Oxalic acid

[mystil]

I was just wondering what is the procedure with apply oxalic acid to hives which are on double brood?

Do you dribble the acid over both boxes (cracking the open) or just on the top one?

Thanks
Liza

 

[xgeordie]

Just dribble from the top one. If you try and split the boxes to do both you will disturb the cluster.

 

[mystil]

Do I increase the dosage to take into account the two boxes?

I have not a clue!

 

[xgeordie]

Do I increase the dosage to take into account the two boxes or not?

I have not a clue!

I used the same dose (5ml per seam) as if it was a single box. Worked fine.

 

[Finman]

Just dribble from the top one. If you try and split the boxes to do both you will disturb the cluster.

if you split the hive and try to put back them, hundreds of bees will be crushed in the middle the cluster.

Oxalic works without splitting.
.

 

[Heather]

I did this last year (didnt increase the amount/split) and had a varroa problem in the summer. Had to shook swarm. Made me determined not to double brood again. Typical bee keeping- I have ended up with 1 colony on brood and half so think I will do 7 mls per seam where increased density of bees for that colony..

 

[Finman]

I did this last year (didnt increase the amount/split) and had a varroa problem in the summer. Had to shook swarm. Made me determined not to double brood again. Typical bee keeping- I have ended up with 1 colony on brood and half so think I will do 7 mls per seam where increased density of bees for that colony..

oh girl!.

Trickling has beeen developed 10 years. Recommendation is 4 ml to one box and 5 box to douple.
7 ml is almost douple dosage. It makes bees too wet.

Why don't you use recommendations. Varroa is a serious disease.

I have used sometimes over dosage and I give just warning that don't do that.
Last I must put saw dust on bees to take extra oxalix syrup away.

 

[Suzi Q]

oh girl!.

Trickling has beeen developed 10 years. Recommendation is 4 ml to one box and 5 box to douple.
7 ml is almost douple dosage. It makes bees too wet.

Why don't you use recommendations. Varroa is a serious disease.

I have used sometimes over dosage and I give just warning that don't do that.
Last I must put saw dust on bees to take extra oxalix syrup away.

From newbie, isn't it 5mls per seam?

 

[Heather]

Yes, tis 5- and my colony didnt seem to get the treatment through on 5 as it was so deep into 2 boxes. - but Finman is quite a wise chap-
Hmmm. Dilemma.

I was only thinking to do only 7 in very core of the cluster - I never give more than 5 usually ony sometimes 4 on the edges.

 

[Into the lions den]

From newbie, isn't it 5mls per seam?

5ml of 3% oxalic acid solution in syrup per seam of bees. Allow for the water in the crystals as the weight of the crystals is a good bit more than the actual amount of oxalic there.

Read up on it, there are ample sites with the correct advice, and it does the memory good to trawl through them rather than simply take something down pat from the forum (where some VERY bad advice is being dished out elsewhere).

There is a simple rough and ready recipe on one of the greatly missed Dave Cushman's pages. It is the way to make up significant amounts of the stuff, but just reduce the amounts pro rata if you want less. Do not keep the solution in store any length of time, make up fresh for next time.

1Kg sugar
1litre warm water
75g oxalic acid crystals

The crystals need to be dissolved in the WARM water first as they can be a bit stubborn if the water is cold. Then add and dissolve the sugar, again the water being warm helps.

For not a great deal of money you can get a sheep doser and backpack (up to 3litre size I have seen) and the gun on the doser gently squirts out a measured dose when you squeeze the handle. You can dose a colony in under a minute. Last winter my two remaining staff were able to do about 500 a day, and this involved a lot of driving round too. If the doser is overkill then a 5ml syringe is often free from the chemist for the polite asking, a few pence if not. The doser and backpack would be closer to 25 pounds if of decent quality, but they cut the application time down to a third and so it pays for itself in the first two or three hours.

Be wary of overdosing. I have heard of significant loss rates being attributed to oxalic overdosing, in one case to the extent of in the hundreds of colonies.
The recommended concentrations have been arrived at on the back of experimentation that demonstrated conclusively that 'a little bit more' was most definitly NOT 'a little bit better'. Kills the mite yes, but also kills significant numbers of bees and exacerbates winter queen loss.

 

[Suzi Q]

Sheep doser???! I'm in London and have only two hives at the moment! Thanks for advice however. If I was still up in Cumbria could easily get hold of a sheep doser!

I bought some oxalic crystals from the Honey Show the other day and when got it home saw it was out of date. Will it be any good? Or shall I chuck it.

 

[xgeordie]

If the doser is overkill then a 5ml syringe is often free from the chemist for the polite asking, a few pence if not. The doser and backpack would be closer to 25 pounds if of decent quality, but they cut the application time down to a third and so it pays for itself in the first two or three hours.
QUOTE]

For a few colonies, better to get a 50 ml syringe and practise dribbling 5ml first.

 

[Into the lions den]

I bought some oxalic crystals from the Honey Show the other day and when got it home saw it was out of date. Will it be any good? Or shall I chuck it.

Dry crystals will be fine. It is the solution in syrup that goes off after a while.

 

[Finman]

.if you are a hobbyist

make
100 g water
100 g sugar
7,5 = oxalic acid.

1 euro coin is 7,5 g if you test your balance. Coin weights you find from internet.

That is enough to 3 two box hive and to 5 one box hive.

Maximum dosage is 40 ml to one box hive and 50 ml to 2-box hive.

These are the original recommendations.

Bees become wet and they do not cluster again, if you give too much. i have tried it.

 

[For want of a better word]

Where can you get a Euro coin in the UK?

 

[Finman]

.
You ask from tourist

but 50 pence is 8,0 g

twenty pence is 5,0 g

two pence 7,13 g

 

[Baggyone]

Where can you get a Euro coin in the UK?

We seem to get the damn things from the bank all the time!

Baggy

 

[Finman]

.
We were in Malaysea airport with my son 12 years ago. I had spent my all Malaysian money and we ought to eate. I went to money exhanger and asked "do you exhange Finnish money ?"

"Ofcourse! It is good money!

I gove 100 marks. He gove money and kept 70% to himself. Difficult to say anything to that.
It was in those times about 10 British bounds.