BBKA Forum

British Beekeepers Association Official Forum 

  • Using Certan to control wax moth

  • Honeybee pests and diseases.
Honeybee pests and diseases.
 #362  by cambsbeekeep
 20 Aug 2018, 17:30
I had an infestation of wax moth when I stored some frames with comb in and went on holiday. Although the boxes with the frames in were closed up and covered, some moths obviously escaped when I discovered them, and are moving into other stored frames. I know, silly me! I have a product called Certan which is said to protect frames, but can I use this product on "wet" comb that has the residue of honey after spinning, which I intend to give back to the bees along with a syrup feed?
 #401  by AdamD
 24 Aug 2018, 16:36
I've never used Certan so I can't comment on it. I have had wax moth - and this year I've had more than I wanted! I forgot that there was a bag of a few old combs hidden away in my bee shed which is generally bee-tight and moth tight. However, as you would imagine the bag was a breeding ground for the moths and by the time I realized what a numpty I was, they were all over the place. :roll:
For me, once supers have been licked dry by the bees they are put in a chest freezer for a day or two before storage. With the hope that nothing will get in them until spring.
 #403  by Patrick
 24 Aug 2018, 22:28
I have never used Certan but boy oh boy, wax moth have thrived in the hot weather. It’s been a better year for butterflies and moths with the dry heat (better as in less dire than usual) and I think wax moth are no exception.

I had a dead out half in a solo out colony that had been split but nout managed ( for a reason not to be gone into here) and when I checked yesterday was a mass of Greater wax moth emerged adults and whalloping great larvae and pupae. The rate they got established was amazing. A few more weeks and all the combs would have been locked together and the whole sorry mess suitable only for burning.

Straight back home and whole lot in a hastily constructed steamer so wax melted and all boxes, crown boards and QX cleaned up.

I really try to ensure I do not store any comb that has been bred in, because wax moth can be a terror. Unfortunately storing bred in comb in plastic sacks etc only seems to hasten their development stages or so it seems.
 #488  by cambsbeekeep
 02 Sep 2018, 15:03
Wax moth eat their way through plastic bags, as I found out when I came back from holiday. Big holes in the sacks I had stored the frames in - fortunately these bags were also in sealed plastic boxes, which the wax moth had not eaten through (perhaps given time they would!). Unfortunately when I opened up the first plastic box, out flew a load of very plump mature moths, so I am sure there are some that I missed still lurking around the bee shed. I have now sprayed everything that has had bees in (frames, even those stored in the sealed boxes), super boxes and QE's with Certan. Super boxes had been scorched, but once the wax moth get back in, who knows what they will do.