Shaking bees to new equipment

Shake all adult bees from an AFB-infected hive onto new, clean frames with foundation in a fresh hive body. Destroy all original combs, frames, and boxes by burning. Starve the shaken bees for 24–48 hours on bare foundation before allowing them to draw new comb, forcing them to consume any spore-contaminated honey in their crops.

Why It Works

AFB spores concentrate in contaminated comb, honey, and pollen stores rather than inside the bees themselves. By removing all comb and starving the colony, spore-laden honey in bee crops is metabolized before new comb is built. The starvation step is critical — skipping it significantly increases the chance of reinfection from regurgitated contaminated honey.

Tips

• Perform the shaking in the evening to reduce drift of contaminated bees to neighboring hives
• Use a two-shake method for higher reliability: shake onto bare foundation, let bees build for 3 days, then shake again onto new foundation and destroy the first set of comb
• Burn all original equipment immediately — do not store or attempt to sterilize wooden ware
• Requeen with a young queen from hygienic stock to improve the colony's ability to detect and remove infected larvae