ongoing varroa fall

[Survived-til-now]

This for a beginner so lets keep it simple. You are arguing against the advice given by manufacturers of Apistan and Apivar who rely on distribution of the active ingredient and that needs lots of movement by the bees.

The point here that has seemingly been missed is that the thymol treatment should have been started earlier. The beginner should not have waited an extra two weeks until mid-October to take off the thymol tray. If it had come off at the beginning of October there would have been more margin for a check and commencement of a follow-up treatment.
Now we are dependent on luck and if you have seen an unclustered colony at minus 10 degrees C what were doing in the hive and were they unclustered before you went in?

 

[Erichalfbee]

This for a beginner so lets keep it simple. You are arguing against the advice given by manufacturers of Apistan and Apivar who rely on distribution of the active ingredient and that needs lots of movement by the bees.

if you have seen an unclustered colony at minus 10 degrees C what were doing in the hive and were they unclustered before you went in?

Beginners are perfectly able to understand concepts that are not simple
By the way:-
The instructions for Apivar state
One single application has efficacy up to 99% and there are no temperature constraints as there are with MAQS and other products. It can be used at any time of year (supers must not be on the hives). The strips are left in for between 6 and 10 weeks depending on the size of the brood and the time of year.

As for bees not clustering in poly it’s a fact.
A lot of us have polycarbonate crown boards and there is no need to disturb the bees when you look in

 

[Poly Hive]

Jeez......... it's the bee police is it?

Well ma loon fit ah was deeing wis checking fondant.

I politely suggest the attitude is a bit sharp.

For your edification I have kept bees in poly for longer than many have been alive on here. I know how they behave in poly very well indeed.

PH

 

[Survived-til-now]

Beginners are perfectly able to understand concepts that are not simple
By the way:-
The instructions for Apivar state
One single application has efficacy up to 99% and there are no temperature constraints as there are with MAQS and other products. It can be used at any time of year (supers must not be on the hives). The strips are left in for between 6 and 10 weeks depending on the size of the brood and the time of year.

As for bees not clustering in poly it’s a fact.
A lot of us have polycarbonate crown boards and there is no need to disturb the bees when you look in

Erichalfbee - First of all - you are wrong! Unambiguous advice is what is needed.

Secondly; you need to look deeper than the advertising blurb, the mechanism for treatment requires that the bees are moving around. I wouldn't have suggested Apivar if there was not a reasonable chance that it will still function but that is not a given and you are placing too much reliance on an unknown i.e. the temperatures we will encounter in November and December. It is just not wise to wait this long.

Thirdly; where in this thread does it say the poster is using poly hive and even if I have missed something, this simple query should have been answered in three posts not three pages.

Polycarbonate crown boards? I think you are mixing this thread with another.

 

[Swarm]

This for a beginner so lets keep it simple. You are arguing against the advice given by manufacturers of Apistan and Apivar who rely on distribution of the active ingredient and that needs lots of movement by the bees.

The point here that has seemingly been missed is that the thymol treatment should have been started earlier. The beginner should not have waited an extra two weeks until mid-October to take off the thymol tray. If it had come off at the beginning of October there would have been more margin for a check and commencement of a follow-up treatment.
Now we are dependent on luck and if you have seen an unclustered colony at minus 10 degrees C what were doing in the hive and were they unclustered before you went in?

The point wasn't missed, it was already addressed on page one, along with an option (OAV) that doesn't rely on luck.

 

[Erichalfbee]

Erichalfbee - First of all - you are wrong! Unambiguous advice is what is needed.

Secondly; you need to look deeper than the advertising blurb, the mechanism for treatment requires that the bees are moving around. I wouldn't have suggested Apivar if there was not a reasonable chance that it will still function but that is not a given and you are placing too much reliance on an unknown i.e. the temperatures we will encounter in November and December. It is just not wise to wait this long.

Thirdly; where in this thread does it say the poster is using poly hive and even if I have missed something, this simple query should have been answered in three posts not three pages.

Polycarbonate crown boards? I think you are mixing this thread with another.

The poor chap wants to know what to do now not get a lecture on what he should have done. He is well aware of that .He has been advised to either vape or put in Apivar. Both of those will help his predicament. Hand wringing over mistakes will not.

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

MAQ treatment (which does work on sealed brood)

It doesn't - they claim it does but it has been conclusively proven to be pretty ineffective on sealed brood.

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

The poor chap wants to know what to do now not get a lecture on what he should have done. He is well aware of that .He has been advised to either vape or put in Apivar. Both of those will help his predicament. Hand wringing over mistakes will not.

 

[Survived-til-now]

There are a number of points in these last posts:

Bees unclustered at minus 10 deg C - and that is considerd normal? I don't think so. Is someone suggesting that beginners should expect their bees not to be clustered at minus 10 degC? Why someone taking the roof off a hive at that temperature is beyond my comprehension. Hopefully, they were not just having a look......

OAV - Oxalic acid vapour needs very careful handling and protective equipment. For a beginner - I think not!

I wasn't lecturing but trying to avoid a repeat of the same mistake. The beginner has a way forward and a suggestion not to leave it so long that he excludes follow-up action. Is that not good advice? If you don't give that "how to avoid a mistake recurring" - he/she will just do it again and don't forget we are not just addressing the original poster we are informing other beginners who read this site.

MAQ's - I keep it as an emergency option because I think it is really nasty treatment. I was told at an NBU health day that it works on sealed brood - and frankly, the only approved method (has it changed?) until recently was the 7-day treatment so I am going to take the veterinary approval as saying that it does.

 

[Erichalfbee]

Can I just ask if you have ever kept bees in poly hives?

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

Or even kept bees at all?

 

[Walrus]

Do trolls keep bees

 

[Erichalfbee]

Do trolls keep bees

Apparently not.

 

[Survived-til-now]

I keep bees in poly NUCs only but you are avoiding the question and dodging the perfectly reasonable points I have made.
I belonged to this forum until it went off-air and decided to wait after it was reformed to see how the new forum panned out. Not well by the responses I have had so far. That the last two posts were sent by "Moderators" is riduculous. You should be ashamed of yourselves. But then who moderates the moderators???????????????

 

[Ian123]

I think you mean the bbka forum!!

 

[Walrus]

but then who moderates the moderators???????????????

admin

 

[Erichalfbee]

The moderators are moderated by admin.
This forum has not been off air to later reform.
You must be confusing us with some other
I think echidna has probably gleaned what he needs and this thread is turning into a fight so it’s time it went off air.