storing wet/dry supers

[Chorlton Honey Bees]

Hi all
i have a working chest freezer spare and was wondering if anyone stores there
super's in a freezer too
what your thoughts on storing this way i know this will stop wax moth and may kill other pathogens but does this in any way make the wax brittle when used in honey season (spring /summer)
Cheers Alan

 

[Erichalfbee]

I store brood frames in the freezer if they have pollen in them.
Wax is brittle only when frozen.

 

[enrico]

If you have a chest freezer I would put them all through the freezer to kill off any wax moth and then stack them somewhere dry, cool and pitch dark. I have a ten foot by ten foot shed that I have lined and sealed which I store all my frames in. Stops bees wasps mice and moth provided you don't put the moth in there with the frames!
E

 

[Amari]

If you have a chest freezer I would put them all through the freezer to kill off any wax moth and then stack them somewhere dry, cool and pitch dark. I have a ten foot by ten foot shed that I have lined and sealed which I store all my frames in. Stops bees wasps mice and moth provided you don't put the moth in there with the frames!
E

Why pitch dark?

 

[enrico]

Because for some reason the wax moth doesn't seem to live in a totally dark space. I don't know why, maybe they need light to live, but I have never had wax moth in a room that has no windows and one well sealed door! Works for me!
I have had moth in supers just stored in a normal shed!
E

 

[Amari]

Interesting! - (answer to post 5, Hivemaker interrupted) - Has any research on this been published? Would be a nice research project for a sixth-former, sorry, year 12, - should be quite simple to set up. I'm tempted but I'm year 68.

 

[Hivemaker.]

(answer to post 5, Hivemaker interrupted)

Sorry for interrupting, deleted my post for you.

 

[Headnavigator]

Because for some reason the wax moth doesn't seem to live in a totally dark space. I don't know why, maybe they need light to live, but I have never had wax moth in a room that has no windows and one well sealed door! Works for me!
I have had moth in supers just stored in a normal shed!
E

So if I freeze my (mostly wet) super frames and then store in boxes in thick black poly bags they should be OK until spring?

 

[enrico]

The problem with black poly bags is that it seemed to make some of my frames go quite mouldy and while the bees do clean them up I just didn't like it. Do you have enough supers for the frames? If so then stack them in one stack on a piece of board with no gap, seal with gaffa tape and strap them tight together......
To be honest, wax moth is rarely a huge problem, the trouble is it can be! If you do get it and don't notice it can decimate your frames. If you check them regularly you should be fine!
E

 

[Erichalfbee]

I froze about half my supers. My freezer takes only two boxes at a time and I got fed up storing them all in different phases of preparation (waiting to be frozen, freezing, thawing to room temp to stack)
Over winter they are stacked wet, strapped together, with a large plastic garden tray underneath and on the top, in the garden shed.

Last year they were stored wet unfrozen and were all OK