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
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!
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.