is serious, and getting more common, but the bacteria  everpresent anyway, and the reasons why it develops into a disease aren't known. The bacteria live in the larva's gut, and if there are too many there, the larva starves. Basically, if you see brood disease, call in a bee inspector. The local Beekeepers' Association will put you in touch. Meanwhile, take precautions.

I've only seen sick larvae twice; once was starvation in a hive that expanded fast in spring, then couldn't feed them in a wet spell, and the other was chilled brood in a split.