September. Which treatment - maq or apiguard

[runnerbean]

Hi guys,
It looks like most people treat with apiguard at this time of year to reduce varroa numbers and prepare their hives for winter.
With the daytime temperature still above 10degrees and within the usable temperature range for MAQ, why is apiguard preferred? Is it because of potential problems with MAQ and their queen?
Thanks for your help

 

[ellypatt]

For me, yes. I found maqs disrupted/upset the bees much more than apiguard. I would only use it if absolutely necessary and there were supers on.

 

[Oneeye]

Would it still be ok to use apigaurd this late on ? I've had a couple of colonies stop laying a few weeks back but I've now gave them a good feed and they have started laying again !

Average temps here in Telford are about 16c - 18c for the next week ! I just didn't want to start using treatment why the queen was out of action incase it prolonged it when she should be making winter bees !

Or is their something else I should use ?

Much appreciated
Sam

 

[Oneeye]

Sorry for hijacking your thread runner bean ! Just thought it would be better to ask on here saves starting a new one on the same topic !

 

[Hawklord]

I used MAQS this week, not much bearding but I'm concerned they might have absconded as there was no brood in some colonies.

 

[snelgrove]

I have used maqs which if used on colonies with less than 5 frames of brood I have found there is usually queen loss I found one queen dead on inner cover. Like mention earlier I would only use it as an emergency with supers on. this year I have used apilifevar, which requires 3 to 4 treatments which is a chew but works well with little disruption to the bees.

 

[Gilberdyke John]

I have used maqs which if used on colonies with less than 5 frames of brood I have found there is usually queen loss I found one queen dead on inner cover. Like mention earlier I would only use it as an emergency with supers on. this year I have used apilifevar, which requires 3 to 4 treatments which is a chew but works well with little disruption to the bees.

Apilife var is easy to use and doesn't require an eke to be fitted. I have in the past used Apiguard, Apilfe Var and MAQS. All worked and I had no issues with queens.
There are anecdotal problems with some hives with all the options. You pays your money and you takes your choice.

 

[Arfermo]

Apilife var is easy to use and doesn't require an eke to be fitted. I have in the past used Apiguard, Apilfe Var and MAQS. All worked and I had no issues with queens.
There are anecdotal problems with some hives with all the options. You pays your money and you takes your choice.

Apiguard does not need an eke if one has dual purpose CBs with a deep recess on one side and a normal shallow recess on the other.

 

[Gilberdyke John]

Apiguard does not need an eke if one has dual purpose CBs with a deep recess on one side and a normal shallow recess on the other.

For those with standard crown boards a separate eke would still be necessary with Apiguard.

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

Or an empty shallow box