Oxalic Advice Please!!!

[East Yorks New Bee]

I would like some advice from other members please. I have 2 hives at home and 2 at my allotment, the 2 at home had a lot of varroa drop during apiguard treatment, but the ones at my allotment had no drop. What would the advise be regarding winter oxalic treatment? would I be better to treat all 4 hives or just the 2 that I know had a varroa problem????
Merry Christmas to all on the forum :

 

[Frisbee]

Tha amount of mites which drop off the bees are just the amount which drop off. They are no indication of how many are still clinging on.

Having had a bol****ing from

on another thread on the same subject I am loath to say anything else. Although I'm sure others will.

Frisbee

 

[Brian Bush]

Better Safe than Sorry

I am sure you will be told otherwise but my advice is to treat them all. last year the parting words of the Bee Inspector was treat all your hives in the autumn with Apiguard and in mid winter with Oxalic acid, but trickle not vapourise. This year from a different inspector the advice was the same and to give them a treatment of one of the booster tonics in the Autumn feed to help against other ailments.
I treated with Apiguasrd and Acid last year, we did the Acid on Boxing Day and then drank half a bottle of vintage port. I always dust with icing sugar when opening a hive as well. Varroa drop has been low all year. The chances of varroa becoming immune to oxalic acid are very remote.
Just do It!!!!

 

[jimbeekeeper]

I would personally just treat them regardless at this stage, stuff what anyone else says....Merry Christmas

 

[Hebeegeebee]

I will treat mine anyway. I might follow with a bottle of Port too!

 

[RoofTops]

Just avoid getting the bottles muddled up - although I suspect the alcohol in the port would knock a few varroa down.

 

[sputnam]

& the oxalic acid might knock you down!

 

[Repwoc]

... and don't drink the bottle of port first and *then* decide to mess about with OA + bees.

 

[mark s]

merry christmas to you also eynb

 

[ian]

Hi

As others have said treat the lot, oxalic is not so much a treatmeant for this season but giving your bees the lowest possible mite numbers and best start for next year. Oxalic clears up whats been missed or those mites reared late Autumn.


Regards Ian

 

[VEG]

I treat all my hives with oxalic regardless of the mite drop.

 

[Black Comb]

I will be treating mine (first time for me) and notice that a fair number of bees currently are clustered on top of the frames and on the underside of the brood box.

Do I disturb them in order to get the acid down the seams?

 

[Poly Hive]

It seems to me that an Oxalic treatment is a very good and cost effective insurance treatment.

If you have a heavy mite load you pretty much deal with it.

If you have a light mite load you reduce it further.

Balancing the possible down side, upset colony, balled queen, against the heath of the colony then it comes down heavily on the plus side.

A healthy colony makes honey and thrives.

I will be treating in the early New Year.

And I can certainly tell vintage port from Oxalic Acid and as for the difference between Malt and.....

PH

 

[Finman]

Do I disturb them in order to get the acid down the seams?

You just say to the hive:"helo, may i disturb you". If they do not say anything, do it.

If they say to you, "please shut the door", do it however. Don't believe them, because they cannot speak.

 

[Onge]

As Finman says just do it.

I will regardless of drop rate.

Scheduled for 28th december weather dependent

 

[jezd]

You just say to the hive:"helo, may i disturb you". If they do not say anything, do it.

If they say to you, "please shut the door", do it however. Don't believe them, because they cannot speak.

made me smile, nice1

 

[MJBee]

It seems to me that an Oxalic treatment is a very good and cost effective insurance treatment.

If you have a heavy mite load you pretty much deal with it.

If you have a light mite load you reduce it further.

Balancing the possible down side, upset colony, balled queen, against the heath of the colony then it comes down heavily on the plus side.

A healthy colony makes honey and thrives.

I will be treating in the early New Year.

And I can certainly tell vintage port from Oxalic Acid and as for the difference between Malt and.....

PH

Mike

 

[the naked beekeeper]

Treated my girls yesterday!

 

[victor meldrew]

Treated my girls yesterday!

Touche'

 

[SixFooter]

The drop on my 3 hives was very low all through the summer and I thought there was very little point in treating any of the colonies. I was persuaded by my mentor to trickle some OA in any way. It looks as though this was the right thing to do as it's knocked off a heck of a lot of mites.