OA strips or apivar strips.

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Curly green finger's

If you think you know all, you actually know nowt!
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Location
Titterstone clee South Shropshire
Hive Type
National
Number of Hives
86 + nucs/ mini nucs
Morning I have a colony that has a natural mite drop of over 30 mites in 5 days, on one frame I counted half a dozen bees with varroa and some newly emerged workers with crumpled wings obviously from varroa, I'm going to treat them today I have OA strips and apivar to use as treatment.
This colony were vaped along with others in December and are a newly transferred overwintered nuc in the middle of a row of 6 colonys which are facing the same way and about 1 metre apart.
My preference would be to use the apivar strips, what are your thoughts? Remember I only have OA strips and apivar to use.
Thanks. Treat all 6 colonys in the apiary? mite drops are not as high as hive 3.
 
Apivar. Supers can go on after you take the strips out in 6 weeks.
I’m not convinced on the efficacy of the oxalic strips. @Swarm uses them so he might chip in.
 
Apivar. Supers can go on after you take the strips out in 6 weeks.
I’m not convinced on the efficacy of the oxalic strips. @Swarm uses them so he might chip in.
I didn't see much efficacy in my last encounter with Apivar so I've bought a stock of Apilife Var as a mix and match alternative to OA vaping for the coming autumn treatment.
Not sure if local resistance is building up. Bear in mind I'm a sample of one but has anyone else noticed symptoms of resistance.
 
Only used Apivar once and didn't go for the scratch and extend treatment method, seemed to do the job. I used them as an alternative to the OAV used before and they worked equally well.
I used OA strips last year, applied early Spring and again as in Autumn. A friend who normally uses MAQS treated his with OA strips and was impressed with the results which were better than he has had previously.
We've no varroa issues so happy to continue along this route. If I started seeing deformed wings and varroa on bees, I'd put Apivar in.
 
How many did you use per hive Curly, and did you hang them between frames or lay them on top?
I lay them over the frames and I've used three.
There big strips 400mm long.
 
I asked Abelo and they said 4 but putting them on the top might be better. All the glycerine dropped out the bottom the first time I tried it.
I've been told 3 on top of the frames. I will be assecing them in three days I'll let you know what the mite drop is.
 
Morning I have a colony that has a natural mite drop of over 30 mites in 5 days, on one frame I counted half a dozen bees with varroa and some newly emerged workers with crumpled wings obviously from varroa, I'm going to treat them today I have OA strips and apivar to use as treatment.
This colony were vaped along with others in December and are a newly transferred overwintered nuc in the middle of a row of 6 colonys which are facing the same way and about 1 metre apart.
My preference would be to use the apivar strips, what are your thoughts? Remember I only have OA strips and apivar to use.
Thanks. Treat all 6 colonys in the apiary? mite drops are not as high as hive 3.
If you treated them with a vape in December they really should not be that badly infested now ? Having said that ... if you can see DWV and mites in the bees then that's a colony that is in trouble. If you had the kit to vape in December what stopped you from doing three vapes now at 5 day intervals? Would have been more reliable result?
 
If you treated them with a vape in December they really should not be that badly infested now ? Having said that ... if you can see DWV and mites in the bees then that's a colony that is in trouble. If you had the kit to vape in December what stopped you from doing three vapes now at 5 day intervals? Would have been more reliable result?
I’ve just had to do one. They had 4 vapes
 
If you treated them with a vape in December they really should not be that badly infested now ? Having said that ... if you can see DWV and mites in the bees then that's a colony that is in trouble. If you had the kit to vape in December what stopped you from doing three vapes now at 5 day intervals? Would have been more reliable result?
There not my bees and they don't have a vap yet.
I didnt say I VAPED them either
Clients bees.

Edit: I have a sublimox at home but I'm out of OA
Where as I have a good supply of OA strips and apivar.
 
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