# Dead hives..High nosema counts



## raybb (Sep 24, 2006)

I checked all my hives with the last warm spells. Only 4 out of 12 are alive and they are weak. There was plenty of honey/sugar water and some pollen. Test results from the Bee Lab in Maryland for the first two samples sent in came back :

Nosema hive #1 was 77.5 Million spores per bee (2.4 mites per 100 bees)

Nosema hive #2 was 53 Million spores per bee (.9 mites per 100 bees)

Comb samples from these two hives came back with "no disease found"

I'm awaiting test result for the remaining hives.

I have read on the forum about sanitizing/cleaning boxes, frames and the comb with acetic acid or bleach and possible treating of the bees (OR NOT TREATING). However, I am not sure if that is appropriate AND if it has been effective for those who have done it.

So, are my combs/boxes contaminated with nosema?
If you have sanitized, how did it turn out.

I'll be installing new packages in April and want to have as clean of a re-start as possible. Any thoughts? 

Thanks
Ray


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## pa chuck (Jun 7, 2012)

Do you have a number or address of the bee lab would like to send a sample of a dead hive i have .


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## raybb (Sep 24, 2006)

Here it is. http://www.ars.usda.gov/Main/site_main.htm?modecode=12-45-33-00 

Their results turnaround time for my last sample was about two weeks.

Ray


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## JD's Bees (Nov 25, 2011)

Did you send samples from all hives or just the deadouts?


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## gonzo (Mar 25, 2012)

curious about this too, as i have a hive that has been cut in half by what i presume is nosema and have two other hives with some visible signs of it on the entrance floor board...


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## raybb (Sep 24, 2006)

I sent samples from all hives...dead or alive. The hives had no fecal spotting inside or out. I'm just not sure how to prepare the hives for the next package of bees, ie. cleaning or sterilizing. I've had 7 great years of overwintering with very few losses. Felt kinda ****y. I've been humbled. Mites, CCD, pesticides, SHB, nosema, bad beekeepers,......what else do the bees need to deal with??

I'll post lab results when they come in..BUT still would like to hear from experienced keepers what they have done to clean up their hives after nosema problems.


Thanks
Ray


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## pa chuck (Jun 7, 2012)

Thanks raybb for the info


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## JD's Bees (Nov 25, 2011)

I use acetic acid fumigation on deadouts and it seems to work but I don't know for sure how effective it was.


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## camero7 (Sep 21, 2009)

Freezing is reputed to kill nosema ceranae.


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## heaflaw (Feb 26, 2007)

I read about a university study done that concluded that 2 hours in the UV light from the sun killed over 90% of Nosema spores. That's what I'm doing with my deadouts.


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## heaflaw (Feb 26, 2007)

http://www.beeccdcap.uga.edu/documents/CAPArticle6.html

http://www.extension.org/pages/63774/sunlight-water-and-nosema-spores


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## raybb (Sep 24, 2006)

Thanks for the responses. Heaflaw, those were two nice links......Thanks

Ray


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## raybb (Sep 24, 2006)

AN UPDATE:

The results are back from the bee lab for my 12 hives. 

All 8 dead hives had nosema counts of 5-70 million spores per bee. 

The 4 surviving weak hives had less than 1 million spores per bee.

Mites per 100 bees ranged from 0-30.

We will rebuild. Thanks for all the respnses.

Ray


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## heaflaw (Feb 26, 2007)

My results were over 10 million Nosema spores per 100. It stated that 1 million is considered high.

Mites were 3.9 per 100 bees.

Good luck, Ray.


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## gmcharlie (May 9, 2009)

0-30?? sounds to me like the mites were also a factor.


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## raybb (Sep 24, 2006)

I believe you are right about mites being a problem, too. I'm guilty of not performing an "after mite treatment" mite check. This was the first time I used HopGuard and used only one application instead of the three possible treatments. The wording on the HopGuard package was unclear to me. I thought it indicated that one application was sufficient and that you COULD use it up to three times per year. I read on the forum that three successive applications MAY be appropriate.

I'm still learning...and unfortunately it's at the expense of my bees. 

NOT giving up....

Thanks for all the help from this forum...Ray


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