JoJo36 wrote: ↑10 Aug 2022, 11:25
However some beekeepers from my local area say you shouldn't use these supers again as they are in effect contaminated??!!
Why isn't there one straight answer in beekeeping??!!
Because too many beekeepers enjoy the "power" of seemingly being knowledgeable and passing on incomplete and inaccurate information. Ask them which peer reviewed papers have documented that these "contaminated" supers are dangerous to consumers. You'll get a big errr ummmm..
(Clue....there aren't any). But there are many papers documenting that pesticides can be detected in wax. The technology is very sensitive. A paper published a few years ago on pesticides in Belgium beeswax found many common pesticides and veterinary treatment residues present, another paper found some that were currently illegal under EU law. But nothing that was at a level that consumers of cut comb needed to be worried about.
https://orbi.uliege.be/bitstream/2268/250556/1/Pesticides_Belgium_STOTEN_2020_Published.pdf
There is too much rubbish talked about beekeeping by beekeepers. Starts talking about Buckfast bees in most associations and riots ensue. Yet many are totally ignorant of the various Buckfast strains and lines that Brother Adam developed and many bee breeders continue to maintain today.
Recently on an facebook forum someone stated quiet venomously that bee brushes could only be used once.....
On same forum fights almost developed over wired super comb vs unwired for centrifugation.
I only use unwired thin and was told you simply cannot centrifuge this as it will break up and was talking rubbish.
Nearly 1900lbs of honey from thin unwired this year and yet to see breakout.....I think some beekeepers will argue the sun is blue and defend it fervently....
Lesson learnt long time ago.....there are no absolutes in beekeeping. But many beekeepers see things as black and white, yes or no answers. They are dangerous as they influence the next generation into the same old thinking.
Be careful who you take advice from.