Oxalic Acid

[the naked beekeeper]

Why,what are these issues.

Hivemaker, you mention them yourself.............

http://www.beekeepingforum.co.uk/showthread.php?t=6721&highlight=oxalic+acid&page=3

 

[Hivemaker.]

Hivemaker, you mention them yourself.............

http://www.beekeepingforum.co.uk/showthread.php?t=6721&highlight=oxalic+acid&page=3

Well i be damned,so i did..lol.

Never mind,treat them four times just to make sure.

 

[Skyhook]

And if you really want to make sure, you can trickle treat your bees with oxalic four times,will do no harm at all.

Sorry HM, trickle treat was 2 days ago!

I'll get my coat.

 

[For want of a better word]

Sorry HM, trickle treat was 2 days ago!

I'll get my coat.

The Great Lord of Exmoor, Porlock Hill and the Sea and all that live therin and on the Land sayeth.....
Because oxalic damages the bees, it damages the queens, and dribbling oxalic does damage the bees,causing irreparable damage to there internal organs,malphigian tubules ect.
You can only do one dose as two will shorten their lives too much. If two does too much damage then one is doing some damage,and especially to the queen as she could be expected to have 3 doses or more.
As for shook swarming.....in my view thats for people who have completely failed in all other methods of controlling something as simple as varroa.

Now I am in a total quandry...... obviously the bees have varroa even after proper treatment with Apiguard... and that knocked quite a few off.. but counts never got to be more than 200 per day
I really do not want to take the crown board off during the winter cold and even in the sub tropical Tamar Valley we hit a low of -15 last winter!

sublimation seems my way forward... still have a huge tin of OA as only had to use a spoonfull to clean my sails!

(Sorry Pete but TRICKLE TREAT !!!!!)​

 

[Winker]

Will Oxalic Acid melt my new Poly hives if it gets splashed on the Poly as lemon grass oil did to my poly Nucs?

 

[For want of a better word]

Will Oxalic Acid melt my new Poly hives if it gets splashed on the Poly as lemon grass oil did to my poly Nucs?

Test in a concealed corner... don't think it will
The Lemon Grass was probably in a solvent!

​

 

[Hivemaker.]

Will Oxalic Acid melt my new Poly hives if it gets splashed on the Poly as lemon grass oil did to my poly Nucs?

No your hive should be just fine,it only melts the bees,use four doses just to make sure.

 

[Winker]

No your hive should be just fine,it only melts the bees,use four doses just to make sure.

Cheers bud, but i think i will go just the one treatment. All those melted bees will need to be cleaned up and i dont fancy picking melted beed off the hive 4 times.

 

[Poggle]

Sorry HM, trickle treat was 2 days ago!

I'll get my coat.

 

[RoofTops]

Will Oxalic Acid melt my new Poly hives if it gets splashed on the Poly as lemon grass oil did to my poly Nucs?

Some essential oils, such as eucalyptus and from your experience it seems, lemon grass as well, will melt plastic which is why when using ApilLife Var in poly hives you need to be sure the tablets do not touch the walls, roof or frames if using plastic ones. A square of the foil wrapper the tablets come in works well as a shield while still leaving enough of a gap for the tablets to do their work.

If you do a bit of googling you will find stories of people making scents using plastic spoons to mix the ingredients - and finding the end of the spoon dropping off!

 

[Poly Hive]

I have seen no damage from using Oxalic over the last few years.

PH

 

[Headnavigator]

No your hive should be just fine,it only melts the bees,use four doses just to make sure.

I'm going to have to stop reading this forum while I'm eating; just recovering from having snorted salad thanks to this, even worse for me than oxalic I guess.

 

[Finman]

.
Not at least 3% oxalic acid injure hives.

Oxalic acid powder is sold in plastic jars.

Yes, here what ever joke or spam will turn facts in time unit.

 

[For want of a better word]

Yes, here what ever joke or spam will turn facts in time unit.


