- Joined
- Apr 29, 2023
- Messages
- 268
- Reaction score
- 151
- Location
- Northumberland
- Hive Type
- National
- Number of Hives
- 100
Sorry if this has been done to death before, I'm a Luddite. Supposing the Randy Oliver method of placing 'Swedish cloths' of cellulose sponge impregnated with 50:50 veg glycerin to Oxalic Dihydrate gets DEFRA approval eventually (though I'm sure it'll come with a hefty price-tag for the license like api-bioxal does), I see and hear of it being used earlier in the season in both Scandinavia and places like NZ where they apparently add the OA soaked blue towels every inspection - but there's still at least 3 rounds of brood left for the season to be raised by this point of the year when most of us in the UK would be contemplating some form of IPM, so would it not work just as effectively implemented at this point in the year if and when it's licensed? I'm just a little confused as to the seeming preference for putting them in early and, I'll be honest, I'm not bright enough to grasp much beyond the v basic science and even less of the maths involved - is it to essentially kill virtually 99% of varroa (which obviously has implications on any adaptive behaviour, however slight, that a degree of exposure might produce and also would be impractical for most of us, not isolated from other beekeepers) or because using the method over many rounds of brood would keep the mite population below some critical threshold that treating in late summer might not effect so strongly? Just trying to get my head around it, thanks, R