# Do mice or rats eat wet comb?



## ThisBud4U (May 16, 2007)

Hello all,
I've got some bee boxes with wet comb in them which I've been storing in a walk-in cooler (at 40 degrees F). Someone who works at our farm suggested that the mouse they found in there was attracted to the honey leaking from the frames of my wet comb, or maybe the wax itself. Is this likely? Do mice eat honey and/or wax?
Thanks,
ThisBud4U


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## Joseph Clemens (Feb 12, 2005)

If its something humans eat, rodents will eat it too.


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## BEES4U (Oct 10, 2007)

Do mice eat honey and/or wax?

Yes.
And ,they will nest in the combs too.
Ernie


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## bakerboy (Apr 29, 2008)

Stack those supers up and staple a piece of hardware cloth over the top. That'll keep the mice at bay.


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## BEES4U (Oct 10, 2007)

a walk-in cooler (at 40 degrees F). 
How are the mice getting into the cooler?
Ernie


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## ThisBud4U (May 16, 2007)

Ernie, I think they walked. The supervisor keeps the door open for long periods of time while he brings boxes of veggies into the cooler. The question is, how does the mouse know when to get out before the door closes on him? The other possibility is that the supervisor was lying about the mouse to get me in trouble The more I think about this, the more I'm convinced that his story of a mouse in the cooler must be a lie---any mouse would have to be very quick on his or her little paws to avoid getting trampled by the workers bringing stuff in our out, and to avoid dying of hypothermia if the door closed on him while he was still munching. Yup, I'm afraid I've been "had" as they say. Still, thanks for your answers about mice getting into bee boxes and eating honey and comb. I'll be sure not to leave frames with wet comb around where rodents could get at them. The hardware cloth was a good idea too. Thanks.


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## Robert Brenchley (Apr 23, 2000)

Rats will create havoc with comb. I don't know why so few beekeeping books mention them as pests.


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