If you chant the mantra often and long enough!

 

[iand]

I always understood oxalic treatment to be a once in a lifetime treatment for a bee! Queen bee ? Because of crystals forming in the gut or wherever & causing damage, bit like us getting gall stones I suppose. The oxalic crystal I use is for want of a better description is a damp crystal unlike sugar which is very dry and can be dusty. So no desperate need for dust & eye protection unless you are very slap dash. I tend to play on the safe side side with mask/eye protection. I wear spec anyway but an absolute must are a suitable pair of gloves, and do it in the open. Even so I still set up a system for weighing out into my mixing bottle without any need to come into contact with the crystals. Top on and shake till disolved.
Application on a warm day (5c) so the cluster has loosened a little and no blast of cold air. The crown board need only 10-15 secs as mentioned above. To enable this I use a lamb drenching gun (got mine free altough I didnt buy any wormer)a measured amount every time sucked straight out of the container. Just need to get into the rythum of a full dose down one legth of frame [practise with water to start with]. If very strong they may need smoking down so you can see the gap in the frames. Otherwise in and out before they realise. Again be careful plastic gloves when applying as well as mixing guns tend to leak a little.
I preferr my dose of oxalic in rhubarb crumble washed down with custard.

cheers iand

 

[Winker]

I preferr my dose of oxalic in rhubarb crumble washed down with custard.

cheers iand

I find i always have a dose after the wifes rhubarb crumble

 

[Phil280]

Hi there.

As mentioned in another tread I use an oxalic acid evaporator.
However I have an "external" model that has a tube that you place in to the front of the hive - and an air pump (some have electric ventilators - I prefer to KISS).
I close the OMF with the spec. board and the flight hole with foam rubber around the tube and give them their dose of ox.
I do wear a 3M mask with filters for organic acids (amongst other things) as the vapour does ooze out of the cracks as white smoke and I don't fancy taking a lung full if the wind changes direction.
I place the crystals into the evaporator with a spoon but wear chemical gloves to be on the safe side.

Greets
Phil

 

[Finman]

I always understood oxalic treatment to be a once in a lifetime treatment for a bee! Queen bee ?

- that is not true. It is taken from air..

Our bee reasearcher Seppo Korpela (EU VARROA GROUP) has treated his hives several years now two time. One in Ochtober and in March after cleansing flight. Some queens are 3 years old. No evidence of queen losses.

I have handled my hives twice two years.


Because of crystals forming in the gut or wherever & causing damage, bit like us getting gall stones I suppose. The oxalic crystal I use is for want of a better description is a damp crystal unlike sugar which is very dry and can be dusty.

- oh boy. Try to be more carefull with chemical. - crystal forming in the gut? How it goes there?
Can be dusty. Put olive oil on them.

So no desperate......

- not real

Application on a warm day (5c) so the cluster has loosened a little and no blast of cold air. The crown board need only 10-15 secs as mentioned above. To enable this I use a lamb drenching gun (got mine free altough I didnt buy any wormer)a measured amount every time sucked straight out of the container. Just need to get into the rythum of a full dose down one legth of frame [practise with water to start with]. If very strong they may need smoking down so you can see the gap in the frames. Otherwise in and out before they realise. Again be careful plastic gloves when applying as well as mixing guns tend to leak a little.


I preferr my dose of oxalic in rhubarb crumble washed down with custard.

- nonsense


You cannot serious. Rubbish.

BUT YOU NEED NOT USE SO PAINFULL METHODS WHAT YOU DESCRIBE.
Bees have been treated before trickling invention. You have still 19 good methos and you need not to feel deep neurosis with that acid.


.

 

[Hivemaker.]

Dose them four times with oxalic,just to be sure,it is completely harmless,use a stronger dose even,4.2%.

 

[MrB]

you can trickle treat your bees with oxalic four times,will do no harm at all.

I thought trickle treat was on monday ? Oh no, that was trick or treat!!! sorry