Hello all,
 
I thought that I may as well join in the foulbrood thread, and I regret if
I step on any toes in doing.
 
There is no point in throwing out the baby with the bathwater.(burning hives)
This is not the dark ages folks. I remember when we first (inspectors in
MI) found T-mites. Ye Gads! Burn them out! And you know, we still have
mites.
 
One post responded that his procedure was to use TM mix and put it over the
end bars once a week. It works. At one time, years ago when I started out,
I took over a hundred FB hives from a fruit grower. Most of them cleared
up. The ones that *didn't* got burned. In my mind, if treating with TM
didn't work, then I was going to kill out that strain of bacteria. By the
way, I did requeen to get a young prolific layer in the hive. No doom and
gloom. My understanding is that most of the hives have the spores in them.
Just like we humans have pathogens in our bodies. If the organism gets
stressed out, bingo, pathogens multiply.
 
I think that the sterilization is a joke. Too small and too much cost.
 
Keep the hives strong and manage them well. Use a patty at least once a
year and the hives should be FB free. I would recommend a dusting in the
spring and fall, also, as patties don't seem to work quite as well as
dusting, in my experience.
 
I have not found any sign of FB in three years or so.
 
Also, just like Allen, I can smell it before I see it.
 
Good luck!
 
Sleeping Bear Apiaries/Kirk Jones
BeeDazzled Candleworks/Sharon Jones
 
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