Price of varroa treatment

[Finman]

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I bought ready to use thymol pads for 20 hives, which have 2 wintering boxes. For one box hive wintering amount of pads are for 40 hives.

Thymol content 12g/ pad. Used during feeding, a pad to each box.

The cost was £66. It is £3.3/ two box hive and £1.7 for one box hive.

Producer Honey Paw company, SF. I think that it is our only company who produce pads. One company failed because it put too little thymol into pad, and it did not kill mites. - place of learning.

Then if you put one pad for two boxes, it does not work either. ... So, do not try to save in this point.

What are your costs out there?

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[B+.]

What are your costs out there?

£0
I don't treat. It would distort my selection criteria

 

[Hawklord]

£34 for a bucket of MAQS treats 10 colonies or 20 nucs. I'll be using thymolated syrup and think it cost £10 for 100 of thymol crystals, £8 for Lecithin, and £2 for the white spirit not sure how many colonies that will treat. I will also be buying a vaporizer and oxalic for winter.

 

[drex]

Do not use white spirit (turps substitute). It is alcohol that is used to dissolve the thymol. Or do you mean surgical spirit?

 

[Finman]

. I'll be using thymolated syrup .

That is for nosema (to avoid missunderstanding)

 

[mbc]

Apiguard comes at ~£80 for a 30 colony treatment tub

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

I'll be using thymolated syrup and think it cost £10 for 100 of thymol crystals, £8 for Lecithin, and £2 for the white spirit not sure how many colonies that will treat.

That will treat a heck of a lot of colonies but as Finny says - thymolised syrup is for nosema - nothing else, whatever some would lead you believe and don't use white spirits whatever you do - you need surgicfal spirit/isopropyl alcohol

 

[Hawklord]

Sorry, yes I use surgical spirit. I know it's not used as a mite treatment but I would imagine the mites are not partial to it.

 

[mbc]

That will treat a heck of a lot of colonies but as Finny says - thymolised syrup is for nosema - nothing else, whatever some would lead you believe and don't use white spirits whatever you do - you need surgicfal spirit/isopropyl alcohol

<5ml of white spirit in tens of gallons of suryp isn't going to make much difference.

 

[For want of a better word]

If you do not have varroa tolerant bees... what is the cost of not treating?

Mytten da

 

[Plenty of honey]

Obviously no ones mentioned Vaporised oxyalic acid. Less than 5 cents a treatment. minus cost of vaporiser and good battery. I couldn't afford to treat all my colonies otherwise.
I know a guy who got a litre of "Tac Tic" which has the Amitraze generic ( in France its used for treating pigs against lice and ticks) and he's treated over 300 hives with less than 1 litre ( around 80 Euros per litre), so thats good value if you favour Amitraze. but you have to soak up your own cardboard strips (technically illegal) etc, fiddly and i think you do put yourself at risk of contamination more. Thats the good thing of prescribed medications, they are safer to apply.

 

[mbc]

Weapon of choice in the commercial section on beesource, they've found they have to up the dose and treat several times a year to achieve the same efficiency after a while. Illegal and likely to promote resistance, not the sort of thing I'd like associated with producing nature's clean superfood.

 

[Plenty of honey]

Weapon of choice in the commercial section on beesource, they've found they have to up the dose and treat several times a year to achieve the same efficiency after a while. Illegal and likely to promote resistance, not the sort of thing I'd like associated with producing nature's clean superfood.

Agree with you. but in fairness, how can one treat that many colonies to keep it profitable, I am also of the opinion that any of these type of treatments will bring in a good chance of us breeding supermites due to resistance issues. Its the hot potato!!

 

[Finman]

Agree with you. but in fairness, how can one treat that many colonies to keep it profitable, I am also of the opinion that any of these type of treatments will bring in a good chance of us breeding supermites due to resistance issues. Its the hot potato!!

"Any treatment bring supermites", weake weake!

In Finland professionals treat 3 times their hives to keep them profitable.
In late summer thymol or formic acid and in November and in Marsh oxalic trickling. Some have over 1500 hives.

Supermites come if they come. We see then. But now we live this day and work with this day's knowledge.

In USA 2/3 does not treat their hive losses are huge.

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[B+.]

Supermites come if they come.

I think "super mites" will evolve because no treatment is 100% effective. Some mites will always survive and become increasingly resistant to the treatments. This is why the vitality test is so important. We have to apply selective pressure on bees so they evolve a means of controlling the varroa mite itself.

 

[Plenty of honey]

"Any treatment bring supermites", weake weake!

In Finland professionals treat 3 times their hives to keep them profitable.
In late summer thymol or formic acid and in November and in Marsh oxalic trickling. Some have over 1500 hives.

Supermites come if they come. We see then. But now we live this day and work with this day's knowledge.

In USA 2/3 does not treat their hive losses are huge.

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Yes I agree, but Many US Profesional beekeepers are well aware of this. Theres is a few that seem to be representing the majority, (wrong in my mind) who buy queens from one part of the country, give them bees from another and then move them to another part of the country and then feed them mono crop foods. and its them that the statisticians go to for they figures on CCD, to me its a no brainer, Even though i am totally out of my depth here, but its only my personal opinion.
I've just been to Vermont for a week and the level of bee care and professionalism is very high so you can't brand all professionals with the same iron. Theres lots of extremely intelligent and resourceful beekeepers trying their hardest Like us!!!!

Yes i know this is off Topic!!

 

[mbc]

Yes I agree, but Many US Profesional beekeepers are well aware of this. Theres is a few that seem to be representing the majority, (wrong in my mind) who buy queens from one part of the country, give them bees from another and then move them to another part of the country and then feed them mono crop foods. and its them that the statisticians go to for they figures on CCD, to me its a no brainer, Even though i am totally out of my depth here, but its only my personal opinion.
I've just been to Vermont for a week and the level of bee care and professionalism is very high so you can't brand all professionals with the same iron. Theres lots of extremely intelligent and resourceful beekeepers trying their hardest Like us!!!!

Yes i know this is off Topic!!

Spot on. America is a continent after all, generalising and tarring them all with the same brush would be similar to saying all beekeepers in Europe are the same.

 

[Finman]

I think "super mites" will evolve because no treatment is 100% effective. Some mites will always survive and become increasingly resistant to the treatments. This is why the vitality test is so important. We have to apply selective pressure on bees so they evolve a means of controlling the varroa mite itself.

No treatment is 100% effective ..... Well well. Mostly it is nearer to 80% than 96%.

Supermite. You "think" or "dream"?

Like I said... We live this day. Oxalic acid, thymol and formic acid have been used against varroa over 20 year. No resistancy has been noticed. But if it comes, it comes. And not at once agaist all chemical stuffs.

And there are lots of chemicals which can be used. 126 different chemicals have been used against varroa.

When future is mere horror, sell your all hives before the hives loose all their value.

In USA bees have vanished every year during last 9 years, but the hive number is still at same level.

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[Finman]

Spot on. America is a continent after all, generalising and tarring them all with the same brush would be similar to saying all beekeepers in Europe are the same.

America means mostly USA. CCD is only in USA. Not even in Canada.

 

[B+.]

Supermite. You "think" or "dream"?

.

Perhaps it is a dream Finman, but, when the treatments you rely on today are no longer effective, you'll be glad that breeders invested our time and efforts developing a bee that can deal with varroa.