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Beehive Pros And Cons

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One of the largest responsibility for any beekeeper is to ensure that their bees are healthy. This means that Integrated Pest Management is a necessity to ensure a healthy beehive. The pros of Integrated Pest Management are decreased use of chemicals in the beehive, more sustainable, more economical in long run, less chance of hive product contamination, less exposure by beekeeper to chemicals and extends the useful life of chemicals used by lengthening time between applications. The cons of Integrated Pest Control are additional time and commitment required to implement, often requires multiple strategies and evaluation required. One disease and one pest that are extremely devastating to any beehive is American Foulbrood and wax moths. American …show more content…

The infection begins when spores enter the hive, and then food contaminated by spores is fed to the larvae by nurse bees. Once spores are in the midgut the bacteria take over using the larvae as a source of nourishment. After the cells are sealed, death occurs. If death occurs while in the pupal stage, there may be a protruding tongue present. When there is a serious infection, beekeeper can notice moisture on sealed brood as they start to stink. Sunken cells are a result of decomposing larvae. American Foulbrood is very contagious! The only treatment is to burn all colonies infected with American Foulbrood but beekeepers can treat infected colonies with antibiotics. There are two antibiotic treatments for American Foulbrood: Terramycin and Tylan (American Foulbrood, 2013). I would not resort to using chemicals because there is no need since in most cases, American Foulbrood requires you to burn the beehive and equipment. Wax moths can be a terrible problem to beehives if allowed to get out of hand and will destroy brood comb in a very short time if unchecked. Preferring to work in the dark, wax moths enter the hive through top entrances left unscreened and

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