# Advice cleaning out hive overcome by Nosema



## FlowerPlanter (Aug 3, 2011)

What make you think it's Nosema?
Two types; ceranae or apis?

http://scientificbeekeeping.com/nosema-ceranae-not-your-fathers-nosema/

If you still think you have nosema send a sample to the lab, it's free

http://www.ars.usda.gov/Services/docs.htm?docid=7458

After lab confirmation I would bleach soak for 20 min.


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## edugan (Mar 15, 2016)

Thank you Flower planter. I sent my bees to beltsville and it is definately nosema. Mites were low at .4 per 100. No tests are done to determine which type nosema it is. Really nice article in Scientific beekeeping Thank you for sending it. I must start a subscription to it. What is the bleach dilute? I have read 1:1and also read 1 cup bleach to 5 gallons water.

The hive is not bad looking. Only a few brown streaks running down from the upper entrance. 

Appreciate your advice.


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## FlowerPlanter (Aug 3, 2011)

I believe a 0.5% solution for 20 min is used for AFB. Keep in mind that your bleach will range between 6-8% depending on brand. 

>Only a few brown streaks running down from the upper entrance. 

I suspect you don't have Nosema apis, but just some cooped up bees. Nosema apis is almost black and often coats the entire inside of the hive. A bleach bath on your dead out equipment won't hurt anything.


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## edugan (Mar 15, 2016)

Thank you Flower Planter. Maybe someone will chime in on the amount of water to use with the bleach. ! cup to 5 gallons is a huge difference form 1;1. Don"t want to kill any more bees!


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## BadBeeKeeper (Jan 24, 2015)

I use one capful per gallon of water, same strength as I use to sanitize beer bottles. I've only had to clean the interior of one hive, it was -really- messed up. No evidence of reinfection when put back in use.


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## edugan (Mar 15, 2016)

Thanks BadBeekeeper. i will try the 1 capful to one gallon water and soak for 20 minuites as Flower Planter suggested. This is the second year I had a hive die because of nosema. Last year they died from mites and nosema. I had another new box to use for this years dead out. Have the other box upstairs in our barn and from what I have read heat will kill the spores. It gets extremely hot upstairs in our barn. Its in open sun and has a dark brown roof. The first year I did the treatment free. This year I bought a varox and concentrated on the mites and was not good at recognizing nosema. 

Just wanted to clean this box up. I want to try catching a swarm and want to have boxs ready


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## Michael Palmer (Dec 29, 2006)

Read about disinfecting combs with acetic acid...near bottom of paper. Common practice in the UK.

http://scientificbeekeeping.com/the-nosema-twins-part-5-alternative-treatments/


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## beepro (Dec 31, 2012)

With AFB, I would not disinfect the hive or any parts of it because of the 
high contamination rate. The spores are long lasting for many years. I've read and beekeepers do on you tube vids that they will burn up the AFB colony for fear of infecting the nearby ones. Not worth it to keep highly spreading diseased colony equipment. 
Now get the more resistant queens to requeen all your colonies this coming season. I have no known disease issue ever since getting the resistant queens here. Have to deal with the mites though. Requeening with the good stock is your answer. Also, I've used H2O2 to disinfect and clean up the old comb before acting like a bleaching solution.
Lay down the comb on a foam ice chest and sprayed the H2O2 into the cells. Then poured the entire bottle onto the comb immersing the entire comb with H2O2.


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## BadBeeKeeper (Jan 24, 2015)

edugan said:


> Thanks BadBeekeeper. i will try the 1 capful to one gallon water and soak for 20 minuites as Flower Planter suggested. This is the second year I had a hive die because of nosema. Last year they died from mites and nosema. I had another new box to use for this years dead out. Have the other box upstairs in our barn and from what I have read heat will kill the spores. It gets extremely hot upstairs in our barn. Its in open sun and has a dark brown roof. The first year I did the treatment free. This year I bought a varox and concentrated on the mites and was not good at recognizing nosema.
> 
> Just wanted to clean this box up. I want to try catching a swarm and want to have boxs ready


I sponged on the solution and let it sit for 10 minutes, which is generally the contact time that should kill just about anything that it will kill. After, I scrubbed all wooden parts with a scrubby pad to remove the obvious fouling, which was quite thick, especially on the tops of the frames, then rinsed with clear water.

I don't know about just 'heat' killing Nosema spores...it seems to me that my information was -sunlight-, but I can't quite remember where I read/heard it so don't take it as gospel without some research...OK, I found it- USDA Bulletin 780 from 1919, a study of Nosema Apis by insect disease specialist G. F. White...in particular the table on page 37- 15 plus hours of direct sunlight on -dry- Nosema spores will kill them, if wet, it takes a much longer time...heat alone -will- kill the spores, but it must be in excess of 136*F.

OK, now you have the -real- info instead of rumor and hearsay.


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## FlowerPlanter (Aug 3, 2011)

Here's more info on acetic acid fumigation;

http://www.beesource.com/forums/showthread.php?330726-acetic-acid-fumigation-for-storage-of-wet-comb


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## the doc (Mar 3, 2010)

I use acetic acid and cold temperatures of winter. There is some data to back the effectiveness against n. Apis and ceranae respectively


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