Fogging with Mineral Oil and Oxalic Acid

[DaveG NZ]

Hi

I'm thinking about adding Oxalic Acid with Mineral Oil for use in a Fogger.

I've seen some information about adding Oxalic Acid to Alcohol (Ethanol) and this seems to work fine with a fogger. Ethanol (pure grade) is hard to come by in my part of the world. I've also seen people using Mineral Oil in their fogging machines with some success.

So I was thinking, has anyone used a combination of Oxalic Acid and Mineral Oil in a fogger, and if so, how did you do this and was it successful.

Thanks
Dave in New Zealand

 

[Gilberdyke John]

Hi

I'm thinking about adding Oxalic Acid with Mineral Oil for use in a Fogger.

I've seen some information about adding Oxalic Acid to Alcohol (Ethanol) and this seems to work fine with a fogger. Ethanol (pure grade) is hard to come by in my part of the world. I've also seen people using Mineral Oil in their fogging machines with some success.

So I was thinking, has anyone used a combination of Oxalic Acid and Mineral Oil in a fogger, and if so, how did you do this and was it successful.

Thanks
Dave in New Zealand

Do any serious beekeepers think fogging with mineral oil does the bees any good at all?
Or is it in the same folder as matchsticks?

 

[Finman]

.
You are so strict out there in NZ with varroa treatments.

I do not know if mineral oil is allowed treatment anywhere. And who actually uses it!

Once I went to advice oxalic acid treatment to NZ beekeeping forum because I adviced to use artificial swarm and oxalic trickling. Moderator knew nothing about beekeeping, and he write that it is against law.

 

[Finman]

Do any serious beekeepers think fogging with mineral oil does the bees any good at all?
Or is it in the same folder as matchsticks?

Yeah. Exhaust fumes into the hive....
Those are those tricks when guys are not able to read researcher methods. Forums are full of DIY tricks.

There are at least 20 tested methods. Why not use them?

 

[wightbees]

I'm going to try it on a few test hives in the next couple of weeks. Thymol ethyl and Oxalic. Reason being is is a cheaper option and a lot quicker!

 

[For want of a better word]

You could try denatured alcohol ( ethyl alcohol denatured with methyl alcohol) sometimes in the UK called rubbing alcohol.
Varomor vaporisor ( Ukrain) say use 95 % ethanol... either pay massive amount of duty or source your local moonshine maker and buy unproofed 95% ethanol from him... try to get the hearts... not the heads.

Vodka is no good as is generally only 40% ethanol... expensive again but you could purify with redistillation!

I must place a subscript to this that I am only speaking from a chemists point of view and that in many countries producing alcohol in any form is ILLEGAL

( Before another nasty person appears out of the woods to attempt to besmerch my name and report me to my betters!!)


Yeghes da

 

[wightbees]

I got it from E bay , 96%

 

[wightbees]

I did read about surgical spirits but wasn't sure ?

 

[Quis Custodiet]

... try to get the hearts... not the heads..........

Yeghes da

Sound advice.....one wonders how many know what that means?

 

[Plenty of honey]

Don Kuchenmeister, the "fat bee man"has done some videos on fogging mineral oil and he's very specific that it must be mineral pure oil. Whether its another case of added fairy dust, i couldn't say. Personally I've never had an issue with anything else other than vaporising oxalic acid.

https://youtu.be/lcy-cozD7VQ

 

[Millet]

The only time i have seen mineral oil fogged is in a rat attack smoker to chase rats out of there holes, the full area smells like a kebab shop when the smoker is running.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kci0FGvQ7To

 

[Gilberdyke John]

Originally Posted by icanhopit
... try to get the hearts... not the heads.........

Sound advice.....one wonders how many know what that means?

A WW1 veteran down our club used to say if you used a Lewis gun both were equally effective targets.

 

[charlievictorbravo]

You could try denatured alcohol ( ethyl alcohol denatured with methyl alcohol) sometimes in the UK called rubbing alcohol.
Varomor vaporisor ( Ukrain) say use 95 % ethanol... either pay massive amount of duty or source your local moonshine maker and buy unproofed 95% ethanol from him... try to get the hearts... not the heads.

Vodka is no good as is generally only 40% ethanol... expensive again but you could purify with redistillation!

I must place a subscript to this that I am only speaking from a chemists point of view and that in many countries producing alcohol in any form is ILLEGAL

( Before another nasty person appears out of the woods to attempt to besmerch my name and report me to my betters!!)

Yeghes da

D

Is this stuff suitable for making Propolis Tincture, which, when diluted, is ingested? If I make some tincture, I want to be sure I won't poison users and I am confused about the different sorts of alcohol available!

CVB

 

[Finman]

.
Beekeepers have tried 140 chemicals against varroa. And all kinds of plant leaves and moss
.

Are you going to try everything what is said on internet and in YouTube?

 

[oliver90owner]

Sound advice.....one wonders how many know what that means?

I do. Perhaps store up the fores and use that?

 

[JWF]

It's denatured with Cetrimide - I'd give it a miss if I were you!

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cetrimide

D

Is this stuff suitable for making Propolis Tincture, which, when diluted, is ingested? If I make some tincture, I want to be sure I won't poison users and I am confused about the different sorts of alcohol available!

CVB

 

[wightbees]

Don Kuchenmeister, the "fat bee man"has done some videos on fogging mineral oil and he's very specific that it must be mineral pure oil. Whether its another case of added fairy dust, i couldn't say. Personally I've never had an issue with anything else other than vaporising oxalic acid.

https://youtu.be/lcy-cozD7VQ

Just read this on wiki >
In beekeeping, food grade mineral oil-saturated paper napkins placed in hives are used as a treatment for tracheal and other mites.

 

[Finman]

.
I found one research from Spain y 2000 it was used mineral oil.
It was efficient, but no dead rate was mentioned.

At same time 1998 -2003 EU varroa group selected and tested best varroa treatment methods. Oil was not among those best methods.

Best methods were selected, and those were thymol, formic acid and oxalic acid.

After that Europe has developed system, that the queen is in an excluder prison. All mites will be free or in a quite small brood space. Then brood are destroyed and free mites in colonies are treated with those normal stuff, like with formic acid.

After cleaning the colony queen will lay winter bees.

.