How to Effectively Clean Your Apimaye Beehives

Maintaining a clean hive is essential for the health and productivity of your bee colony. Based on our own apiary experience, we have found that the best way to clean hives is by using a power washer. Here’s a step-by-step guide to help you clean your hives efficiently.

Step 1: Scrape Off Excess Wax and Propolis Residues

Before using the power washer, start by scraping off all excess wax and propolis inside the hives and around the frames. Your hive tool is perfect for this task. Be thorough in removing any buildup to ensure the power washer can clean the surfaces effectively.

Step 2: Clean Vent Holes and Entrance Doors

Unscrew the sliding entrance door and round entrance. Use a metal rod to scrape the vent holes. This step helps maintain proper ventilation and reduces the risk of blockage, which can affect your hive's airflow. You can check the 'Part Extras' in the shop if you need replacements for some of the parts on your hives.

Step 3: Power Wash the Hives

With the initial scraping done, it's time to use the power washer. We recommend washing Apimaye hives with water for cleaning purposes. The power washer will help remove any remaining debris that will clean the hive components without the need for harsh chemicals.

Step 4: Reuse the Plastic Frames

You can use your drawn frames if there are no signs of an infection on them. If a colony collapsed because of starvation, drawn frames from said colony can be used without removing the wax. If there was a mild Wax Moth infestation, you can reuse the frames after placing the drawn frames in a freezer for a couple of days. If the wax moth infestation is severe, we recommend using new foundations.

After Varroosis, beekeepers need to evaluate a few points such as:

• Residue from the Varroa treatment used in the frames
• Any continuing Varroa load in the colony
• What the overall health of the drawn frames is before deciding to reuse the said frames again. Here are examples of unhealthy frames that must be evaluated before being reused.

If all of these points are good, the beekeeper can use the drawn frames.

For AFB and EFB infections, it is not recommended to use the infected frames. We recommend following state regulations in such cases.

Additionally, it is important not to boil plastic frames in hot water as they will warp and deform  from the heat.

Final Thoughts

Regular hive maintenance and cleanings are vital for the health of your bee colony. Please keep in mind that scraping the hives with abrasive sponges, using chemical cleaners, or putting the parts and feeders in the dishwasher may negatively affect the lifespan of your equipment. We advise that the style of cleaning described above is the only recommended method for our hive equipment. 

Important Note for the Highly Infectious Disease Such as AFB

Please follow your state regulations. This information can be found via the state’s Department of Agriculture services, university extension services, state beekeeping associations, and/or state apiary inspectors.