# CCD on new comb?



## okb (Apr 16, 2007)

Or just shake them on starter strips.


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## Bizzybee (Jan 29, 2006)

Staggered frame rotations is be done as part of general maintenance.

Preemptive treatment and maintenance for a problem that has no defined cause or cure can be time consuming and expensive and yield little or no help. And since I've seen no indication of the problem with bees spread out over four counties around me, I don't plan to do anything different than I am already.


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## Troy (Feb 9, 2006)

At the Bee College here last month we were given slightly different advice. Since we are not yet sure whether or not CCD is a poison or a pathogen - then we don't know if replacing SOME of the combs does any good. 

The only thing for sure is that if you replace ALL of the combs it seems to help. 

We were advised to take a certain percentage of our hives (they suggested 20%) and shake them into new equipment each year. Now, in a different lecture I heard that hives that were placed on irradiated equipment did well too. So I draw the conclusion that we must disinfect the combs to get rid of this problem.

I wish irradiation were cheaper. It is the clear winner here as the combs can be reused for a longer period of time.

Now I don't recommend using combs for 30+ years. I think a maximum would be about 5 years anyway, but if I could disinfect all of my hives EVERY year and replace comb every 5 years, then I think I have a management plan I would be happy with.


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## Jim Fischer (Jan 5, 2001)

> Since we are not yet sure whether or not CCD is a poison or a pathogen...

Wow, who is teaching the "bee college" down there?
Sounds to me like they need to check their facts.

The clue is that CCD tends to spread from hive to hive, so it is NOT
"a poison". We've all seen far too many pesticide kills to mistake CCD
symptoms for pesticide kill symptoms.

So, its a pathogen. There's been no debate at all on this point for more
than a year.

But regardless, a comb-replacement plan is a prudent part of any
beekeeping operation of any size. There's a boatload of stuff that
replacing comb will reduce or eliminate.


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## simplyhoney (Sep 14, 2004)

Been dealing with ccd now for two years. Last year we replaced our second story, which was a 6 5/8 medium with and a one year old deep that had been used as a honey super the previous year. It was obvious this spring that the bees, while still having some problems, liked this new super. The brood was healthy in these and the queens,for the most part, didn't lay in the old hivebody. New equipment helps, not sure why.


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