Cleaning supers

[euanduncan]

We are new to beekeeping, and inherited a hive with supers half full of honey. We have extracted the honey but we're not sure what to do with the supers - do we strip off the wax, should we re-use the frames that had only small areas of comb built up, how do we clean the supers if we take off the wax, should we melt down the wax or just keep it in a ball for recycling?

[Rosie]

When I acquire second hand equipment I cut out all the wax for melting down, boil the frames, scrape clean and scorch the inside of the boxes, carry out any repairs to make the boxes bee-tight and water-tight and then retreat the outside. Then I feel safe to put the equipment with my own and expose my bees to it.

Presumably you didn't already have bees and and the super came from the same hive as your new bees inhabit. In that case I think you could do any of the above or nothing at all. It is a good feeling though to start with healthy, clean kit and have freshly drawn combs but if you do cut out the super wax I would leave about 3 good ones to encourage the bees back into the super when you first put it back onto the hive in the spring. I would put these in the centre and at the two walls. The centre one will encourage the bees to go up and the outer ones will encourage them to fill the super to the walls.

All the best
Rosie

[gavin]

Good advice. There are some well-known but infrequent bacterial diseases of the brood (foulbrood). Old supers might carry them, but the chance is low. There are also other things on frames that might impact on bees but are less deadly - maybe viruses and chalkbrood (a fungus) spores. These days if I have useable frames from colonies that died I put the whole box with frames in a big sealed dustbin bag with a cloth soaked in strong acetic acid to fumigate them. If they are not in good condition I just make a bonfire, as wood and foundation is relatively cheap but bees are not. Many would recycle the wax.

[Calum]

Hi
my two bits:
melt the wax and only use for candles - as mentioned you never know what bactreia are on the frames nor what 'medications' were used to treat varroa.
Burn the frames they are great for starting the fire - new foundation & frames are not that expensive.
Place the boxes in a hot-warm 5% caustic soda solution bath and scrub thourghly, or flame all the surfaces with a blowtorch till the wood surface turns light brown (easier and safter but not so effective).
That is the lowest risk recommendation I can offer.
Getting the bees to build up foundation is easier using Rosies recommendation - but alternatively undrawn frames can be placed on the edges of the brood nest where they will be quickly drawn out (well depending on nectar flow) these can be placed in the super after 2-3 days and the bees will continue the task of filling them out.
I always move the frames outwards when I do this and hang the outermost frames in the outermost positions in the super (with a drawing pin on them for identification). - I use these later for feed frames for nucs.

[Mellifera Crofter]

... These days if I have useable frames from colonies that died I put the whole box with frames in a big sealed dustbin bag with a cloth soaked in strong acetic acid to fumigate them. ...

Hooper says to fumigate all brood combs taken from a hive at any time of the year (so not just dead ones). Do I also need to fumigate frames from supers?
Kitta

[gavin]

Hi Kitta

Yes, any empty brood comb.

Hooper was working a large number of colonies and that risks the spread of disease. In general, if you are operating a closed system by taking precautions when you visit other beekeepers or they visit you, the risk of serious disease will be low. Do brood disease inspections though. I'd still fumigate empty brood comb (having removed any sealed cells) but I don't think that it is necessary for supers. However if I was a large-scale operator with known EFB I'd be replacing comb like crazy.

Fumigating brood comb gives advantages for the control of viruses, Nosema and EFB (when it is around in the area and so might be on the comb at a low level, not symptomatic disease in the colony). In super frames there might be EFB in honey but not having had brood or young bees I don't think that there is a high risk of the other things.

best wishes

Gavin

[Mellifera Crofter]

Thanks Gavin - that saves me a bit of work not having to worry about the supers as well.

Kitta

[gavin]

For anyone reading who may have obtained old comb from a retiring beekeeper or some other uncertain source, I'd burn or recycle the wax from supers too. Your own should be low risk.

[Jon]

I routinely fumigate old comb with 80% acetic acid.
I would be really wary of taking old comb from another beekeeper.

Bees will draw fresh comb very quickly from a starter strip at the right time of year.

I was at a presentation on AFB by Robert Paxton last Saturday and he pointed out that scorching equipment does not get rid of 100% of spores.
Having said that, I think the main risk is from old comb, especially old comb which has previously had brood reared in it.
He pointed out that AFB spores can be viable for up to 45 years so equipment sitting in the back of a barn for decades can still be a risk. The spores are highly tolerant of both heat and cold.

Bear in mind as well that brand new bee equipment is not that expensive. A Thorne seconds flatpack super is £12 and a broodbox is £18.
A lot of old beehives are best used as garden ornaments or getting a bonfire going.
A lot of them seem to be home made and do not always respect beespace. A couple of mm can make a lot of difference re the amount of brace comb and propolis produced.
Worse still, if the frames are a bit tight they can be next to impossible to remove.
I remember spending half an hour getting the first frame out of someone's hive which was a couple of mm too narrow.