OA treatment - when?

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when are you giving your OA treatment


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Oh Ben are you sure??....heard that one before.

I have just done as there was 4 weeks of cluster and very cold so pretty sure no brood. Get it done, let them regroup, and I seemed to have no bee loss above the norm for this time of the year.
 
Hi all

Did mine yesterday, very cold with no wind, girls been in tight cluster for about 3 weeks.

Hive 1 over 5 seams

Hive 2 over 8 seams ( still has drones)bee-smillie

Hive 3 over 7 seams

Fed fondant, now it's wait and see

Hope you all have a great Christmas

One of the fools?

akaTazbee:xmas-smiley-033::party:
 
I was intending to do it about 1 week ago, but too b****y cold.
 
OA sublimated on 11th December - temp climbed up to around 7C locally and that loosened up the cluster thus making OA treatment more effective. My 2 colonies were treated, 2 colonies belonging to one friend, 8 belonging to another plus a few others. No mite fall from one of my hives so far - no doubt someone will tell me that means I didn't need to treat - and the other colony produced a grand total of 32 dead mites over the course of 7 days.
 
Did mine ,fed fondant.
Not happy about it but can't afford to let nature run riot especially when the odds are stacked in favour of the varroa mite :cuss:.
Next year I hope to follow HMs routine which involoves IPM but no OA treatments . Formic acid if absolutely necessary :coolgleamA:.

If Pete makes it work you can bet he's worked it out by observation and practice rather than following advice blindly !

John Wilkinson
 
I did mine the other weekend when it warmed up, also slapped on a slab of fondant.

Job done, no more messing about for me until spring.

I do not see what difference it will make between 1 week ago and even 2 weeks time.

So your mention of opps or around xmas/boxing day or around new year or even sometime later in january are irrelivent as they are all so close.
 
Going to do mine nearer to the end of this month, as looking at the forecast in my area it starts to warm up from around the 28th.
 
I usually treat between Christmas and New Year, however as we have had 4 weeks of very cold weather I think there will be very little/no sealed brood. As the temperature yesterday recovered to 7C They were dosed yesterday. I will monitor mite drop for the next 7 days to see how effective it has been.
 
I am at the mercy of the elements, the business and oh yes... GOING on HOLLS!

Yippee....


Sorry...

Down boy..

Anyway on my return from sunny Cuba in late Jan I will be doing the deed.

:)

PH
 

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