Betty McAdam wrote:
>
> I note the reference to TM-25 for treating AFB.  I have always understood
> the only treatment for AFB was to torch the inside of the supers, together
> with killing all bees and burning the frames or alternatively to irradiate
> the super and frames.  I cannot comment on the treatment advice since we do
> not have AFB or EFB but I wonder whether TM-25 treats AFB or disguises the
> symptoms while the hive recovers strength on its own.
>
I agree with your statements on AFB treatment if the colony is well on
its way out, with lots of bad brood and a declining bee population.
In that case there is no other way.  However, if a populous colony
shows sporadic AFB cells, TM-25 can easily clean it up.  I always mix
it in vegetable shortening patties with sugar and place two 4-6 ounce
patties between brood chambers.  I don't know if the AFB spores are
killed, but if the treatment results in no more dead and dying brood,
what's the difference?  Incidentally, as a preventative I always give
such a treatment to all colonies early in spring and again after the
honey flow in fall.  In the last five or six years since adding this
to my management routine, I have yet to see an AFB colony in my 75
hive apiary.  (Hives killed by varroa can mimic AFB, but it is not the
same.)
 
Ted Fischer
Dexter, Michigan USA