BBKA Forum

Nice sunny day and decided to clean up the last of the seasons rejected combs.

These were mainly older brood combs which had significant areas of unusable comb. Built a wallpaper steamer stack and extracted wax whilst knocking out couple of boxes of previously steamed frames.

Put a stainless steel washing machine drum on a few bricks to use as a brazier, bunged in a few dry previously steamed out combs as fuel, put a bbq grill over hole and then a 5 gallon stockpot with some rainwater. Filled pot with all my various buckets of wax cappings scrapings and odd bits then lit old combs beneath and kept filling up pot as wax melted. Have to keep an eye on it or can boil which spoils wax.

Is now slowly cooling overnight and after tipping out will scrape off crud from bottom and should have a decent cylinder of cleanish wax for future conversion for foundation. Fun bit of recycling.

Colonies loosely clustered today so gave them an early winter vape with a repeat vape maybe before the new year depending on what the inserts say.
Used the GASVAPE which I purchased off John T on BKF who is selling them the copper chamber for £30 delivered, a realtively simple process that doesn't require a battery to warm the vapouriser.

GASVAPE a simple copper chamber is made form 22m copper fittings soldered together using Silver solder and push fits onto a simple kithcen handheld burner witha 22mm nozzle diameter.

made up some wooden ekes up for poly nucs

Checked the insert on 3 colonies which were vaped yesterday.
Two BS nat's dropped <84 & <130 mites respectively and a nuc <21 mites, certainly will give them another vape before the new year, so quite a few theoretic mites falling now.
Mite fall after late autumn vaping (x4 ) was low so a mild late autumn/early winter has meant brood still being raised in numbers so mittes have taken adavntage, even if some brood is still present it is well worth a vape now as brooding rearing should be minimal now.

did you use the gazvap device? if so, is it still impressing?

Yes Chris, used the Gasvape. First proper use of it on colonies.
Much easier for my out apiaries no, battery/ no trailing lead from vapouriser.

thanks Neil. I am eagerly awaiting the arrival of mine. cant wait to have a go.

Having vaped on Monday and the mites I have seen, decision has been made ( aided by discussion with other forum) to re-vape on Saturday to reduce mites if any more emerge if there is brood present.

A good mask is still required (suitable for vapour ) and at least one thick sturdy thick glove to remove the push fit cap with more crystals for the next colony.

A revape doesn't surprise me, there is no way the boxes will be brood free with the temps we're having at the mo.

Some of mine have had three autumn vapes, combination of Sublimox and gas vap. Two are still dropping around a 1000 mites over three days post vape. God knows where they are coming from....I shall persevere until clear.
John is making a modified gasvaper one with an extended nozzle to get over the landing board problems.