Repairing and reusing hive bodies (boxes) after wax moths have marred them, and how to repair such as with wood putty?

After wax moths have marred some of my hive boxes I am seeking a healthy way to fill the pock marks left so that the otherwise good equipment can still be used…but how to do that?? … Sand them (alot), add warmed bee’s wax with a putty knife to smooth over the pock marks?? Any success stories about not “trashing” those hive boxes??

Not “trashing” hive boxes is the story of my life. I would do nothing with those pock marks. They probably add a bit of character to the inside of the box.

If they are second hand boxes that you want to reuse, and you don’t know the history, I would suggest to thoroughly scrape the boxes clean of dirt, wax & propolis before lightly scorching the inside, including the edges just to make sure you kill any possible spores that may remain.

cheers

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Hello and welcome to the Flow forum!

I agree with @JeffH, I generally just leave them. After all, if you think about bees in the wild, the inside of a hollow tree trunk will not be a pristine smooth surface, and the bees don’t care at all! :wink:

When I have had lower quality hives with big knots, sometimes the knot is unstable, or even falls out. In that case, I have used a standard household wood filler. I use one that can be cleaned up with water, because that usually means it won’t have a lot of volatile solvents to off-gas. Once it is thoroughly dry (I wait about a month) and sanded, it is inert and not toxic for the bees. Leaving the wood alone would be better, but with holes, you can’t really do that. :blush: