Cleaning and starting new after maggots moved in

[nathank]

Hi folks, recently i was away on holidays and came back to an empty hive (looks like they swarmed when i was away), and maggots had moved in to slime the brood box

Ive since hosed and cleaned out the brood box, but even though the flow frames had been capped, the honey smelt off so i had drained it.

Is there a good method to clean the frames? I was thinking about running them through the dishwasher on 40 degrees to clean out the old wax and old rancid honey.

I also had issues with my previous bees not usijg all the flow frames, they would avoid 1/2 or a side entirely. So not sure how best to get the bees to use them without cleaning it all up.

Any advice on starting again before i get a new batch of bees?

Thanks!

-nat

[skeggley]

Can flow hive frames be sanitized after pests?

Thanks @Dan2, Our Cleaning/Sterilisation faq has been updated on our website: https://www.honeyflow.com/faqs/all/flow-frame-sterilisation-irradiation-disease-control/p/145#a4 1 Under normal conditions, it is not necessary to clean your Flow Frames (click here for information on routine cleaning and storage of Flow Frames). In some jurisdictions cleaning may be necessary prior to sterilisation as a means of disease control—please contact your local department of primary industries for region-…

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[Dawn_SD]

@nathank

I was thinking about running them through the dishwasher on 40 degrees to clean out the old wax and old rancid honey.

I wouldn’t risk the dishwasher unless you are single and very patient. @busso has a hilarious story about that. A sink or bucket of hand hot water and detergent would be much better. I would use the detergent, as it really does sound like an SHB slime out, as @skeggley implies in his post. SHB carry fermenting organisms, which make the honey smell bad, and may persist in the frames. If that smell persists, the bees won’t touch the frames.

Sorry for your loss.