Subject: ETO

From: [email-masked] (Allen Dick 546-2588)
Date: Mon, 9 Jan 1995 17:41:36 GMT

: Adam--by "ETOH" do you mean ethanol, or are you talking about ethylene
: oxide?  Or something else entirely?  I had wondered whether ethylene oxide
: would be effective in sterilizing hive bodies, and this sounds like an
: appropriate time to ask.

FWIW I've had a truckload of combs I bought done with ETO -- In Manitoba
many many years ago, before our province built an ETO chamber at a cost to
the Alberta taxpayer of $250,000

ETO does not work on anything but empty comb.  *Any* pollen, honey, etc.
stops penetration of the fumes.

Thus, after fumigation, AFB was still there.  I then cleaned it up with 
TM and sulfa (no longer permitted) and it is clean to this day!

TM rules!!

ETO is dangerous to the operator, poisonous, and highly reactive.  We
mothballed our chamber after it was decided that the possible reaction
products remaining in the hives might contaminate honey and wax. It was
also a lot of work and expense for doubtful results.

Bee equipment had also dropped in value to the point where it was not 
economic.

The chamber did, however come in *mighty* useful when a provicial museum was
attacked by moths and they were able to fumigate several floors of
displays and save the priceless clothing, etc.

W. Allen Dick, Beekeeper                      VE6CFK
Rural Route One, Swalwell,  Alberta  Canada  T0M 1Y0
Phone/Fax: 403 546 2588      Email: [email-masked]

-- 
W. Allen Dick, Beekeeper                      VE6CFK
Rural Route One, Swalwell,  Alberta  Canada  T0M 1Y0
Phone/Fax: 403 546 2588      Email: [email-masked]

---

From: Charles Tuckey <[email-masked]>
Date: 10 Jan 1995 16:02:54 GMT

> stops penetration of the fumes.
This is true...

> also a lot of work and expense for doubtful results.
I was the operator of the Alberta fumigation chamber (so many years ago!)
that Allen refers to. We had to be careful when using ETO but the chamber
we were using was well designed and the danger to the operator was 
minimal. Certainly no more dangerous than using cyanide gas to kill bees 
(a common practice in Alberta at that time). 

It was my experience that
the ETO was *extremely* effective in getting rid of AFB when it was
applied properly. Beekeepers were told to extract their combs so that
they contained no honey. The combs to be fumigated were put into the
fumigation chamber, heated and moistened. A vacuum was drawn on the 
chamber and then the ETO gas was injected. If memory serves this process
was repeated. It was a time consuming process; it could take from 6-8
hours to process one batch.

In the case that I am familiar with an infestation of AFB in 1000
colonies was eradicated with one application of ETO (followed up
with TM). This was after TM alone failed to provide a solution.

charlie