Formic Acid- Should I Treat?

[Dr. Abe]

I am wanting to treat my bees for varroa mites and wondered of anyone has any experience using Formic Pro and what the results were.

I have heard it can be temporarily hard on the colonies but/(and) want to prepare them for winter.

My hives don't have a lot of mites but I want to treat before winter. (Just for the info I feed my hives in the fall.)

 

[Erichalfbee]

I tried it once, years ago, when it was called MAQS and it killed my queens

 

[Ian123]

Mmm…… my local association are buying it in bulk and pushing its use….. I did bring up some draw backs recently but to little avail

 

[ericbeaumont]

hives don't have a lot of mites but I want to treat before winter

Unless you go to the trouble of testing by alcohol wash to assess mite load, assume they need treating and do it after the end of the main flow.

 

[Kaz]

I tried it once, years ago, when it was called MAQS and it killed my queens

Yep, I lost 4 (out of 13) queens last year. Never again

 

[Jules59]

I am wanting to treat my bees for varroa mites and wondered of anyone has any experience using Formic Pro and what the results were.

I have heard it can be temporarily hard on the colonies but/(and) want to prepare them for winter.

My hives don't have a lot of mites but I want to treat before winter. (Just for the info I feed my hives in the fall.)

At the moment MAQS and Formic Pro is pretty much out of stock across the UK from what people on here are saying.
FWIW Im going with Apiguard this year - after finding 2 years of MAQS too stressful for me and my bees.
On the other hand Im impressed with OA vaping.

 

[Erichalfbee]

On the other hand Im impressed with OA vaping.

It’s time consuming because you have to visit the colony three or four times but if you have only a few hives it’s ok.
Others with more hives are better organised than I am and still manage. I think @jenkinsbrynmair has in excess of 50 and he uses OAV.
I have 9 and I vape from the top so that I can do it any time of day, even if the bees are flying.

 

[Dr. Abe]

At the moment MAQS and Formic Pro is pretty much out of stock across the UK from what people on here are saying.
FWIW Im going with Apiguard this year - after finding 2 years of MAQS too stressful for me and my bees.
On the other hand Im impressed with OA vaping.

Thanks for all the advice! What do you mean by stressful for the bees? Do you think it was hard enough on them that it would be risky to treat in august and still be prepared for winter in time?

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

I vape from the top so that I can do it any time of day, even if the bees are flying.

you can do the same from the bottom - and without closing the entrance

 

[Erichalfbee]

you can do the same from the bottom - and without closing the entrance

Yes with passive OAV. I have a Sublimox which just shoots the sublimate straight out the door

 

[rossbyjove]

I tried it once, years ago, when it was called MAQS and it killed my queens

I have two hives one has a lazy ass queen that I can never find (she is marked)
I may put some MAQS in and hope for the worst !

 

[Jules59]

It’s time consuming because you have to visit the colony three or four times but if you have only a few hives it’s ok.
Others with more hives are better organised than I am and still manage. I think @jenkinsbrynmair has in excess of 50 and he uses OAV.
I have 9 and I vape from the top so that I can do it any time of day, even if the bees are flying.

How do you go about vaping from the top?
With WBC hives its awkward to get a heater into the hive without hitting the frames. I made a small box to sit over the CB feeder hole and vape via that.

 

[Erichalfbee]

How do you go about vaping from the top?
With WBC hives its awkward to get a heater into the hive without hitting the frames. I made a small box to sit over the CB feeder hole and vape via that.

Stan's made me some ekes that go on top. 5cm deep and he has used a Paynes flexi crown board, trimmed and screwed on top. I got him to cut a feeder hole in the middle and a hole for the Sublimox which I position at the back . The clear top enables me to see what the vapour is doing. I know it goes right across all the frames in an instant. The eke is in place for the duration of treatment which is 16 days so I can feed at the same time if needed

 

[Gilberdyke John]

Stan's made me some ekes that go on top. 5cm deep and he has used a Paynes flexi crown board, trimmed and screwed on top. I got him to cut a feeder hole in the middle and a hole for the Sublimox which I position at the back . The clear top enables me to see what the vapour is doing. I know it goes right across all the frames in an instant. The eke is in place for the duration of treatment which is 16 days so I can feed at the same time if needed

I just use an eccentric spaced clear crown board with a small hole in the side to poke the tube of my gas vap through. I'm not too concerned about incomplete vapour spread as the bees walk the condensed crystals about to distribute the OA