# winter frame storage



## beemandan (Dec 5, 2005)

Every year around this time I make my final hive inspections before cold weather. I usually find a handful of hives that are unlikely to survive, so I shake out the bees and then I try to find a home for the frames. Since most of my hives are already configured for winter, I’m always left with a hundred or so frames that have held brood/pollen. By spring these frames will usually have wax moth damage if I store them with my honey frames. I don’t have a freezer big enough to store them. I’m unwilling to use PDB. 
This year I’m trying an experiment. I’ve built several wooden frame holders that I’m hanging from the bottom of the trusses in my pole barn. These frames will get good sunlight and ventilation, yet are protected from rain. Any opinions? Will wax moths still move in?


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## beeware10 (Jul 25, 2010)

that should work as wax moths don't like daylight. easy to watch also.


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## txsbman (Oct 4, 2011)

That should be good, it'll keep the mice from building nests, too! I'm going to store mine that way this year too.


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## odfrank (May 13, 2002)

Here is a link to a similar idea - outdoor storage rack. 

http://wadesbees.files.wordpress.com/2010/01/labesque-2004-super-super-storage-rack1.pdf


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## beemandan (Dec 5, 2005)

odfrank said:


> Here is a link to a similar idea - outdoor storage rack.


Gives me hope....


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## HONEYDEW (Mar 9, 2007)

odfrank said:


> Here is a link to a similar idea -


 If'n I did that Id have to tear down my book shelves and coffee table...


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## SPRUCE BEE (Mar 14, 2009)

HONEYDEW said:


> If'n I did that Id have to tear down my book shelves and coffee table...


As wet as it is in Oregon City the living room is the only place "dry" enough for drawn frame storage :lpf:


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## AstroBee (Jan 3, 2003)

I've been using a very similar setup for the past 8 years. I use wire rope with rigid spacers about every 4 feet. I have several windows to keep a good amount of light in the space. I also don't mind a few spiders to help keep moths down. Since I've been using this storage technique, I've had extremely little wax moth damage. I'll occasionally see a little trace through the comb, but nothing major and certainly nothing that has resulted in a total comb loss. I have my comb stored from mid-October to March without problems. Of course Fall is the only serious risk, but for us, we may not get frost until December and still this approach works well. Hopefully you'll have the same luck.


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## Monkadelic (Feb 5, 2010)

odfrank, thanks for posting this, I was looking for it the other day!


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## odfrank (May 13, 2002)

I find stacking moth susceptible black/pollen combs on top of a strong colony the easiest method for moth damage prevention. In my area moths do not bother white extracting combs with no pollen, so I just stack them in my extracting room.


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## beemandan (Dec 5, 2005)

I don't have to worry about the honey only frames either. Its the pollen/brood frames that are a problem. In winter we will get a week or so that the bees don't break cluster, then a couple of warmer days and they fly. Then it gets cold again and if I leave empty comb on top they are likely to recluster on that...and then given a few cold days and they starve. Putting empty comb on top of a hive for storage is not an option here, in my opinion.


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## brushwoodnursery (Feb 10, 2012)

Dan, has this storage worked out well for you? I'm in Athens so your experience should parallel mine. I am just getting into this and need to look at some convenient storage options. I have a garage but it's too dark. I was thinking about setting up under the carport but there isn't room yet. I was also considering preparing the second deep and supers in advance and storing them in the garage inside heavy plastic bags. Will this be enough to eliminate wax moths? I'm figuring there aren't any right around here now since this is all new. Might not be a good idea once the colonies are established? What about Hive Beetles? Are they a non-issue for storage?


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## beemandan (Dec 5, 2005)

Welcome brushwood nursery!
As luck would have it, my racks were damaged in some high winds recently. Up to that point they appear to have been effective…but the real test would have been once the weather warmed. I will look at a redesign this year…time permitting.
For my honey comb storage, I don’t really worry too much. If the comb has never had any brood produced in it, I simply stack the supers on a stand with a metal queen excluder on the bottom and one on the top of the stack…keeps out mice. These stacks are in the same barn as my racks, so they are in an outdoor environment, sheltered from rain and wind yet getting plenty of sunlight. 
Wax moths depend on the nutrients in comb that contains pollen or brood rearing wastes.
I’ve never found any way to safely store brood comb outside of the hive short of freezing it or, if you are willing, you can fumigate it with paradichlorobenzene (PDB). Even sealed in plastic, somehow the moths seem to find it. 
Dry, empty comb, regardless of whether it has been used for brood production or not, hasn’t been a problem with small hive beetles. 
Best to you.


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## oblib (Oct 28, 2011)

Since I don't have or need a pole barn, I wonder how well a shed made out of plywood, caulked and painted with weather striping on the door, would work?


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## beemandan (Dec 5, 2005)

I've never stored comb in a fully enclosed area....so I just don't have an answer. I would think that you would want plenty of sunshine so I'd recommend windows.
Good luck


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## brushwoodnursery (Feb 10, 2012)

Thanks, Dan! I just realized there's a great space for a screened in lean-to off the back of the garage. I might put something together there for processing and storage. 
Hey, I think we both spoke at the Bot Garden a few years ago. Pretty sure that was you. Almost certain it was me. :lookout:


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