N.J. Admin. Code § 2:24-4.1 - Inspection protocol

(a) Beekeepers will be notified in advance, where possible and feasible, of any potential inspection of their bees.

(b) All inspections will be conducted in accordance with the following procedures:

1. The minimum number of hives, as listed below, shall be physically opened and the brood nest inspected for American foulbrood:

1-10 colonies in an apiary-100 percent of the colonies

11-20 colonies in an apiary-50 percent of the colonies

21-50 colonies in an apiary-33 percent of the colonies

51 + colonies in an apiary-20 percent of the colonies

2. Any apiary site where American foulbrood is found shall be inspected 100 percent.

3. Varroa mite sampling may be conducted as a population level monitoring tool by the State Apiarist.

(c) All hives sold in New Jersey must be found by the Department to be apparently free of American foulbrood. The inspection by the Department shall be conducted within 10 working days of the request for inspection by the seller.

(d) The treatment procedure for American foulbrood infected hives within New Jersey is as follows:

1. The Department shall categorize the infected colonies as "treatable" for control of American foulbrood (AFB) or "non-treatable." This classification shall be at the discretion of the inspector, according to (d)2 and 3 below, although the beekeeper is invited to be present and assist during the inspection.

2. Procedures for "treatable" colonies shall be as follows:

i. "Treatable" colonies are those colonies with no AFB scale present.

ii. The beekeeper shall begin treatment of the remainder of the infected colony within 15 days of inspection by the Department with Terramycin or other material/method approved by the Department.

iii. The Department shall reinspect "treatable" colonies as soon after 60 days as weather conditions permit. Colonies would be under a one-year probationary period. If treatment is not successful during this one-year period, the colony would be considered non-treatable.

3. Procedures for "non-treatable" colonies shall be as follows:

i. "Non-treatable" colonies are those colonies that have observable AFB scale.

ii. The beekeeper shall remove and destroy by burning all wooden frames within 15 days of the initial inspection. Upon request, the Department shall assist the beekeeper in obtaining the necessary burning permits.

iii. All other hive parts shall be disposed in a landfill, destroyed by burning, treated by scorching, or rendered disease-free by any other method approved by the Department.

iv. The Department may reinspect the infected equipment as soon as possible but no sooner than 30 days after initial inspection.

(e) All colonies requiring treatment for contagious/infectious diseases or other pests are subject to quarantine by the Department. If time constraints prohibit treatment before movement, the Department, upon request from the beekeeper, may approve movement to a holding yard until treatment is commenced.

(f) The beekeeper may be subject to penalty actions as per N.J.S.A. 4:6-12 through 14 for failure to follow treatment procedures detailed above.

Notes

N.J. Admin. Code § 2:24-4.1

Administrative change.
See: 27 N.J.R. 2577(a).
Amended by R.1998 d.191, effective 4/20/1998.
See: 30 N.J.R. 508(a), 30 N.J.R. 1401(b).
Rewrote (d); and added (e) through (g).
Amended by R.2012 d.163, effective 9/17/2012.
See: 43 N.J.R. 1583(a), 44 N.J.R. 2241(a).
Rewrote the introductory paragraph of (a) and (b)3; in (c), deleted the second sentence; deleted former (d); recodified former (e) as (d); in (d)1, substituted "(d)2" for "(e)2"; in (d)2i, deleted "less than 10 percent AFB infection and" following "with"; deleted former (d)2ii; recodified former (d)2iii and (d)2iv as (d)2ii and (d)2iii; rewrote (d)iii; in (d)3i, substituted "that" for "which", and deleted "10 percent or more AFB infection or have" following "have"; deleted former (f); and recodified former (g) and (h) as (e) and (f).