Welcome, Guest

Author Topic: Sterilise hive  (Read 11582 times)

Offline ncross

  • New Bee
  • *
  • Posts: 19
Sterilise hive
« on: January 08, 2011, 03:47:13 am »
Hi,

I had a hive which was queenless and they expired. There was no disease or anything evident. However, the comb was old so I burnt it. I have just bought a heat gun to try to sterilise the gear before using it on another hive. Can you please tell me what temperature I should set the heat gun to effectively do the job please.

Thank you

Online Michael Bush

  • Universal Bee
  • *******
  • Posts: 19832
  • Gender: Male
    • bushfarms.com
Re: Sterilise hive
« Reply #1 on: January 08, 2011, 03:53:48 am »
Nothing to sterilize...
My website:  bushfarms.com/bees.htm en espanol: bushfarms.com/es_bees.htm  auf deutsche: bushfarms.com/de_bees.htm  em portugues:  bushfarms.com/pt_bees.htm
My book:  ThePracticalBeekeeper.com
-------------------
"Everything works if you let it."--James "Big Boy" Medlin

Offline ncross

  • New Bee
  • *
  • Posts: 19
Re: Sterilise hive
« Reply #2 on: January 08, 2011, 08:27:42 am »
Hi Michael

Thanks for your reply. Ok, I presume you mean if there was no disease apparent then there is no need to run a heat gun over the hive?

My father used to tell me to use a blow torch on the second hand hives which we bought when I was in my teens. The logic was perhaps a little different we didn't know what stock had been in the hives but he thought that by doing this that we were making the hives safe from potential disease. I just bought a heat gun yesterday to attempt to do the same thing with this hive. You never know perhaps after it became weak it may have been robbed and who knows whether some unwanted fungus or disease or whatever may have found it's way into the hive even if there is no sign of it. I want to err on the side of caution.

If anybody uses a heat gun for such a purpose could you please advise me what temperature the gun should be used at in order to eradicate any potential unwanted things? The heat gun which I bought goes from 70 - 600 degrees celsius.

Thanks for any information or more opinions.


Offline bee-nuts

  • Queen Bee
  • ****
  • Posts: 1100
  • Gender: Male
    • Nectar Meadows Apiaries
Re: Sterilise hive
« Reply #3 on: January 08, 2011, 08:52:34 am »
This may sound strange but why not just bake it in the oven?  Boiling kills most stuff so I would guess a good half hour in a preheated 400 degree oven should do the job! 

I wonder if a used oven would work good for this?  Has anyone ever thought of this?  You could keep it in garage and move it out doors to do the job for fire safety reasons.  You could do quite a few boxes in a day this way without all the pain of torching every crack and hoping you got all of it.  And as long as you cut all comb out of frames you could keep them instead of burning them.  I have read you just burn the frames cause its to big of a hassle but if you are baking them could you not save them too?

Maybe I need some more caffeine yet!
The moment a person forms a theory, his imagination sees in every object only the traits which favor that theory

Thomas Jefferson

Offline Jim134

  • Galactic Bee
  • ******
  • Posts: 3047
  • Gender: Male
    • Franklin County Beekeepers Association
Re: Sterilise hive
« Reply #4 on: January 08, 2011, 09:11:48 am »
This may sound strange but why not just bake it in the oven?  Boiling kills most stuff so I would guess a good half hour in a preheated 400 degree oven should do the job!  

I wonder if a used oven would work good for this?  Has anyone ever thought of this?  You could keep it in garage and move it out doors to do the job for fire safety reasons.  You could do quite a few boxes in a day this way without all the pain of torching every crack and hoping you got all of it.  And as long as you cut all comb out of frames you could keep them instead of burning them.  I have read you just burn the frames cause its to big of a hassle but if you are baking them could you not save them too?

Maybe I need some more caffeine yet!

NOTE:
  Wood will combust at about 250 to 300  degrees  (120 to 150 Celsius) :camp:  

    BEE HAPPY Jim 134  :)
« Last Edit: January 08, 2011, 10:00:13 am by Jim 134 »
"Tell me and I'll forget,show me and I may  remember,involve me and I'll understand"
        Chinese Proverb

"The farmer is the only man in our economy who buys everything at retail, sells everything at wholesale, and pays the freight both ways."
 John F. Kennedy
Franklin County Beekeepers Association MA. http://www.franklinmabeekeepers.org/

Offline Jim134

  • Galactic Bee
  • ******
  • Posts: 3047
  • Gender: Male
    • Franklin County Beekeepers Association
Re: Sterilise hive
« Reply #5 on: January 08, 2011, 09:40:13 am »
You need to look at Irradiation


  http://www.steritech.com.au/default.asp This  one is as down under
        

  http://massbee.org/component/content/article/8-news-item/11-irradition-program

  BEE HAPPY Jim 134  :)
« Last Edit: January 08, 2011, 09:52:16 am by Jim 134 »
"Tell me and I'll forget,show me and I may  remember,involve me and I'll understand"
        Chinese Proverb

