> The ocean containers are fairly tight aren't they Bob?

Very tight. Its claimed 10,000 are lost at sea yearly and many float for a 
very long time with only a tip above the surface (shipping hazard)  but most 
reportedly sink fast due to cargo weight.

Search "ocean containers lost at sea" on the net.

There are four "vents" but these are low enough a pocket of air can be 
formed when empty in water.

Bees can enter these vent holes so we usually masking tape or screen these.

 I have thought that
> a fan blowing air over an open container of glacial acetic and through two
> perforated pipes of the type used in sewage tile beds at the top two edges
> of the trailer (acetic fumes are heavier than air and sink) might treat
> comb quite simply without wrapping etc.

For commercial beekeepers (but might be of interest to hobby & sideline):

Would work but phostoxin gas is most often used. There are people which will 
come out and gas your containers/ buildings in most cities but many beeks do 
theirselves.
Places which sell oxygen/ acetilene and other gases usually handle 
phostoxin.

Phostoxin tabs are available but harder to locate.

Cyanide gas was used years ago.

In all the above the danger was allways to the applicator and usually for 
about 24 hours until the gas is gone.  Every living thing in the compartment 
is killed but after the initial period the room is safe to enter but most 
beeks air out comb before using on bees.

Once the compartment has been opened for awhile the compartment needs 
treated again in case pests have entered.

Regulations as to application vary from state to state and I caution only 
those with a large number of boxes to protect should consider the phostoxin 
however a better choice *residue wise* than using mass quantities of para 
crystals.

Para crystals & phostoxin are the only approved methods in the U.S. to my 
knowledge.

Bell Apiaries in Florida has a building capable of holding 20,000 deep 
supers of comb. *If* those boxes of drawn comb are worth say fifteen dollars 
a box then the contents of the building when full are worth approx $300,000. 
Florida is a wax moth & small hive beetle paradise. Phostoxin and as needed 
is the only choice.

Gas is used (and approved) for most produce.
Without a doubt we all have consumed produce treated with phostoxin gas many 
times.

The trick is to keep the container sealed once pests are killed.

The pests die from lack of oxygen .

My only purpose for ocean container was for super storage. I kept 20 pallets 
of supers after the honey crop. The container was empty during the summer.
No sweating in early spring and early fall.

When I started storing drawn brood comb through the summer (downsizing) I 
started to see condensation form on the inside of the roof in 100F. temps. 
We unloaded the container and power washed out the inside. let dry and 
reloaded but the last two seasons a light mold has formed which we removed 
(killed) with a light Clorox solution and the bees jumped right on the 
boxes.

Mold on combs is really not a big deal. Might look bad or even smell bad.

quote page 559 of the new 2007 ABC XYZ of Beekeeping ( First time I have 
quoted from the edition )

"Mold-covered combs do not need to be discarded despite their bad appearance 
and odor. In fact, the mold penicillium waksmanii has been used for a comb 
cleaner for combs with scales of American foulbrood. The mold has no adverse 
effect on the beeswax. It is not necessary to remove the mold from the combs 
as the bees can clean them, "

Clorox *in my opinion* is as said above  not necessary but simply helps the 
bees by killing the mold making cleanup easier for the bees.

bob

             ***********************************************
The BEE-L mailing list is powered by L-Soft's renowned
LISTSERV(R) list management software.  For more information, go to:
http://www.lsoft.com/LISTSERV-powered.html

Guidelines for posting to BEE-L can be found at:
http://honeybeeworld.com/bee-l/guidelines.htm