Feeding and Varroa Treatment

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garybees

New Bee
Joined
May 27, 2010
Messages
7
Reaction score
0
Location
Sheffield
Hive Type
National
Number of Hives
3
Hello friends,

Why is it wrong to feed and treat for varroa at the same time? I have Apistan Strips in and want to put a contact feeder with syrup, they are currently feasting on Himalayan Balsam..

thanks

Gary
 
I have the same problem, it seems the treatment can effect the taste of the honey, as it's for the bees stores, I can't see a problem. I have put on Apiguard and will be watching the weather closely. My bees are still taking in lots from the balsam and today being nice and sunny are going mad for it. So, if the weather changes I will start to feed.
Steven
 
Hello friends,

Why is it wrong to feed and treat for varroa at the same time? I have Apistan Strips in and want to put a contact feeder with syrup, they are currently feasting on Himalayan Balsam..

thanks

Gary

Is apistan still effective in your area?
Cheers
S
 
I think its because if you use a gel Thymol product and feed at the same time then they can sometimes ignore the treatment and just take down the feed ?
 
That's correct, but it's always a balancing act of treating and feeding. I'm lucky that I have a very good balsam flow, and as long as it carries on my bees will be fine, but if the weather changes for the worst over a long time then I may have to fed. The forecast for the near future still looks good and my bees are able to fly in the rain. So I may not have to feed until the treatment is over.
Steven
 
Hi

I have 2 hives with flat galvanised roofs and when its been raining and the bees return to the hive they land on the roof, skid and end up on their backs and are stuck by surface tension and can die.
I hate it if any of my bees die and try to be very careful when inspecting, etc.
So I thought how can I prevent this happening. I went to a local shed company and got some offcuts of roofing felt which I laid on the roof.
Job done!

Brian
 
Hello,

Thanks for the advice folks!

Not sure why I was inder the impression that you cant feed and use Apistan Strips at the same time as feeding.. I am not taking any honey off them and they are still busy bringing in the pollen and nectar from the plentiful HB.

Not sure if the Strips are still effective in my area, tbh I didnt know there was any doubt in their effectiveness. I am also going to try Varroa Gard powder..

Gary
 
Not sure if the Strips are still effective in my area, tbh I didnt know there was any doubt in their effectiveness. I am also going to try Varroa Gard powder..
Gary

Hi Gary. Not come across this product before, but found this thread-

http://www.beekeepingforum.co.uk/showthread.php?t=5656

Can you add any info about it?

Incidentally, the references in the thread to it as a sanitizer aren't neccesarily significant- I know of an excellent garden fungicide which was withdrawn as a fungicide because it's licence had expired, then re-introduced as a garden sanitizer to save them the £100,000 or whatever it costs to go through the whole process again.
 
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