# How long can removed honey frames sit before extraction?



## Bee Dude (May 26, 2016)

Would like to see others' opinions as well


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## Andy_K (Sep 5, 2015)

I am interested in this as well.
We have hot temps and a cool basement.
Can't these frames be wrapped tight in a thick garbage bag and be safe.


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## jim lyon (Feb 19, 2006)

If there is no dark comb or pollen present then your chances of damage from hive beetles or wax moth probably isn't too great. If there was going to be hive beetle damage, you would be seeing tiny larvae within 3 to 4 days. A cool basement would lessen the chances of wax moth but I would still keep a pretty close eye on them. Wrapping them in a garbage bag is fine as long as there are no eggs already present and thats pretty difficult to ascertain with the naked eye. Freezing is the safest way to store for any length of time.


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## 1102009 (Jul 31, 2015)

I´m storing honey frames ( deep, broodnest area, shallow) for two years now, because I use them for feeding back in spring or in case of emergency.. I´m checking once a week, they are in the basement hanging in boxes.
I store them one winter.

I´ve had only wax moths in brood combs so far, coming out of eggs layed in comb. When I see some wax moths are hatching, I put the frame in my freezer for two nights, let it get warm again and put it back in the box ( I don´t want the honey to crystallize too fast being placed against a frozen comb).

My friends do the same but put a towel under wet with vinegar. They claim it helps, but I don´t know if the honey tastes different. No problem for the bees but to us.

A lot of spiders are living in my basement. I never kill them. They catch a lot of the wax moths. I´m just taking care there is not much dirt from them.

I have no issue with SHB but we have no SHB.
Our honey may be crystallized after one week in a cool basement though and you can´t extract this.


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## J and R Apiary (Mar 5, 2016)

otherchuck said:


> Greetings all!
> 
> My wife and I have three hives in CA and harvested/extracted three supers in June, but it has been a busy summer for the girls, and we are now ready to harvest 4 more supers (one very active hive has two full supers, and the other two have one each). Timing for us didn't work out perfectly...long story...so we have taken two supers off the uber-active hive, and would like to let the other two have another week to finish capping before we do our extraction. The two supers we have taken off are covered, in our basement, where the temp is about 70 degrees (outside, lately, it has been in the 90's in the the day). We are on the lookout for ants, and don't think we are particularly susceptible to small hive beetle. Is it okay to leave those removed supers where they are for a week? Most of the frames are nicely capped, but there are some ripe but uncapped frames. As newbies (we are in our second season as beekeepers) we are still constantly worried about everything, so...in this instance...we are wondering if anything might 'go bad' if we wait a week.
> 
> ...




They will be just fine. Next time leave them on the hive until your ready. The bees will take care of it better than anyone. If you are still worried about any pests you can freeze them for a couple of days. Use a "scent free" garbage bag to prevent any possible mess. The capped honey should be good to go but the uncapped I would worry more about as the moisture level isn't right yet or else it would be capped too.


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## Bdfarmer555 (Oct 7, 2015)

If you have any shb at all in your area, I'd recommend freezing them for a couple days. 

Once the larvae hatch, even if you extract the honey before it starts to ferment, they have drilled holes in the comb and honey starts to drip, making a mess.


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## schmism (Feb 7, 2009)

A couple to three days max unless your going to do crazy things like put them in the freezer.


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## BHH9 (Jul 22, 2017)

Anyone try putting frames in a fridge rather than a freezer? Does that delay the bad critters if not kill them? Have lots more fridge space.


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## aunt betty (May 4, 2015)

Have produced some cut comb honey and will freeze it (in frames) in a scent-free pesticide free garbage bag for a few days. 
Next I'll take them out of the deep freeze and let them thaw. The garbage bag is to keep condensation out.
Imagine packaging up 100# of cut comb and finding "wigglies" in them a week later. The freezer prevents that.


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## RedBarn (May 31, 2017)

I sure wouldn't put it in the freezer or fridge if you think you are going to try to extract it...... It will all be crystalized........ Why not put them back on the hives.... Bees will keep it warm, they can cap the rest of the cells or get them to the right % moisture, they will keep them clean......... 

There is no way I would store full honey supers in my basement ..........

On the hives is the only place to store them till you are ready to extract in my opinion.....


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## AHudd (Mar 5, 2015)

The optimal temp. for honey to crystallize is 57. Any deviation up or down slows the process. Freeze it if you want.

Alex


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## RedBarn (May 31, 2017)

Really alex? If you freeze, then thaw, it won't crystallize? I would have never guessed that.

Thanks for the schooling.

What happens to it in the hives in winter. I'm in wisconsin and we see plenty of days below freezing?


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## Bee Nut (Oct 10, 2015)

AHudd said:


> The optimal temp. for honey to crystallize is 57. Any deviation up or down slows the process. Freeze it if you want.
> 
> Alex


:thumbsup:

To the OP: We have frozen many supers after robbing for the same reasons- prevent small hive beetle from hatching, a frost free freezer is a very dry place, and the honey doesn't crystallize. Being in the Deep South and humidity levels rarely dipping bellow 85% this time of year, our biggest concern with storing ripe but uncapped honey is moisture. Honey is hygroscopic, so it will absorb moisture (or loose moisture) based on the humidity levels around it. We try to rob everything at the same time but it isn't always possible. We certainly extract as much as possible at once because set up and cleanup is about the same for 5 frames as it is for 50. So we add supers to the freezer, then store in a dark room with a dehumidifier running constantly until time to extract. If this was cotton nectar, you would want to extract immediately. Maybe there are nectar sources in your area that crystallize quickly as well- you'll want to check that. Make sure you have a way to check moisture levels (a refractometer). The difference between honey bottled at 19% vs 18% is fermented honey or worse yet- exploding bottles. You'll want to be sure.


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