2nd treatment??

[Loubylou]

Hi, I have treated my colonies with Apiguard and noticed hardly any mite drop, do I need to treat again or is once enough?

 

[Galaxy55]

Yes is the short answer to make sure that you have covered a full brood cycle.

Mark

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

Hi, I have treated my colonies with Apiguard and noticed hardly any mite drop, do I need to treat again or is once enough?

Did you follow the full course - second tray on 14 days after the first and no later? or listen to what some say an end after the first?

 

[Gilberdyke John]

Hi, I have treated my colonies with Apiguard and noticed hardly any mite drop, do I need to treat again or is once enough?

A treatment is a four week session and requires two trays of Apiguard. Put one on then the second two weeks later. If a jobs worth doing it's worth doing right!

 

[Bobl]

Interesting dilema, my bees are foraging really well at the moment and they have plenty of Brood and stores on a single brood box (WBC), no super. I haven't treated them yet. When is the latest date to start treatment?

 

[Spikedog]

Bobl - Apiguard effectiveness is temperature related - if Sept is to continue warm you could apply the product. However, it is a four week commitment so temp's must hold into October. One major concern of applying it for only two weeks is that you may well be inadvertently promoting resistance to its impact.

 

[REDWOOD]

Bobl, what are those red things on your hive ?

 

[Erichalfbee]

Bobl, what are those red things on your hive ?

Ahhhhh they look like hearts

 

[Erichalfbee]

Hi, I have treated my colonies with Apiguard and noticed hardly any mite drop, do I need to treat again or is once enough?

The thing to remember is how thymol works. It kills only phoretic mites. Have you any sealed brood?

However, one thing that has puzzled me.
How long is brood sealed at this time of year....no or few drones....? 13 days.
Why isn't one application enough, indeed?

 

[itma]

…
Why isn't one application enough, indeed?

Because it isn't guaranteed to kill ALL the phoretic mites in the hive. So a second (or even third) go-round further reduces the problem still remaining at the end.

If you only had a small problem to start with, a single treatment may leave you with no more residual mites than a hive that had the full treatment but started with a big problem.



There is no question of mites becoming resistant to Thymol.
However, with some other types of treatment (notably Apistan and Bayvarol) it is very important that the treatment is completed properly (neither shortened nor lengthened) because mites readily acquire resistance to the synthetic insecticide ingredients.

 

[Spikedog]

As to possible resistance development re Thymol - I stand corrected, statement retracted please ignore ...

 

[Erichalfbee]

Thanks itma...obvious explanation

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

Bobl, what are those red things on your hive ?

Ahhhhh they look like hearts

No - they're Bobl's

 

[user 6228]

Bobl - Apiguard effectiveness is temperature related - if Sept is to continue warm you could apply the product. However, it is a four week commitment so temp's must hold into October. One major concern of applying it for only two weeks is that you may well be inadvertently promoting resistance to its impact.

It is important to be aware all (see note) trials for these treatments are done in wooden hives with no insulation.

As these treatments are affected by temperature, you may get very different results in poly hives or wooden hives that are substantially insulated. Overdoses of some treatments can be fatal to individual or the colony. The safe dose levels are a major result of the trials, which may be affected by insulation.

Note: from a conversation with staff from Vita

 

[beeno]

Hi all,
I have come to the conclusion that I have very few Phoretic mites and that they are all in the brood.

 

[Loubylou]

Hi all,
I have come to the conclusion that I have very few Phoretic mites and that they are all in the brood.

Hi Beeno, has this effected your treatment methods in any way?

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

Hi all,
I have come to the conclusion that I have very few Phoretic mites and that they are all in the brood.

well, I am so glad for you - have you looked inside to make sure?

 

[REDWOOD]

Hi all,
I have come to the conclusion that I have very few Phoretic mites and that they are all in the brood.

was that from your crystal ball

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

Hi Beeno, has this effected your treatment in any way?

Electric shock therapy?

 

[charlievictorbravo]

I've been doing quite a lot of monitoring this year - far more than the four times recommended by Fera's Managing Varroa. MV also suggests that that an infestation of 1000 mites is the critical point and that as numbers approach this point, treatments should be undertaken.
Every time I've done a mite monitor, I've used the Beebase Varroa Calculator to find out the calculated number of mites in the colony. In one of my two colonies, total estimated mites increased from 130 in early July to 290 a week ago. Whilst this is nowhere near the 1000 critical figure but it was bad enough to trigger action from me - I put on Hivemaker's Thymol treatment three days ago and in two days have had a drop of 175 mites - over half of the estimated number of mites in the colony. I intend to leave that treatment in place for 14 days and place the second treatment in the colony and monitor daily. If the temperatures hold up but no mites drop, I'll withdraw the treatment.
My aim is to reduce the numbers of mites to a low level but not necessarily to kill all of them - I think it's important the bees have the opportunity to learn mite-grooming traits and if there are no mites, they cannot learn that. I've noticed over the summer that as the number of mites has increased, the percentage of live mites on the monitoring tray has increased - something like 15 - 20 % were alive on the last monitoring. I regard live mites on the monitoring board as a good sign - it seems to me to mean that the bees are grooming mites off themselves or other bees rather than mites dying of natural causes and "dropping off the perch".
Every beekeeper must manage his or her bees using methods that make sense to them - I urge new beekeepers to avoid the "it's September so I'll treat with Thymol" and "It's January, so I must treat with Oxalic" method of mite control. It's important to Monitor regularly so you know what's happening inside the hive.

CVB