# Beeswax storage



## mattjm1017 (Apr 21, 2012)

Hi all Im a new beekeeper and just extracted my first batch of honey and I would like to take my wax cappings and make candles and lip balms but I am thinking about waiting until after the next spring harvest so I have more wax what is a good longterm storage for the wax? I have it in the freezer now so as to kill off any leftover moth larva and bugs can I leave it thereor is there a better long term storage for the wax? Thanks so much!


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## odfrank (May 13, 2002)

I keep it in closed 5 gallon buckets in my extracting room for months at a time with only an occasional wax moth intrusion.


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## KQ6AR (May 13, 2008)

We rinse ours in a 5 gal bucket of water a few times, let it dry then store it any way you like.


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## honeyman46408 (Feb 14, 2003)

I melt mine in the wax melter them melt again and filter it into 2# blocks for storage


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## bevy's honeybees (Apr 21, 2011)

odfrank said:


> I keep it in closed 5 gallon buckets in my extracting room for months at a time with only an occasional wax moth intrusion.


Can I store them wet this way, like for 2-3 months? I am late extracting mostly because bees had not capped honey when I wanted to extract early October. I've been working on extracting the past 10 days as I only do 1-2 supers per session and now have a bunch of cappings I won't be able to get to til January.

I don't want to wash them first becasue I put them in tupperware and into hives on top of frames then empty super to let the bees clean it. Now I have too much to keep up with that. I'd like to store this way odfrank, if I know they will be fine for a couple months, unwashed. 
Thanks.
Beverly


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## The Honey Householder (Nov 14, 2008)

Beverly, I would freeze them off for a few days and then close them up, if you are going to store them wet.


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## odfrank (May 13, 2002)

>I'd like to store this way odfrank, if I know they will be fine for a couple months, unwashed.

I have only seen inconsequential wax larvae intrusions on cappings in buckets, and that was only a bit of thread at the top. The larvae primarily want pollen, not honey. They probably also have to be able to breath, which they can't down in wet cappings. Like bees, they live on open, aerated comb, not wet honey cappings. I have stored about ten buckets of cappings through winter from September to April and later for over 30 years because I often extract late, after solar melter season has ended. Never had any wax larvae problems in these buckets. 
If you stored brood comb in buckets, they might get wax larvae damaged.


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## The Honey Householder (Nov 14, 2008)

Reason for freeze out is mostly for SHB larvae in wet cappings in FL. For me in the north at this time of the year we store all our honey super in the bee yards and have every few problems with comb damage.


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## Seymore (May 1, 2009)

I've had wax moths eat everything from the very fine wax coating on my plastic frames to my solid blocks of filtered wax. Now I keep everything in the freezer during the hot/warm times. May try those 5 gal buckets tho. I can see that would work. Where do y'all pick them up from? Fast food places?


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## bevy's honeybees (Apr 21, 2011)

Seymore said:


> Where do y'all pick them up from? Fast food places?


I get mine from Walmart bakery dept. Food grade 5 gal pails with lids, they get frosting in them. Free so far. I picked one up last week and they have changed to rectangal pails so my round strainer doesn't fit now. They will still work for cappings but not honey if I want to strain it first. 
I'm going to give it a shot of just putting wet capping in the pails and cover.


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