Hi. I’m new to beekeeping and we have wax moth around our area. I thought I would try and be prepared in case I do get a wax moth infestation. I saw on eBay that there are some wax moth sticks available and was wondering if they work and if they would be fine for the bees :thinking The colony I have got is pretty strong and I have only seen a few larvae in the hive. Any help will be much appreciated 
Here are links to two sites that sell the sticks:
I’ll be interested in other peoples knowledge and experience of the product. I always like to see quantifiable information and I can’ t get that from the links above. Also some products used in USA for was moth control are not permittable in Australia anymore.
I have looked a the advertising. Nowhere does it state what the active ingredient is. I would never put anything unknown into the beehive, as a matter of principle. So thats a no no from me. And even if they did state the ingredient and i verified that it worked as a bee medicine, I would still be wary of buying from ebay.
Apart from that, wax moths should not be a major problem in a healthy hive. If you have moths you should try to build up your bees. Your problem is that you have a weak hive that needs support rather than having wax moths.
Wax moths can do serious damage to stored brood frames outside the hive, but that is a different issue.
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Hi Jim,
Thanks for replying. The colony seems quite strong at the moment and it might need to be split. Just thought I would see if anyone had used them and if they worked.
Thanks.
Hi Adam,
Thanks for answering. I will try to look into them further if possible.
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Best to avoid these I think. Looks like they could be made of cedar, which is a known moth repellent, but I’d be skeptical of how effective a few strips of it could be - not to mention being able to get cedar locally instead of from China if I did want to try it for this purpose.
By the way, wax moths can’t hurt a strong hive. They are typically the second-stage factor in a hive’s demise. If you want to be extra vigilant, you can look into making traps to hang in your apiary made of borax-sugar water and a ripe banana.
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I don’t think borax is available in Australia. It isn’t in much of Europe either. 
Thanks #Eva. The product does sound like something that might not be trusted. I will probably stay away from the product. I will also try out the trap.
Thanks😊
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Huh, didn’t realize that…I thought it was known as ‘washing powder’ elsewhere?
I have heard it called “laundry booster”, but I think it isn’t even available as that. In the UK at least, you just can’t buy some chemicals and borax is one of them. TSP (trisodium phosphate) and acetone are two others that you can get in Home Depot here, but you need a special license to buy them in the UK. The reasons for the restriction vary a bit, but it is usually either concern about environmental/water contamination, or it is something that can be used in the production of illicit substances… 
Borax is readily available here in Aus. I wasn’t aware it was used for moth control though.
What isn’t available, unfortunately, is the Bt strain aizawai which is used for wax moth control in the US.
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