Questions about recovering from AFB

[Anonymous]

I know every thing can be burned to despose of the contaminated hive and parts except the plastic outer cover.
I was told that every thing is salvageable except the frames and wax.
(1 outer cover plastic -- wash with lye and water
(2 intercover wood -- scorch with a torch.
(3 hive bodies wood -- scorch with torch.
(4 screen botton board wood and metal screen -- scorch with torch.

  Dose everybody agree with the above?
Or should I just burn every thing except the outer cover and how should it be disposed of if not saved?

I make hive bodies myself at a fraction of the cost of boughten ones. Since I'm retired time isn't a major cost there.
Made my first intercover yesterday and it is ok for a first try.
Also made my first outer cover yesterday, I'm proud of it except the metal really didn't go on well. I didn't plan the size or postion well at all.

  Al

[BigRog]

You could get a siding guy with a aluminum brake to make the top for you.
I don't know about the hives

[golfpsycho]

Very important to make sure there is no robbing going on while your taking care of everything.  The spores travel in the honey and are easily passed on.  Your other colonies are very suceptable at this time too.   Robo mentioned in another post that there is a test kit available to verify AFB.  Might be worh the cost cause if you have it in one, you probably have it in the others as well.  Is there somewhere else you can put the swarm until your sure?

[Anonymous]

There wasn't any robbing to be did. I filled my hose end sprayer with dish soap turned the water on in the evening when they had quit flying. I washed down the entrance real good then removed the outer cover and hosed down the top intercover lifted it and repeted the hosing. I washed the bees off the top bars then started pulling frames and hosing each side down over the hive body. Placed each frame in a body bag   When they were all out I burned the whole mess of frames and frame feeder.
Back at the hive I scraped all the bees into a pail of soapy water just to make sure then strained them out and burnt them too. The hive body, inter and outercover I bagged in plastiac another one recived the sbb. they will all bee torched tomorrow and dipped in some acid I got.
   No I don't feel good about destroying them but is better when in doubt then spread AFB if in deed it was that. They were queen less any way so in the end It would have took some time to get them up and going again. I have another club member bee keeper down the road less than a half mile with 40 colonys too.
  Al

[Markinaust]

Hi Peoples,

I thought I would share with you how AFB infected hives are delt with here in Australia. We are a required to send or equipment minus bees to a facility that treat the effected material with Gamma Irradiation. The official  term used  and quoting from and Australian Agnote “Cobalt 60 Gamma Irradiationâ€�. I know this sounds all High Tech and out of reach of most beekeepers but basically the facility we Victorian beekeepers use is a sterilization plant mostly sterilizing hospital equipment. Even with the associated cost of transporting and the actual irradiation, it is still extremely cost effective. I am lead to believe that even wax combs are safe to use after being sterilized but you will have to check that out for yourselves. Now Victoria, Australia has approx. 4 million people with one of these plants. So I would imagine the U.S would be peppered with these plants. Check it out, this is their web site www.steritech.com.au



Cheers



Mark