Oxalic 6%, Payn*s in the Arse!

[ROACHMAN]

I think it only applies to liquid, something to do with the sugar content, as it ages levels of HMF rise which makes it toxic to bees. Heat accelerates the process. It also turns brown as it degrades.

 

[Ely]

Phew. More the reason to save money and mix yourself in 5mins. None of this faffing about not understanding bottle labels and diluting.

I bought a sensitive digital scale for around a fiver off the t'internet. A box of oxalic powder and you're sorted for years

 

[Winker]

Provided they are well mated, this is something i have not had a problem with.

But considering that 98% of the posters here dont do their own queen breeding and have to make do with what their hive comes up with im not surprised most only last a year.

 

[Finman]

Im in agreemet, I also think oxalic is bad for the queen, on monitoring varroa levels post Apiguard I will only be using it on 2 of my 19 colonies.

guys think again.

Our varroa expert Seppo Korpela tried winter and spring treatment 3 years with his over 100 hives.
He counted the drop of mites and then he recommended 2 treatment system to professionals.
This is not a mere thinking issue.

but if you think, you do not treat them at all. They are your hives.

Oxalic is not bad to queens. It has been verified in so many research that you cannot calculate.
It has thoroughly researched and verified " no difference in spring build up compared to non treated"

queens live in hives 3 years as they have allways lived. Older queens you need not to keep there.

.

 

[Finman]

Phew. More the reason to save money and mix yourself in 5mins. None of this faffing about not understanding bottle labels and diluting.

I bought a sensitive digital scale for around a fiver off the t'internet. A box of oxalic powder and you're sorted for years

this is man's talk.

.

 

[Hivemaker.]

http://www.beekeepingforum.co.uk/showthread.php?t=15120&highlight=oxalic+acid+******


http://www.beekeepingforum.co.uk/showthread.php?t=14883&highlight=oxalic+acid+******


http://www.beekeepingforum.co.uk/showthread.php?t=8142&highlight=oxalic+acid


http://www.beekeepingforum.co.uk/showthread.php?t=8198&highlight=oxalic+acid

 

[waverider]

But considering that 98% of the posters here dont do their own queen breeding and have to make do with what their hive comes up with im not surprised most only last a year.

Just hope your scales are accurately calibrated.,,,,

 

[richardbees]

re AlanF earlier: "!Beware, the percentage quoted in various texts and on bottles is not always calculated the same way."

I bought a 500ml bottle from the same site as we suggest for honey jars, advertised as "ready for use".. .with confidence that they wouldn't be selling anything to risk their rep.

 

[Finman]

Just hope your scales are accurately calibrated.,,,,

one euro coin is 7,5 g.

I have met digital balances wihich had 2g deviation in these measures.

Check with coins

.
.

 

[alanf]

one euro coin is 7,5 g
Check with coins

Yes and this side of the sea, 20p is 5g, 50p is 8g. When clean and unworn that is.

Recent digital scales are remarkably accurate. Precision for pennies that cost hundreds a few years back. A hard knock might destroy the accuracy but chances of two reproducing the same inaccuracy are near zero.

 

[Into the lions den]

Annual merrygoround of topics?

75g Oxalic acid crystals, 1Kg sugar, 1 litre of warm water.

Dissolve the oxalic fully in the warm water, add the sugar, stir until all gone (about 3 minutes).

Administer 5ml per seam of bees. Done.............simples.

Most expensive thing is the sugar.

Had 25Kg of oxalic acid crystals delivered for 66 quid about a fortnight ago.

Thus 75g thus costs 19.8p and 1Kg sugar about 84p...............so about 1.4 litres of syrup ready to go costs £1.04 and on average can treat 35 colonies, so cost about 3p plus labour. (Avergae 8 seams of bees, so 40ml per colony)

Makes expensive proprietry treaments and premixes seem awfully wasteful of the pennies, when this treatment works, is readily available and so very very cheap.

Any local amateur beeks can come in and get some oxalic from me FOC. Just remember that you would be recieving a wood bleaching product to keep your topbars nice and pale........... not a medicine.

