Autumn Varroa treatment

[xray7]

Hi Guys,

I am thinking ahead to Autumn varroa treatment. In the past I have treated with a thymol based product in Autumn but I would like to try vaping oxalic acid with my varrox vaporiser, weekly for 3-4 weeks.

I understand oxalic is kindest to bees, very effective , and unlikely for varroa to build up resistance.

This means that I will be treating 3 times per year with OA and not using anything else.

Does anyone else do this and are there any downsides ?

Ray

 

[oliver90owner]

Weekly intervals is possible to leave some varroa avoiding treatment. Three treatments at five day intervals seems to be the norm. Think here pupation times and time between varroa diving into new brood cells.

Nowt wrong with thymol, if applied effectively.

 

[Erichalfbee]

Hi Guys,

I am thinking ahead to Autumn varroa treatment. In the past I have treated with a thymol based product in Autumn but I would like to try vaping oxalic acid with my varrox vaporiser, weekly for 3-4 weeks.

I understand oxalic is kindest to bees, very effective , and unlikely for varroa to build up resistance.

This means that I will be treating 3 times per year with OA and not using anything else.

Does anyone else do this and are there any downsides ?

Ray

Oxalic is all I do and have done for six years
RAB is right, weekly is wrong and you will not get the mites. Three vapes at five day intervals will get most. If you are getting a lot of mites after the third then do a fourth four days later.

A few of us here on the forum got anomalous mite drops on one hive last year.
I think some of us put that down to re infestation from robbing collapsing colonies. In the end I gave up after seven vapes, the colony dropped thousands and I used Apitraz. They pulled through the winter but I re queened by uniting them with another colony in the spring.

 

[Beefriendly]

and I used Apitraz. .

Perhaps worth knowing because there are so many confusing names for varroa treatments all beginning with api is that
Apivar & Apitraz are identical and the active ingredient is Amitraz.
I suppose they didn't call them amitraz as it would buck the trend of a load of confusing varroa treatments all with api beginnings like Apistan, apibioxal, apiguard, apilife var any others?

 

[Erichalfbee]

Perhaps worth knowing because there are so many confusing names for varroa treatments all beginning with api is that
Apivar & Apitraz are identical and the active ingredient is Amitraz.
I suppose they didn't call them amitraz as it would buck the trend of a load of confusing varroa treatments all with api beginnings like Apistan, apibioxal, apiguard, apilife var any others?

Well it’s like learning times tables. You just have to commit to memory.
Not surprising they all start with API

 

[Paul_Ward1]

Old ish thread but I’m just deciding which varroa treatment after the supers are off. Ideally sublimated OA. I’ve ready a bit of conflicting stuff about dosage. What dose do you recommend per BS national deep for OA? Is 3 treatments at 5 day intervals still the recommendation? Finally, is this likely to be more or less effective as a treatment with Apivar? Thanks in advance

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

What dose do you recommend per BS national deep for OA?

2.3 to 2.5g

is 3 treatments at 5 day intervals still the recommendation?

yes

is this likely to be more or less effective as a treatment with Apivar?

same or more

 

[Paul_Ward1]

2.3 to 2.5g

yes

same or more

Thanks. Is that dose for pure OA? (ie not Apiboxal)

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

Thanks. Is that dose for pure OA? (ie not Apiboxal)

yes

 

[polymath]

Old ish thread but I’m just deciding which varroa treatment after the supers are off. Ideally sublimated OA. I’ve ready a bit of conflicting stuff about dosage. What dose do you recommend per BS national deep for OA? Is 3 treatments at 5 day intervals still the recommendation? Finally, is this likely to be more or less effective as a treatment with Apivar? Thanks in advance

Not the right time for OA as to be really effective you need it to be broodless. if not then it offers a slight knockback but not a knockout.

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

unless you do it three times at five day intervals

 

[Ian123]

Not the right time for OA as to be really effective you need it to be broodless. if not then it offers a slight knockback but not a knockout.

OA will kill mites on the bees used 3 times every five days you are covering a sealed brood cycle and should achieve decent results.

 

[blackcloud]

According to some research it's an ideal time to hit them before they begin their winter build-up and the traditional late December puffing we do is just rearranging deck chairs on the Titanic

 

[Ian123]

According to some research it's an ideal time to hit them before they begin their winter build-up and the traditional late December puffing we do is just rearranging deck chairs on the Titanic

It was never meant to be a single Winter treatment for the year though and I never heard any sensible person describe or use it as such.
I always considered it belt and braces and giving the colony a clean as possible start to the upcoming season.

 

[jimmiestan]

Heck I'm confused about varroa treatment. Old, dottled, and confused.

 

[Ian123]

Trust me if I can do it others should manage just fine.
Treat in the Autumn…. Any threshold of mites will reduce the colony’s chance of winter survival. There’s a wide range of products!
Winter treat to provide a belt and braces approach allowing for late brood rearing or drifting mites. Also providing a colony with minimal mites for the upcoming season. Meaning you’re not dealing with high mite loads in periods you should be collecting honey!

Follow this and you’ll find little reason to blame late ivy flows for mysterious colony deaths
And you certainly don’t need to be on the look out for fabled resistant bees when world class breeders and programs are already doing so, that certainly isn’t 3 old blokes in the association potting shed Kinda the Uk equivalent!

 

[jimmiestan]

Ian, it's the "wide range of products" and times that's my problem. Our longest-standing local beek "never uses OA" [I think he meant sublimation] and we have an even longer-standing, though wobbling a bit these days, member of local BKA who seems not to treat for varroa at all these days. Although I don't trust "varroa trays", and therefore cannot be sure, I suspect we don''t have much, if any, varroa up here in the eastern highlands. None on the west, for sure.
So -- should I treat? When I kept sheep etc, a local ag chappie made sure I treated them correctly and at certain times of year. Never ever seen a bee inspector......

 

[user 819]

Varroa treatment was so much easier before the BBKA muddied the waters with LAIF , instead of being the beekeepers friend the BBKA worked against them.

 

[Sutty]

Ian, it's the "wide range of products" and times that's my problem. Our longest-standing local beek "never uses OA" [I think he meant sublimation] and we have an even longer-standing, though wobbling a bit these days, member of local BKA who seems not to treat for varroa at all these days. Although I don't trust "varroa trays", and therefore cannot be sure, I suspect we don''t have much, if any, varroa up here in the eastern highlands. None on the west, for sure.
So -- should I treat? When I kept sheep etc, a local ag chappie made sure I treated them correctly and at certain times of year. Never ever seen a bee inspector......

Just my opinion but I'd get a Gas-vap, put a board in and treat with sublimated OA. When you look at the mite drop you may find small numbers and decide not to do more, or much higher numbers than you thought and do 3 treatments 5 days apart.
My 1st treatment last year produced a drop that must have been well over 1000. The colony did fine over winter after several treatments.
At least the Gas-vap is a reasonably cheap intro. Though I keep thinking of getting an instantvap as I now have the batteries for a strimmer

 

[jimmiestan]

Thanks Hemo , and Sutty I do have a vaporiser somewhere, I think it's mains or maybe battery [ hives are all in garden ] and I'll take your good advice and try it again; but when is confusing, David Evans seems to suggest mid to end of August AFAIR though my memory is really pretty poor. I think. I do know he's a great fan of clobbering the phoretic mites and I'm also aware that OA may not penetrate capped cells. [I think the apiarist posts on here sometimes? Maybe he's phoretic too....]