Question: Why not have the pad at the entrance so all bees have to walk over it to get in the hive, afterall thats where the varroa get into the hive. I imagine a short ox tunnel as it were. Your thoughts please.
In the Uk there are restrictions about which treatments you can have on with honey supers. I use Apivar in August for 10 weeks and follow that with an oxalic acid sublimation (Apibioxal) over Christmas when there is no brood. If there is brood, then it's possible to sublimate 3 times every 5 days. This should cover any brood being present.
Yes, to all you bee boob fans! 😅 In fact, worker bees have a large nipple on top of their head that they use to nurse larvae. The hypopharyngeal gland is located in the head of the worker bee, in front of the brain. It starts to mature three days after the bee's emergence, and develops only when the insect secretes royal jelly to feed the young larvae and the queen.
Using Apiguard (by the bucket ($140.) in a warmer than usual Spring for swarm control too. Pretty strong brood brake. Interesting to hit with OA before the post break new larva is capped. Kind of a dust up. What is the cost of Thymovar per hive? Great nice big sign!
Yes, there are a bunch of thymol based products available in different countries. Apiguard Is not available in Canada. Thymovar is much easier to apply in my opinion. When operating lots of hives, ease of application goes a long way in making a product that I would like to use.
Hi here is a video too see it will tell you more about oxalic treatment .Ep48 making and using oxalic acid strips ,kiwi wildman nz (once known as a kiwi beeman) let me no you got it
You didn't have time to watch the video, but you had time to type a comment. It always amazes me when someone complains about something for no particular reason other than to complain. Lots of Kevin's and Karen's out there.
@oneshoo thank you. My goal was not to just re-spew a simple recipe like most people do. My intent was to explain reasons why you could use it and why we should be able to use it and a little bit of a political statement on the red tape of government and how it negatively affects the world.
@@Innisfilcreekhoney And you did so very articulately! I would say that I’m going to try it, but I don’t want the bee police knocking at my door! 🙄🤦♂️
I've heard that pouring a bit of water on the strip towels can refresh the effect. Has anyone tried that? I know it depends on the material. Apparently the PIG ones take to the refresh.
Might dilute the Oxalic? Might entice the bees to drink it for the moisture? Might reduce the long term effectiveness? Might do almost anything. That is why research is important. Always better to fallow the experts instructions and advice.
@@danielweston9188Why wouldn't the towels suck up the water? Not what some of our friends have reported. The dry (Pig) towels suck the water up. Just asking if anyone here has tried it.
There is no one single treatment I would use. Extended release oxalic acid would be used in conjunction with a full pest management protocol. It would be just one tool to use to mitigate varroa mite. The most important tool a beekeeping can use to control varroa mite is an alcohol wash because that enables you to monitor their levels. So you know if your treatment protocol is working.
Excellent info video, thank you! A tip I heard through the grapevine to speed up the process for mixing…preheat your glycerin to about 130-140 F then mix in the OA. It will cut your prep time in half.
in New Zealand they impregnate cardboard strips and hang them over the frames Vertically . Search for New Zealand oxalic acid treatment on RU-vid and you should find a video of how they do it. I'm not sure if the Swedish towels may be too thick to hang vertically as the bees need to walk on the surface to be able to spread the oxalic acid around. Seeing that I would never actually use it because it's illegal in Ontario, Canada. It would be hard for me to give exact treatment or advice.
I am in the South Carolina. Our hives frequently never go completely broodless in the winter. We have frequent days in the 50s and 60s with intermittent freezing weather. Would it be appropriate to use this method in Jan/ Feb/march. Brood nest is usually split between the 2 boxes. Thanks for a precise presentation.
Randy Oliver's research. He suggests that it be used during honey flow when the bees are actively moving up and down through the hive. The bees need to be traveling up and down through the boxes that they step on the pads and disperse the acid around. If they're in cluster, they're not going to do that, so I would assume from what I've read that that might not be an appropriate treatment at that time. There are other things available for use when the bees are in cluster.
Seems like any treatments that stay in the hive over time, eventually lose their effectiveness. Are we setting ourselves up for the mites to build resistance against OA, by using OA as an extended release? OA seems to be the only effective tool we have left. The magnificent thing about it is, it doesn’t stay in the hive long. With extended release OA, are we setting up an environment for the mites to build resistance? Just a concern I have with all the extended release OA talk.
There is no one single treatment I would use. Extended release oxalic acid would be used in conjunction with a full pest management protocol. It would be just one tool to use to mitigate varroa mite. The most important tool a beekeeping can use to control varroa mite is an alcohol wash because that enables you to monitor their levels. So you know if your treatment protocol is working.
Not sure if that is necessary? Randy Oliver does not mention doing that. Doing extra, untested things to treatments is not always the best thing to do.
Good presentation. Chris Werner puts pads on his colonies just as you demonstrate. He puts them on his colonies as soon as they arrive in Michigan from Florida. He leaves them on until they move them back to Florida in October. There was no mention of whether or not it was "approved". 😉
Looked at Varroxsan. Application is 4 strips draped over frames in each brood chamber. Application will be a bit of a pain We will have to see if it comes to Canada and what the price will be when it gets here.
Works great on new nuc once new queen is going gangbusters. So individuals could get 30 days exposure before honey supers go on. I can only use approved product to kill mites. If I were to make my own mixture of essential oils not approved is illegal. I can self medicate my dog with over the counter medication. Your right about company’s making synthetic no money for them. Thanks for education the masses
@@Innisfilcreekhoney I'm near Sault ste Marie. Treated around the end of May, if you recall it was through a cool spell. High of 22c, most days were around 16.
@@Innisfilcreekhoney watching other keepers, I've come to conclusion that with years of use, many have accidentally breed formic resistant queens by culling all the non resistant. Was interesting to see Ian steepler different queens react.
@@stuffnsuch631 Just like we will probably never be immune to fire it is extremely unlikely that Varroa Mite will ever build an immunity to Formic Acid. That being said, it is important no matter what treatments you use that you test and monitor your hives to insure that their Varroa Mite levels stay low.
GREAT analogy, bro. First year beekeeper, here. I have approached this venture with the same mindset. This is my herd, my pack, I took the responsibility so I have to treat this with the same respect and discipline. Glad RU-vid suggested your channel. 🫶🏼
Is there a trick to loading the plunger? Every time, no matter the dosage set, the oxalic acid power fails to stay in. Update! Adding a couple drops of water will make it stick in the plunger. Add water drops, shake shake shake and its good to go!
You can try adding a few drops of water to the oxalic acid and mixing it up. Just a little bit of moisture. Will make it pack like Sand on the beach when you're making sandcastles
