Essential oils

[pdb]

hello does any one use ESSENTIAL OILS like lemon grass or tea tree oil mixed in to your bee feed or to control mites any advice on useing them thanks paul

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

hello does any one use ESSENTIAL OILS like lemon grass or tea tree oil mixed in to your bee feed or to control mites any advice on useing them thanks paul

Yes - Thymol. Anything else is more for the benefit of the (sandal wearing) beekeeper than the bees. Stop watching those videos!

 

[pargyle]

Yes - Thymol. Anything else is more for the benefit of the (sandal wearing) beekeeper than the bees. Stop watching those videos!

+1 - Youtube has a lot to answer for.... more tripe about beekeeping on there than in a busy butchers ... You really have to be very selective about what you take seriously ...

 

[REDWOOD]

Only two oils I use are Thymol for the bees and 15/40 in my van

 

[Bee Bumble]

hello does any one use ESSENTIAL OILS like lemon grass or tea tree oil mixed in to your bee feed or to control mites any advice on useing them thanks paul

Lemongrass oil is good for attracting bees to bait hives not for controlling mites.

 

[pargyle]

Only two oils I use are Thymol for the bees and 15/40 in my van

At a pinch you can fry your eggs & bacon in 15/40 but I don't think Thymol would add much to the experience ... and veggie oil is better if you can manage it...

 

[Gilberdyke John]

At a pinch you can fry your eggs & bacon in 15/40 but I don't think Thymol would add much to the experience ... and veggie oil is better if you can manage it...

Is Castrol R still sold?

 

[pdb]

thank you all for replying i see here in the uk you dont think oils work as a organic/Naturally way to treat the bees or to help with feeding them i see its a big thing in the usa what do us in the uk use

 

[madasafish]

I tried essential oils - apart from Thymol.

I decided the bees did not like them and there was no improvement in anything - and bad tempered bees.

Natural does not mean good if untested.

Many natural beekeepers would be banned from selling honey if the Health Authorities knew their practises.

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

i see its a big thing in the usa what do us in the uk use

Lesson one - very little from the US will benefit your beekeeping knowledge.
Lesson two - beekeeping stops becoming 'natural' when you put bees in a box.

THYMOL is 'natural' a derivative of thyme oil so not a 'chemical' in the sense you are getting at.

 

[itma]

thank you all for replying i see here in the uk you dont think oils work as a organic/Naturally way to treat the bees or to help with feeding them i see its a big thing in the usa what do us in the uk use

Lesson 3 - just because some random redneck is enthusiastic about something or some method does not mean to say it works, let alone works well, never mind as well as what is conventional over here.

Lesson 4 - American beekeeping is by and large, pretty unskilled and not scientifically informed. Much of it is phenomenally large scale and unsympathetic to the bees. That something is a reaction against all that does not make it valid or even accurate.

Lesson 5 - being able to post a U-Tube video does not make one an expert on any subject.

Lesson 6 - if you aim to be the Bernard Matthews of bees, you could indeed learn a few things from American practices. Otherwise, don't concern yourself with how they amuse themselves until you are in a position to recognise foolishness when you see it.

 

[itma]

... what do us in the uk use

Download and study "Managing Varroa"
See here => http://www.beekeepingforum.co.uk/showthread.php?t=28243

 

[pdb]

thank you and itma for the download link got more reading tonight