Hi Ernie/All In South Africa we have a problem with theft of combs (quite a big one). Hence I actually use fencing wire (0.5 - 0.7mm) wire as it is stronger and when thieves cut the combs out they at least dont trash your wires, so next time you extract the extracter simultaneusly dumbs every comb and jumps on your foot (happened to me twice). (Somebody stole my combs and the bees built them back and I did not know the wires were gone.) As for brood frames - I don't extract them so I don't wire them. Here we donn't use full sheets of wax on a frame, just a strip accross the top.( cost it out - wax costs me SAR5.00 a sheet, and sugar SAR36 for 12.5 kilograms - so it works out cheaper to buy sugar and use less wax sheeting). To make sure the combs are secured just cut corks in half and nail them to the sides of the frames halfway down - the bees attach the combs to the cork, securing it. Later they may attach it to the sides depending on their feelings about sticking to the rules of bee space that we like to think they follow. Once you have had a few generations (2 years) of brood through a frame (so that it is black) you can actually extract it without wiring at all!! Keep well Garth Garth Cambray Camdini Apiaries 15 Park Road Grahamstown Apis mellifera capensis 6139 South Africa Time = Honey The Universe is not here right now, if you would like to leave a message, leave your name and number after the long silence and it will get back to you as soon as possible.