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Best way to store drawn comb without wax moths destroying it — and what to use instead of mothballs?

Fifth year in Małopolskie, and I've just pulled about 25 drawn supers plus a stack of old brood boxes for storage. Last autumn wax moths turned four of my stored brood combs into webbed sludge, so I want to do it properly this time. My uncle (old-school beekeeper) says just toss naphthalene mothballs in the stack like he always did. Something about that smells wrong to me, literally — doesn't that soak into the wax? What's the real playbook? I've read fragments about freezing frames first, Certan/B401 spray, storing with light and airflow instead of sealed dark stacks. Which combination actually works, and do honey supers need the same paranoia as brood comb?
#wax-moth#comb-storage#b401#gear
▲ 8 votes 💬 3 replies ✅ Solved
3 replies
AlpineCarnica · Aug 7, 2026 · ✅ Accepted answer
Your nose is right: naphthalene NEVER — it absorbs into wax permanently and is toxic to bees and to you. Tell your uncle times changed. The playbook: freeze every frame 48h to kill eggs/larvae already present, then EITHER store open — stacked criss-cross in a bright, breezy shed, moths hate light and airflow — OR spray with B401/Certan (Bacillus thuringiensis, harmless to bees, kills moth larvae) and stack normally. And yes: brood comb is the target, cocoons and pollen are what larvae eat. Pure honey-super comb that never held brood is far less attractive.
InesMel · Aug 7, 2026
AlpineCarnica's method is mine too. Practical notes: the criss-cross light stack must stay mouse-proof (queen excluder or mesh top and bottom of the stack), and check it monthly — 'stored and forgotten' is how I lost combs my second year. B401 on the brood combs is worth every cent, one spray at storage covers the season.
PasiekaOlek · Aug 7, 2026
Perfect, thank you. Freezer rotation starts today (only fits 6 frames at a time, this will take a while…), B401 ordered for the brood boxes, and supers go criss-cross on shelves by the shed window with mesh over the stack. Uncle has been informed, he is unconvinced but outvoted.
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