"The farmer is the only man in our economy who buys everything at retail, sells everything at wholesale, and pays the freight both ways."
 John F. Kennedy
Franklin County Beekeepers Association MA. http://www.franklinmabeekeepers.org/

Online Michael Bush

  • Universal Bee
  • *******
  • Posts: 19832
  • Gender: Male
    • bushfarms.com
Re: Sterilise hive
« Reply #6 on: January 08, 2011, 10:05:13 am »
The sterilization issue would be AFB.  If they are your hives and you don't think they died of any disease, let alone AFB, then there is nothing that needs to be sterilized.
My website:  bushfarms.com/bees.htm en espanol: bushfarms.com/es_bees.htm  auf deutsche: bushfarms.com/de_bees.htm  em portugues:  bushfarms.com/pt_bees.htm
My book:  ThePracticalBeekeeper.com
-------------------
"Everything works if you let it."--James "Big Boy" Medlin

Offline AllenF

  • Galactic Bee
  • ******
  • Posts: 8192
  • Gender: Male
Re: Sterilise hive
« Reply #7 on: January 08, 2011, 09:43:07 pm »

Offline ncross

  • New Bee
  • *
  • Posts: 19
Re: Sterilise hive
« Reply #8 on: January 09, 2011, 03:03:08 am »
Some interesting repies. From Michaels replies it sounds like there is no real need to be too concerned. I would imagine that with AFB there would be some pretty obvious signs left in the comb?

I kind of liked the simplicity of bee-nuts' oven idea if the temperature was kept below the combustion level of 120 Celsius. However, would that be effective in sterilisation? I would imagine that there would be issues with the exterior paint which is on the hive too?

How much does irradiation cost in Australia? I would imagine that it would be more cost effective to rebuild the hive. Does anybody have practical experience of this? I would imagine that it might be cost effective if you have a lot of hives?

At the moment I am thinking to remain cautious and to run the heat gun over the hive at about 120 Celsius or do you think that a heat gun could be run at a higher temperature as it is just being 'run' along the hive?

Thanks

Online Michael Bush

  • Universal Bee
  • *******
  • Posts: 19832
  • Gender: Male
    • bushfarms.com
Re: Sterilise hive
« Reply #9 on: January 09, 2011, 04:15:45 am »
>with AFB there would be some pretty obvious signs left in the comb?

They are well documented, but I wouldn't say obvious if you don't know what to look for.  There are pictures out there on the web of "AFB Scale" and "string tests" and you can even do a Holst test or buy a test. But if you didn't have a lot of dead larvae and sunken and pierced cappings and scale, then it's a pretty sure thing you probably don't have AFB.

My website:  bushfarms.com/bees.htm en espanol: bushfarms.com/es_bees.htm  auf deutsche: bushfarms.com/de_bees.htm  em portugues:  bushfarms.com/pt_bees.htm
My book:  ThePracticalBeekeeper.com
-------------------
"Everything works if you let it."--James "Big Boy" Medlin

Offline OzBuzz

  • Queen Bee
  • ****
  • Posts: 1031
Re: Sterilise hive
« Reply #10 on: January 09, 2011, 04:38:36 am »
Steritech in Dandenong do irradiation if you're genuinely worried-$23 for a base, two supers full of frames and a lid... Heat gun? Wouldn't bother-If you must use used equipment ask for previous lab test results which all registered beeks should have. I would only buy second hand if it was Fred or an absolute bargain especially when I canget a fully assembled box for $14

Offline wd

  • Field Bee
  • ***
  • Posts: 548
  • Gender: Male
Re: Sterilise hive
« Reply #11 on: January 09, 2011, 05:14:46 am »
This may sound strange but why not just bake it in the oven?  Boiling kills most stuff so I would guess a good half hour in a preheated 400 degree oven should do the job!  

I wonder if a used oven would work good for this?  Has anyone ever thought of this?  You could keep it in garage and move it out doors to do the job for fire safety reasons.  You could do quite a few boxes in a day this way without all the pain of torching every crack and hoping you got all of it.  And as long as you cut all comb out of frames you could keep them instead of burning them.  I have read you just burn the frames cause its to big of a hassle but if you are baking them could you not save them too?

Maybe I need some more caffeine yet!

Yes, as an experiment I tried it, the edges started to burn and smoke and sap boiled out. the propolis I couldn't get off the edge is what burned. I won't be doing that again.





« Last Edit: January 09, 2011, 05:27:14 am by wd »

Offline ncross

  • New Bee
  • *
  • Posts: 19
Re: Sterilise hive
« Reply #12 on: January 09, 2011, 05:28:48 am »
>with AFB there would be some pretty obvious signs left in the comb?

