Hi All, I have a fungus growing on the inside of my flow roof - bright orange. I scrapped it off and repainted my roof (on the outside) - but it is back. I noticed it on my first visit post winter (mid Sept). My guess is that I did not kill the spores and this is why it is back. I have attached a photo.
Should I just buy a new roof or can I clean it safely and most importantly does it impact the bees? It was suggested that I could use a mix of vinegar and bicarb. Any thoughts on this and the proportions?
In general, reaction between vinegar and bicarb looks like this:
NaHCO3 + HC2H3O2 → NaC2H3O2 + H2O + CO2
Carbon dioxide is gas that disappears from the solution. Water is harmless. And sodium acetate is also known as food additive E262, which gives potato chips a salt and vinegar flavour. It would be very hard to poison anything by this concoction. My bet - sodium acetate will be taken as an additional nutrient with thanks.
It is hard to get rid of fungus on wood because there is always a good chance that part of it is embedded into the wood and protected by it.
What could be done:
Wood can be scorched with blowtorch. A trick here is to raise temperature inside of the wood to the level when it is instantly deadly to fungus. By the end of the exercise it will be a completely blackened surface. Probably damaged paint on other side.
Soak wood in concentrated fungicide solution for a while (hours). Painted part represents a problem because it prevents fungicide from entering the wood. Ideally paint should be stripped before soaking.
If the options above do not look like fun, replacement of the cover is the simplest way to go. Treat it with a fungicide like copper naphthenate before painting, or at least paint it on both sides. Wax dipping is another more bee-friendly option.
Welcome Lisa! Good info from ABB In your shoes I might pry off the slats and redo them, or replace with a metal roof remnant if you can get one. @Dawn_SD did something similar I believe.
Thank you to @Eva and @ABB for your suggestions. I wanted to share the outcomes. I followed @ABBs suggestion of the blow torch - done in November. It seemed to work but my recent check of the hive (late Jan) shows the fungus may be coming back - very small spot. I am thinking I will buy a replacement roof and explore how to do the wax dipping option for my new roof.
another option would be to just put a standard langstroth lid on your hive. In some ways they have advantages: you can place the super onto them when doing an inspection. They are simpler and easier to maintain. The flow peaked roof looks nice but doesn’t have many advantages. About the only thing I can think of is you can put a feeder in them more easily.
Great advice jack. When it comes to the quaintness factor the gabled roof certainly has it covered for 1 hive in the back yard. But when it comes to stacking, shifting or tying down the quaintness factor soon wears off. And as you say the standard flat roof is so good for sitting the super on while doing brood inspections. If the hive is just in the back yard and never gets shifted, I think we all like something that looks appealing.
In your shoes I might pry off the slats and redo them, or replace with a metal roof remnant if you can get one. 