wooden ware treatments

[wd]

What treatment(s) would you use to prepare used empty's for future use in any scenario?

I'm planning on burning with a propane torch, wanted to ask before starting.

[qa33010]

    If they are disease free then I would check overall condition for serviceability, repairing what is fixable.  I have washed mine out and since I have a mess of paint yet on hand, I sand and paint as needed.  I've only done this for a short time and some of my woodenware never was primed before painting so I'm paying for that right now.

    I have had items that are trashy and they became ashes.

[Lone]

Hello,

When I started, I was advised to use the cheapest acrylic paint, but it didn't last long at all.  So now I use an outdoor acrylic paint with a 10 year guarantee which doesn't require a primer. Our conditions can be quite harsh here.  So the initial expense is greater, but I think I'll save money and time in the long run.  I also now have both a belt and orbital sander, because as I spend most of my time sanding and painting something, I made a resolution about no more hand sanding (with a lot of exceptions to that resolution!) 

I haven't had to deal with AFB yet, but taking precautions can't hurt.

Have fun!!

Lone

[lenape13]

I scrape everything I can, then I pressure wash, inside and out.  Follow that with a good scorching and some bleach solution.  Allow to dry thoroughly, then some good quality exterior paint and you should be good to go.  I like to use the mistints that you can find at your local DIY stores.  As long as your not picky about the color, you can get some great paint, cheap.

[Robo]

I'm planning on burning with a propane torch, wanted to ask before starting.

An easier way to scorch is stack them up and put a bunch of crumpled up newspaper in the bottom one and light it on fire.  the stack acts like a chimney and burns them all at once.  Just keep an eye on them and when they have been scorched enough hose them down and put them out.

[wd]

Thanks for the replies all,

Scorched is the word not burn. Using newspapers to scorch with will require some thought on my part. I do want to use what I have. I used a primer for paint, nothing else, These are 9 years old. Pressure washing before hand did cross my mind, just not sure what to do at the moment. I'm not in a hurry with it so I'll ask questions.

Thought I'd crack one open and post some pictures. They all look like this now, to me, they don't look that bad. I'm looking at scorching as nothing more then a preventative, Ant's and what looks like a bad infestation of wax moth took over after the colony disappeared. Wax moth didn't seem to be a problem with the bee's in it when I was keeping a close eye on them. Ant's are / were my main problem.

Here's how I set them up, Please keep in mind this was my first time. I welcome any constructive criticism and suggestions. For honey, I tried medium supers and deeps, other then this and feeders, they're all set up the same.

This hive did ok for 3 years or so with one exception, I never re-queened, the colony itself was very slow in growth to start with but produced honey. Had a medium super on it at first then changed it over to a deep. They did get feed, I never harvested any thing though. I tried 10 frames at first in the brood chamber then reduced it to 5 and added as they grew. In the honey chamber was 9 frames and a feeder. A family member said they took some comb after the bee's left. Images should be click able if interested.

Top cover with a propolis trap.



Deep honey chamber with plastic frame



Plastic feeder used for dry feed.



Plastic queen excluder



Brood chamber with plastic frames



Infestation



Brood chamber with screened bottom board

[Robo]

I'd just scrape everything clean.  Pressure wash if you have one.  The equipment look perfectly fine,  just needs some cleaning.   If your worried about disease, you can scorch if you'd like.  But unless you think they died of foulbrood,  it wouldn't bother.

[AR Beekeeper]

Studies done in Canada showed that scraping and scrubbing or pressure washing is just as effective as scorching when it comes to removing AFB spores.

[Robo]

Studies done in Canada showed that scraping and scrubbing or pressure washing is just as effective as scorching when it comes to removing AFB spores.

But surely not as quick or fun

[cam]

I'd add some bleach to the pressure wash.

[wd]

I do have a pressure washer, the thing isn't that great, it will take some paint off. Someone else has it right now, I put in word, when I get it back, I'll give that try on one and see how it works out.

A few are warped so my original concern was getting them wet.

[Bee-Bop]

I believe it was in one of the old Dadant " The hive and the honey bee"
It shows a stack of hive boxs, they pour some gasoline into the stack, throw a lit piece of paper in, flames will shoot to the top for a few seconds, cover with a lid for a few moments,till fire is smothered, then kick stack over and spray with water if needed.

Now,this would of course be unsafe, in our fear society of today.   

Bee-Bop

[wd]

What, a book? Now why didn't I think of that? I don't have that one. Last I checked, I do have the "abc and xwz of bee culture and a few others, I think I'll break them out.

However, It's much nicer with input from others. To me, book knowledge only goes so far.

[wd]

I believe it was in one of the old Dadant " The hive and the honey bee"
It shows a stack of hive boxs, they pour some gasoline into the stack, throw a lit piece of paper in, flames will shoot to the top for a few seconds, cover with a lid for a few moments,till fire is smothered, then kick stack over and spray with water if needed.

Now,this would of course be unsafe, in our fear society of today.   

Bee-Bop

yeah, in urban territory that might not work out to well.

[Sparky]

I believe it was in one of the old Dadant " The hive and the honey bee"
It shows a stack of hive boxes, they pour some gasoline into the stack, throw a lit piece of paper in, flames will shoot to the top for a few seconds, cover with a lid for a few moments,till fire is smothered, then kick stack over and spray with water if needed.

Now that's my Idea of instant sterilization!!! 
Like robo indicated the boxes did not look bad. As long as the loose paint is removed and good and dry they should paint up nicely. I would recommend scuffing them a little to get a good bond. At least two good coats of paint.

[wd]

pressure washer made it back, for some reason now it feels like I can get to work whether it's used or not.

None of the units had foul brood, the idea of scorching was meant as nothing more then a preventative or an attempt in sterilizing everything. If needed in the future, I will try them stacked with  newspaper for scorching. I can picture 'myself' possibly burning boxes beyond use or not scorching all if not thought out some. two coats of paint works for me.

Once again, Thanks ALL for the replies. When there's some progress on hives, I'll post a little then.