Well Ive just about had enough... I have been dealing with chalkbrood for the last 4 months, people say re-queen... well I did that and still got issues... even my strongest breeder hive some 3 yrs old has never had chalkbrood ever! so I raised my own queens from that hive and re queened with those queens I raised. nope still chalk brood. now I have just seen chalkbrood in my strongest hive..
I have cut out a hive from a tree over Christmas, found the queen ect ect.. examined the combs for any evidence of chalkbrood, put them in a hive and guess what... yep chalkbrood.. So some people say its genetic.. well im not so sure.. .Because I have not seen chalkbrood in my strongest hive ever, and the cut out hive did not have it either! So I have started experimenting, I have gone to the extreme of changing out the old combs, bashing the bees out of the box, and using combs that I have frozen from the last time I extracted honey ( clean white drawn wax) and of coarse a queen cell. and yep you guessed it, still chalkbrood!!!
Even the hives that don't block the vent holes in the lid still get it. I thought I was the cause, spreading it, but I sterilize my hive tool with a blow torch and spray my gloves with alcohol, before I move to another hive.. And all the hives are in the sun..?
Going to try a hive out with no bottom board to let the chalkbrood fall out on the ground and stop the spore count from rising from bees trying to remove the mummies out of the hive and then going back on to the combs.. Does anyone have any other ideas? tips ?Thanks in advance!