Protect the Comb
A Practical Guide to Storing Bee Frames & Drawn Comb

Freshly extracted supers still contain residual honey. When conditions permit, place wet supers back on strong colonies for roughly one to two days so the bees can clean the comb. During a dearth, keep supers covered and avoid exposed honey around the apiary because it can trigger robbing.

Not all frames have the same risk. Old brood comb contains cocoons, pollen, and other organic material that can make it especially attractive to wax moth larvae.

• Clean, light honey comb: Lower risk; freeze, dry, and protect.
• Dark brood comb: Higher risk; freeze and inspect closely.
• Pollen or bee-bread comb: Higher risk; freeze and watch for moths, beetles, and mold.
• Foundation only: Keep it dry, straight, and protected from rodents.
• Frames containing honey: Keep in clean, food-safe cold-storage conditions.
• Questionable disease comb: Isolate it from normal equipment.

Freezing kills wax-moth stages already present in the comb. Our freezer standard is approximately 0°F for at least 48 hours. After freezing, allow condensation to dissipate before moving the equipment into protected storage.

Pest-excluding storage: After freezing and drying, use storage that genuinely excludes pests. A loose stack with a lid should not automatically be considered moth-proof.

Light and airflow: Empty comb can also be stored where light and air move through the frames. Protect it from rain and rodents, and inspect it regularly.

A clean, dry storage room helps reduce mold and small-hive-beetle pressure. When practical, aim for below about 50% relative humidity. A dehumidifier can help during humid Kansas weather, but moisture control does not replace moth exclusion.

Inspect for silken webbing, tunnels through cells, frass, cream-colored larvae, cocoons on frames or woodenware, chewed grooves, small hive beetles, condensation, mold, and mouse damage.

Inspect particularly closely when stored-comb temperatures are above roughly 60°F. If moth activity appears, isolate and freeze affected equipment promptly.

Paradichlorobenzene (PDB) products labeled for stored bee comb can be used according to their current label. Use them only on empty stored comb—not on comb containing honey intended for human consumption—and air treated supers adequately before returning them to colonies.

Never substitute household naphthalene mothballs. They are not an acceptable stored-comb treatment and can contaminate honey. Follow pesticide labels exactly.

• Late summer and early fall: Extract, clean, freeze, dry, and protect. This is a high-attention period while weather remains warm.
• Fall: Continue inspections, especially for dark brood and pollen-heavy frames.
• Winter: Cold suppresses wax-moth activity. Continue protecting against mice, moisture, and condensation.
• Late winter and early spring: Inspect every stack before sustained warming.
• Spring nectar flow: Stage clean drawn supers so strong colonies receive space before crowding develops.

• Allow strong colonies to clean wet supers when appropriate.
• Prevent robbing during cleanup.
• Sort frames by type and condition; isolate questionable disease comb.
• Freeze drawn comb at approximately 0°F for 48 hours or more.
• Allow condensation to dissipate, then move comb into pest-protected storage.
• Keep the storage environment clean and dry; target below 50% relative humidity when practical.
• Protect against mice and rodents.
• Inspect regularly during warm weather and again before spring deployment.

• Do: Freeze valuable drawn comb, protect it immediately afterward, separate high-risk brood and pollen comb, keep storage clean and dry, inspect during warm weather, keep honey frames food-safe, and follow pesticide labels.
• Don’t: Assume freezing prevents reinfestation, leave wet supers exposed, treat every frame as having the same risk, store comb in a damp enclosed building, forget supers until spring, apply PDB to harvest honey, or use household mothballs.

Protect this year’s comb to increase next year’s options. A beekeeper who enters spring with clean, dry, pest-free drawn comb has production capacity waiting in reserve. When colonies expand and nectar begins flowing, those supers can go directly back into service.