Its so cheap and easy that saving the leftover oxalic from a batch is not sensible, its only worth pennies and it does go off.

 

[mbc]

one euro coin is 7,5 g.

I have met digital balances wihich had 2g deviation in these measures.

Check with coins

.
.

I'll have a henry and my m8 wants a quarter. Is that OK?

 

[farbee]

Annual merrygoround of topics?

75g Oxalic acid crystals, 1Kg sugar, 1 litre of warm water.

Dissolve the oxalic fully in the warm water, add the sugar, stir until all gone (about 3 minutes).

Administer 5ml per seam of bees. Done.............simples.

Most expensive thing is the sugar.

Had 25Kg of oxalic acid crystals delivered for 66 quid about a fortnight ago.

Thus 75g thus costs 19.8p and 1Kg sugar about 84p...............so about 1.4 litres of syrup ready to go costs £1.04 and on average can treat 35 colonies, Thsnks for so cost about 3p plus labour. (Avergae 8 seams of bees, so 40ml per colony)

Makes expensive proprietry treaments and premixes seem awfully wasteful of the pennies, when this treatment works, is readily available and so very very cheap.

Any local amateur beeks can come in and get some oxalic from me FOC. Just remember that you would be recieving a wood bleaching product to keep your topbars nice and pale........... not a medicine.

Its so cheap and easy that saving the leftover oxalic from a batch is not sensible, its only worth pennies and it does go off.

If on double brood is it still 5ml per seem?

 

[Into the lions den]

If on double brood is it still 5ml per seem?

Normally yes. You MAY split the box if you wish and put in an extra 5ml per seam in the bottom box, but there is no saying that the actual cluster in a double deep winter set up is any bigger than in a single. We would tend to just treat the seams from the top and leave the cluster unbroken. More risk of queen damage that way and probably outweighs any advantage from shoving in extra oxalic.

Having said that we very rarely winter anything on other than singles.

 

[gavin]

Doled out the same mix FOC at the Dundee meeting of the local BKA tonight. Looks like we're on track for that rendezvous in Perth Prison!

Mine took 15 min not 3 to dissolves the sugar.

Sent from my BlackBerry 8520 using Tapatalk

 

[Finman]

Normally yes. You MAY split the box if you wish and put in an extra 5ml per seam in the bottom box, but there is no saying that the actes.

you CANNOT PUT extra 5 ml per seem because bees become wet and too dirty. They run
away to walls. They loose the cluster control. - yes Ihave done douple dose to 10 hives.


I put saw dust onto frames that it soaks extra syrup.
Splitting two box hives causes crushing thousands of bees

maximum is 50 ml to double brood.

 

[Winker]

I'll have a henry and my m8 wants a quarter. Is that OK?

lol a henry Weighs a 1p and a quarter Weighs exactly 2p Dont except anything less

 

[Into the lions den]

you CANNOT PUT extra 5 ml per seem because bees become wet and too dirty. They run
away to walls. They loose the cluster control. - yes Ihave done douple dose to 10 hives.


I put saw dust onto frames that it soaks extra syrup.
Splitting two box hives causes crushing thousands of bees

maximum is 50 ml to double brood.

Pretty well my opinion too. Your beloved 'Black Devils' never seem to need more than a single for overwintering however, and ths we very rarely have anything on doubles. The disturbance is the thing that would stop me doing both boxes, rather than the risk of overdosing. It will do more damage than its worth.

 

[Finman]

It will do more damage than its worth.

It surely does.

And what happens in the hive when I disturb it in frost weather and give then oxalic.

Cluster will be alarmed and the cluster heat goes up to 42C.
The hive will be full of bees after 10 minutes. When oxalic syrup is there, bees move and rub each other.

When I put too much syrup, bees were dirty and I saw much droplets on comb wax. It was too much.

Over dose do not kill bees but they loose their control.
Normal dose of droplets stay on bees wings several days.
Bees do not lick the oxalic syrup.


I need only to walk around hives when some hives are alarmed and they come to look out, who is there.

 

[drstitson]

Perhaps one of the reasons why the higher 6% works better for the italians is that the protocol was developed for Dadant Blatt hives so potentially a cluster is larger.