Moldy Hive??

[Clarence]

When I opened my bee hives this spring I found that all the bees were dead, and there was a lot of mold on the frames. I decided to take this year off from beekeeping, but want to start up again in the spring.

[Clarence]

Can I use the hives if I clean out the mold? what would be the best way to clean the mold that would be bee friendly ? what can I do do prevent this from happing again? any help would be great. I'v been beekeeping for three years now and still feel like I don't know a thing. thank you

[bee_pipes]

...the bees were dead, and there was a lot of mold on the frames...


...use the hives if I clean out the mold?...
...bee friendly ?...
... prevent this from happing again?...


The moldy hive and dead bees are related. A healthy colony will do housekeeping that prevents the hive from getting moldy. Bees use propolis to seal holes and coat their hive. Propolis is a bee glue that is hydroscopic – it absorbs moisture and sends bacteria, fungus and mold into suspension. So does honey. The bees will glob cracks and corners with propolis, but I believe they are coating the inside with it too – frames get tacky/sticky after a short time. Spores and bacteria are always present; they just can’t actively flourish in that environment. Factors that can contribute to a moldy hive are moisture – the hive is in a bad spot or subject to water; too much real-estate for the bees to stay on top of – an over-wintering colony with too much space to maintain; or a reduction in colony population – disease, parasites or population reduction due to swarming (which really results in too much real-estate for the population to keep up).

As to which came first, the moldy hive or the dead bees, I suspect the dead bees. I don’t know – there wasn’t really enough information, and if you were not observing hive activity closely, it may be too late to determine the cause.

Back to your question – yeah, you can reuse the hive parts, but you’re taking a risk. For the brood and super boxes use chlorine bleach, a good scrubbing inside and out and a few days in the air and sun to get the chlorine to dissipate. The frames are going to be the worst part – I am assuming you have comb with brood, honey and pollen. First off, these combs can attract all sorts of pests without the bees to maintain them. Ants and mice will be delighted to eat the comb, and wax moths will view the bounty as the next metropolis. Old comb will have to be removed and the frames scraped. Frames need to be treated with the same chlorine bleach, scrubbing, sunshine and fresh air as the brood boxes and supers. Disassemble them as far as possible without breaking them. I nail and glue my frames together, but the wedge that holds foundation in is put on with staples so I can replace comb, if need be. If you do the same, remove the wedge before bleaching and scrubbing.

The wax may not be a total loss. I hate to throw away wax. If not completely rotted, you may be able to melt it down and clean it up. Hydrogen peroxide will settle a host of impurities out of melted wax.

The hive parts will have a tendency to mold after that. Mold is encouraged by still air. You will need to keep the parts well aired out until they get used. You may need to touch them up again just before using them, so put the foundation in just before installing the package. You don’t really want hive parts that tend towards mold with foundation sitting around for weeks or months before using. Aside from the mold issue, you are inviting spiders, wax moths and other critters to move in.

I have heard of people torching hive parts – especially after having a foul-brood outbreak. Using a soldering torch, toast all exposed wood on the inside of the hive. Torching wood is not recommended by a lot of “experts” for reusing hives that have had foulbrood or other disease, but I’ve heard of it being done. This might be something to consider in addition to the bleach scrub.

Well, that’s my opinion, and you know what they say about opinions. With $200+ for a basic langstroth hive, I would also be reluctant to write off a hive. Chlorine bleach is not exactly bee friendly, but it is the most powerful household disinfectant readily available. With proper care to airing out and such, I believe it can be used safely.

I left two supers on hives over the winter. I was lazy and used the excuse that I had no place to store the parts through the winter. I started seeing mold on the inner cover, top-bars and a feeder I was using. The feeders were the worst – I scrubbed those with bleach and they have been returned to operation. The hives are doing okay – one of them even swarmed, so it would appear they had no problem with producing a healthy population. It was a negligent rookie mistake on my part and I won’t repeat the mistake.

Best of luck to you next season.

Regards,
Pat