DrentseBij · Drenthe, NL · Pests & Disease · Oct 31, 2026
Wax moth still active in my comb store in November because the shed shares a wall with the house — now what?
Drenthe, nine years. I store about 60 supers of drawn comb over winter and I've always been smug about not having a wax moth problem. This year I moved the store from a cold outbuilding into a lean-to that shares a wall with the house, because it's dry and convenient.
It's too warm. It's sitting at 15-16°C because of the house wall, and yesterday I found webbing and frass on three frames in the middle of a stack, at the end of October, when everything should be dormant. In the old cold shed nothing moved from November to March.
So I need to fix this in the next fortnight. Options as I understand them. Move the whole lot back to the cold building and accept the inconvenience, which is the real answer. Treat the stacks with the Bacillus thuringiensis product sold for stored comb, which is what commercial people near me use. Or stack the boxes with airflow and light, since moth prefers dark still conditions.
Has anyone kept comb clean in a warm store without moving it? And is the Bt treatment worth it at 60 supers, or is a cold building always the answer?
#wax-moth#comb-storage#bacillus-thuringiensis#netherlands
▲ 1 votes
💬 1 replies
✅ Solved
ImkerinLena · Oct 31, 2026 · ✅ Accepted answer
Cold is the answer, and you already know it. Wax moth development effectively stops below about 10°C, which is why your old shed worked and your new one doesn't. Move it back. If you cannot, then freeze in batches AND treat the comb with a product approved for that use in your country, following its label — but you'll be managing the problem all winter instead of not having it.
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