Hope all is going well
I have had a disaster run with my bees , last Xmas was ready to harvest when the coolony swarmed and left me with a nearly empty hive
I built up the colony again and NOW
I have come home from 2 months holiday to find the hive is infested with Beetles and Larvae and is very slimed out.
What do you suggest is my next step ?
How do I clean the frames , box , super etc
Before I start again // 2yrs with the flow hive and no honey as yet , now I dont even have any bees , very sad
Thanks for any advise in advance … PS I dont have a freezer to freeze the frames as I have read in other posts.
David, this is a very common issue particularly with new beekeepers.
Read this post Hive Massacre - Wax Moth or Hive Beetle? to gain some insights. Varroa hasn’t been detected in your area yet, so you have time to learn before the inevitable onslaught.
Mike
Hi David, welcome to the forum. “Very sad”, to say the least.
Your next step would be to scrape everything down, while making sure that no beetle larvae make it to ground. Then clean everything, bar the flow frames with hot soapy water, before rinsing with clean water. The flow frames can be pressure cleaned to see how clean they come. Otherwise they can be disassembled, cleaned before reassembling them. I let wax moth clean flow frames for a client, which worked well, however it took a few months.
Ditto to what @aussiemike said, especially about reading the other topic. You might find my 5 point beetle strategy useful going forward.
In closing, I just want to point out that hot, humid weather is the weather that beetles love to breed up in. Therefore during these periods we need to be particularly diligent in trying to prevent that from happening.
Welcome to the forum, So sorry to hear about your tough run—it’s heartbreaking when things don’t go as planned. Great suggestion from mike and jeff
! You’ve put in a lot of effort—don’t give up! Each setback is a learning step, and with a strong start, your next season could be your best yet. Wishing you success!
Hi Isobella
Yeah you do get attached to the girls
Was devastated when they swarmed as the hive was so healthy
I really don’t think they really recovered from that event
The next brood will be a fresh start
Just have to get the run down on how to clean up and start back up from info received I think I will be able to reuse the frames once they are all cleaned up
It’s gunna be a yucky job the hive is super slimed
