Is HopGuard� 3 safe

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Stung

New Bee
Joined
Jun 16, 2013
Messages
42
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0
Location
Hemlock, in Western N.Y.
Hive Type
Langstroth
Number of Hives
4
I want to treat my bees, but not like keeping the honey frames off for weeks. I would like to get you people's thouys on using HopGuard� 3
 
Hopguard does a great job in making the Beekeeper feel better in that they have " done something".

Pity it does not help the bees.

Designed as a placebo effect for "bee savers" :cool:
 
MAQS can be used with the supers on
Not true.

One year I took half a super off a week after treatment; it tasted of lemon sherbet and had a litmus reading 100 times that of the average ph of honey.

Long email exchange ensued with the CEO in Canada (as I recall) which ended with him saying what sort of company do you think we are? when I asked whether he'd be interested in testing it. Apparently cost was the stumbling block.

By that point they'd already tried to get rid of me by sending an email about a foot long suggesting the honey was fermented. I sent a sample to Thorne and they shared it with a group of experienced beekeepers, who agreed that it was not fermented.

BCWagric, the importers, acknowledged that testing would be useful, but nothing was done.

A while later another renowned beekeeper discovered he had 6 supers of tainted honey. He could do nothing but feed it back the next spring to draw comb. Even at country prices that was £750 worth of honey.

By all means try it with supers, but my experience was 8 years ago and honey has gone up in price since then.
 
Not true.

One year I took half a super off a week after treatment; it tasted of lemon sherbet and had a litmus reading 100 times that of the average ph of honey.

Long email exchange ensued with the CEO in Canada (as I recall) which ended with him saying what sort of company do you think we are? when I asked whether he'd be interested in testing it. Apparently cost was the stumbling block.

By that point they'd already tried to get rid of me by sending an email about a foot long suggesting the honey was fermented. I sent a sample to Thorne and they shared it with a group of experienced beekeepers, who agreed that it was not fermented.

BCWagric, the importers, acknowledged that testing would be useful, but nothing was done.

A while later another renowned beekeeper discovered he had 6 supers of tainted honey. He could do nothing but feed it back the next spring to draw comb. Even at country prices that was £750 worth of honey.

By all means try it with supers, but my experience was 8 years ago and honey has gone up in price since then.
That’s very interesting
I haven’t used it since the year it came out and killed two of my queens
 
Hopguard Gold (apparently similar to Hopguard 3, not least in its posited mode of action). See attached.

Fairly harmless (unless you get it in your eyes), but:

"The mode of action of hop beta acids against Varroa mites has not been fully characterized, but
direct contact between hop beta acids and the mite is required. At the present, little is known about
the mechanisms of action of hop beta acids. "


It would be interesting to find out if there are any data on efficacy - I have not dug deep enough to find any yet
 

Attachments

  • EU withdrawal-assessment-report-hopguard-gold_en.pdf
    305.5 KB · Views: 2
Remove honey supers and cover them and bees, vape brood/s with appropriate OA substance and then replace supers. Repeat every 5 days, 3 or 4 times.

Just seen your location, US now allow OA sublimation with super on don't they ?
 
Not true.

One year I took half a super off a week after treatment; it tasted of lemon sherbet and had a litmus reading 100 times that of the average ph of honey.

Long email exchange ensued with the CEO in Canada (as I recall) which ended with him saying what sort of company do you think we are? when I asked whether he'd be interested in testing it. Apparently cost was the stumbling block.

By that point they'd already tried to get rid of me by sending an email about a foot long suggesting the honey was fermented. I sent a sample to Thorne and they shared it with a group of experienced beekeepers, who agreed that it was not fermented.

BCWagric, the importers, acknowledged that testing would be useful, but nothing was done.

A while later another renowned beekeeper discovered he had 6 supers of tainted honey. He could do nothing but feed it back the next spring to draw comb. Even at country prices that was £750 worth of honey.

By all means try it with supers, but my experience was 8 years ago and honey has gone up in price since then.
I've been using MAQS ever since it was launched, in my own hives and other people's. I've never had any problems or tainting of the honey, bar the occasional triggering of supersedure which the instruction leaflet does mention. I reckon it's a very effective and safe varroa treatment but VERY important to follow the instructions to the letter.
 
That’s very interesting
I haven’t used it since the year it came out and killed two of my queens
*It* didn't kill your queens. The conditions under which it was used killed your queens.

Important to differentiate otherwise beginners will propagate the theory that MAQS kills queens regardless of how it is applied.
 
*It* didn't kill your queens. The conditions under which it was used killed your queens.

Important to differentiate otherwise beginners will propagate the theory that MAQS kills queens regardless of how it is applied.
I followed manufacturers instructions and my queens died
Maybe the good Lord just took their souls away
 
It's just unfortunate (and the manufacturer has acknowledged this) that the instructions were geared towards Dadant hives and they didn't think of suggesting one strip not two was sufficient for Nats. Unfortunately, due to the licencing regulations they couldn't change the instructions without paying for the rigmarole of re-registration.
 
Well I put two strips in a 14x12 with two supers on. It wasn’t hot. I was keen to try something new. The bees piled out in their thousands.
 
Well I put two strips in a 14x12 with two supers on. It wasn’t hot. I was keen to try something new. The bees piled out in their thousands.
When I've used it, it's been two strips in a single brood box, usually two supers, plus always an empty box on top and crown board with ventilation. Entrance block removed for two days. Always applied in evening.
Very strong smell initially but is much reduced after a couple of days. Bees on the front of the hive on the first evening but not in their thousands.
 
Pretty harmless
But also pointless
Snakeoil
I disagree, a hop based product is available in the UK, I have used it and a friend in Cornwall has used it , we both love it. A similar product in the USA gets rave reviews and trials against other products fair well.
 
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