American foulbrood rampant in Connecticut (USA)

[squid_ink]

bad news :(

HAMDEN, Conn. - Connecticut scientists say nearly half the state's 2,600 registered beehives are infected with bacteria that cause a disease that kills honeybee larvae

Comments

[octopaedia]

I worked in honeybee research for three years (in Michigan) and we maintained about fifty hives. IIRC, we found foul brood once during those three years; those hive boxes and frames had to be autoclaved.

We treated with terramycin and in general it was effective; I would recommend it.

[squid_ink]

thanks! I've got the powder form, I normally treat in the fall anyway. I'll just start a little early this year

[vuzh]

Was autoclaving effective? I had heard it was best to burn the boxes and frames and start over.

[octopaedia]

Yes, autoclaving is effective as long as it's done properly. Some beekeepers don't have easy access to a large autoclave though, so in those cases the most sure-fire way is, indeed, to incinerate the infected boxes and frames.

We had a sister department that didn't bother autoclaving; they did incinerate theirs.

[octopaedia]

Sorry, I should clarify: we cleared out the hives first and scraped all the foul brood. The empty boxes and frames were then claved. So yes, you still need to start over, in effect. Autoclaving is only useful if it's important to you to salvage your equipment.