# any experience with wax worms?



## moday (Mar 28, 2008)

I had a hive die early in the summer, so I put it up next to the barn instead of out in the field where it usually sat. I decided to winterize the hive this afternoon, and I found it filled with wax worms. I mean filled! It was unbelievable how many larvae (worms) worms were there. I scraped most of them out, but they destroyed most all the wax foundation I had built on the Duragilt frames. Is this normal? I've heard of wax moths, but I have never experienced this until now in my 10+ years of keeping bees. I needed to clean this hive up, so I don't mind working on it, but is there a method to rid all of them? I have scraped them most all off the frames and along inside of all 4 supers. There is actually like a web material and tons of little black dots which I assume is their excrement. Please advise if there is anything that I should do. One of my beekeeping books says they'll die below 0F and I live in SE Michigan, so I maybe I just keep it all outside and let the cold do its thing. I guess I learned my lesson to house a "dead" hive inside as soon as possible.....or would that not have saved my issue? I guess at some point that a mess of moths must have come in there and layed a few thousand eggs? Total bummer, but I just want to prep for next year.

Thanks in advance.


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## indypartridge (Oct 26, 2004)

moday said:


> I guess I learned my lesson to house a "dead" hive inside as soon as possible.....or would that not have saved my issue


Probably would NOT have made a difference. Wax moths are nearly always around, but a healthy hive keeps them at bay. Chances are, if you had brought them inside, there would be a few wax moth eggs somewhere that would have hatched and eventually made the same mess.

If you want to store drawn comb and not have wax moths, you'll have to either use moth crystals (ParaDichlorBenzene, not Napthalene) or spray them with Bt. (Bt is Bacillus thuringiensis, sold under the trade names XenTari and Certan).


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## moday (Mar 28, 2008)

Is there a particular way to clean a hive filled with wax worms. No bees present, just want to put it away for winter in good shape. Thanks in advance. I did my best to scrape the worms away, but I'm sure that there are still some present (there are some very small worms).

Thanks again, MO


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## Terri (May 10, 2002)

If you get it mostly clean, the bees can finish for you. 

And, yes, wax moths do freeze: I put some affected frames in my freezer on top of newspaper and the little ones crawled out to die.


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## alleyyooper (Apr 22, 2005)

Put them where chickens can clean them offthe frames. Also save a bunch and save them for ice fishing this winter.

when a hive dies out on you either freeze it at once in a freezer or place the moth crystiles as recommened.

 Al


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## ChristopherReed (Jan 21, 2011)

I freeze mine, then put the "super" with the frames in it, in a trash bag (heavy duty lawn type) and give a couple of sprays inside the bag with cedar oil. and tie up tight. I keep them in the barn where there is a bug zapper and chickens/guineas present. If they have gotten to them before I did, I make candles.


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