A few thoughts of mine about storing combs-
 
Brood combs are very attractive to wax moths, and cannot be stored for
long before the moths damage or totally ruin them.  Three things can be
done.
1) Freeze them for several days, after which you can store them in
completely closed plastic bags.  If there is so much as a tiny hole
somewhere, the moths will find it.  This method is usually only
practical on the small scale.
2) Treat with PCB crystals placed on boards on top of and below the
stack of hive bodies, then close the stack with duct tape.  Do not get
the crystals on the frames, or the bees will reject the combs.  In my
experience, the combs should be aired out in the open for about a week
before using them in the spring.
3) Spray the combs with a BT containing solution.  This is obtainable at
bee supply houses, but I have no experience with it.
 
Honey super combs are much easier to store, if dry and no pollen or bee
cocoons are present.  This is the main reason that I would never even
consider not using queen excluders:  When brood is raised, pollen and
cocoons are inevitable in the honey supers - an excluder is the easiest
way to keep all this trouble out of the super.
OK, I said the supers must also be dry.  Despite much that has been said
in this newsgroup, supers can easily be cleaned out in the open by bees
without stimulating general robbing of hives.  Here's what I do:
1) Make your stack far away from existing hives - you don't want bees
looking around for free food near hives.
2) Put down a bottom board and a queen excluder directly on top of it.
This keeps mice out of the supers.
3) Stack up to ten supers newly extracted.  They need not be neatly
lined up.  It doesn't matter.
4) Put an inner cover and cover over the stack, and let it stand for
about a week.
5) Store the now dry combs indoors, taking care to protect the stack
from mice only.  Wax moths will not even try to get into them (if there
is no pollen, or course).
 
One thing should be mentioned, however.  Never, never mix any AFB supers
with good ones.  All these frames should be burned, never reused.  I
wouldn't even extract honey from AFB supers.  Burn it all, honey and
frames.
 
Ted Fischer
Dexter, Michigan USA