Max, Les; Thinking back it seems I remember Mr Bill ("Eltalia") and Iddee being in a 'semi'-'heated' debate of how to handle hives with AFB. ('If') I remember correctly, Mr Bill said the proper way to deal with the situation was to burn the complete hive, woodware and bees while Iddee stated that his State of North Carolina had some sort of radiation method of killing AFB spores, thus saving the woodware. But that was at least 4 years ago and my memory is foggy on this one. One thing if for sure; Mr Bill was in Australia and apparently was very keen to the disaster that AFB causes on our bees.
Phillip
Burning is the most common way to deal with AFB. Most beekeepers would shut the hive after dark, pour a cup or two od petrol over the frames , kill the bees and burn the lot. Horrible!
Irradiation is approved ( Gamma) but is also expensive as the plant is quite a distance from here. Also equipment has to be stacked in a very specific way on a pallet. I don't have a forklift or truck and without the right gear it is complicated.
For a while I have treated all hives with a dead-out as if they had AFB - just in case. i sell nuc's and I want to be sure I don't sell diseased bees.
The alternative is a specific heat treatment which is approved.
The bloke who has the right gear is not far from here and is using solar power and it is quite cheap. Frames come back very clean - just a bit dark.
Sadly he is not doing it anymore.
I trying to buy the equipment but he can't make a decision.
I have been considering building one. I could also use solar power as i have excess power on a sunny day.
Having said all that...
My mate with 2500 hives and a regular problem with AFB soaks his hives ( supers with frames) in a strong chlorine solution in a large tub.
He cleans the gear with clean water, airs the lot and reuses supers and frames.
He assures me that AFB spores do not survive this treatment.
I have his word for it but IHAVE NOT TRIED THIS AND HAVE NO PERSONAL EXPERINCE. It is NOT an approved means to treat for AFB in Qld.