They are well documented, but I wouldn't say obvious if you don't know what to look for.  There are pictures out there on the web of "AFB Scale" and "string tests" and you can even do a Holst test or buy a test. But if you didn't have a lot of dead larvae and sunken and pierced cappings and scale, then it's a pretty sure thing you probably don't have AFB.



I had looked up the pics before and that is why I felt it unlikely in the extreme that I did not have it. I feel further reasurred by what you write. Ta

Offline ncross

  • New Bee
  • *
  • Posts: 19
Re: Sterilise hive
« Reply #13 on: January 09, 2011, 05:32:20 am »
Steritech in Dandenong do irradiation if you're genuinely worried-$23 for a base, two supers full of frames and a lid... Heat gun? Wouldn't bother-If you must use used equipment ask for previous lab test results which all registered beeks should have. I would only buy second hand if it was Fred or an absolute bargain especially when I canget a fully assembled box for $14

Ok that irradiation was cheaper than I thought. No don't intend to buy anymore second hand boxes unless I buy somebodies stock and put them in another apiary. Is the heat gun really of no use at all I find that surprising? Where do you get a fully assembled box for $14 please? Thank you

Offline ncross

  • New Bee
  • *
  • Posts: 19
Re: Sterilise hive
« Reply #14 on: January 09, 2011, 05:35:14 am »
The sterilization issue would be AFB.  If they are your hives and you don't think they died of any disease, let alone AFB, then there is nothing that needs to be sterilized.


Is AFB really the only real worry in Australia? I know that the bee inspector said that was the one to really worry about. Is it the case that the other diseases are treatable and endemic?

Offline Mardak

  • House Bee
  • **
  • Posts: 217
  • Gender: Male
Re: Sterilise hive
« Reply #15 on: January 09, 2011, 07:58:05 am »
Science journals will inform you that Gamma Radiation is the total answer to killing any organism on organic material. No trace of radiation after 8 hours in it for all woodware. Bodies, frames, supers. tops.  Double Plastic wrap against dirt getting into their cooking area at Steritech. They throw on a wonderful lunch(free of course) a couple of times a year to show the public the facility and how safe it is. I thought of Chernobyl and Three Mile Island and the China Syndroime. Steritech treat a lot of hospital and surgical stuff for complete sterilization. i asked them if the blokes should cover up there nether regions and they rolled around laughing at the thought of aprons being worn by the blokes. We walked through the chambers where the gamma radiation soaks up the naughty things in hive ware. There main gripe is that beekeepers should learn to wrap(in builders plastic) twice all over and seal it so they do not have clean up any mess as the place is pretty spick and clean.

Offline Jim134

  • Galactic Bee
  • ******
  • Posts: 3047
  • Gender: Male
    • Franklin County Beekeepers Association
Re: Sterilise hive
« Reply #16 on: January 09, 2011, 08:10:52 am »
 
Science journals will inform you that Gamma Radiation is the total answer to killing any organism on organic material. No trace of radiation after 8 hours in it for all woodware. Bodies, frames, supers. tops.  Double Plastic wrap against dirt getting into their cooking area at Steritech. They throw on a wonderful lunch(free of course) a couple of times a year to show the public the facility and how safe it is. I thought of Chernobyl and Three Mile Island and the China Syndroime. Steritech treat a lot of hospital and surgical stuff for complete sterilization. i asked them if the blokes should cover up there nether regions and they rolled around laughing at the thought of aprons being worn by the blokes. We walked through the chambers where the gamma radiation soaks up the naughty things in hive ware. There main gripe is that beekeepers should learn to wrap(in builders plastic) twice all over and seal it so they do not have clean up any mess as the place is pretty spick and clean.

You can put waxcomb in all so

     BEE HAPPY Jim 134
"Tell me and I'll forget,show me and I may  remember,involve me and I'll understand"
        Chinese Proverb

"The farmer is the only man in our economy who buys everything at retail, sells everything at wholesale, and pays the freight both ways."
 John F. Kennedy
Franklin County Beekeepers Association MA. http://www.franklinmabeekeepers.org/

Offline ncross

  • New Bee
  • *
  • Posts: 19
Re: Sterilise hive
« Reply #17 on: January 09, 2011, 09:44:51 am »
The irridation sounds good. The main problem would be the transport cost in fact but if you had a lot of hives then fair enough.

Offline OzBuzz

  • Queen Bee
  • ****
  • Posts: 1031
Re: Sterilise hive
« Reply #18 on: January 09, 2011, 05:01:20 pm »
Where are you located ncross?


The irridation sounds good. The main problem would be the transport cost in fact but if you had a lot of hives then fair enough.

Offline ncross

  • New Bee
  • *
  • Posts: 19
Re: Sterilise hive
« Reply #19 on: January 10, 2011, 03:49:46 am »
I'm in Halls Gap, Victoria.