Spraying Apple cider vinegar over honey bees

[Ian123]

I would rather treat with natural products i can produce myself knowing its organic natural and good for my bees instead of buying chemical products that poison my bees that i know nothing about.
Whats better for the environment too buying chemical products that are toxic or planting peppermint around your hive to keep the mites away from your hive in the first place. My beekeeping is proactive not reactive and i care for the environment whats wrong with that.

Vinegar will not prevent varroa nor planting peppermint around your hive prevent mites entering. I’m not sure how you are getting this information but I’d seriously question the validity of the source!

 

[Sutty]

Vinegar will not prevent varroa nor planting peppermint around your hive prevent mites entering. I’m not sure how you are getting this information but I’d seriously question the validity of the source!

To be fair he didn't claim vinegar treats varroa, though it has a limited effect.
I think the peppermint thing is nonsense & detracts from the rest of the thread.

 

[JamezF]

To be honest he's right, cider is made from apples and perry is the equivalent made from pears. Other fruits may be used to make fruit wines but these are not cider.

Exactly this. And as far as I recall I am entitled to sell up to 7,000 litres of cider or perry "over the gate" without the need for getting involved in all that nasty paying duty stuff with HMRC. Try doing that with fermented peach juice and see how they feel about it...

James

 

[Ian123]

To be fair he didn't claim vinegar treats varroa, though it has a limited effect.
I think the peppermint thing is nonsense & detracts from the rest of the thread.

Spraying them with water or house hold dust will likely have a limited effect

 

[Helmb1360]

To be fair he didn't claim vinegar treats varroa, though it has a limited effect.
I think the peppermint thing is nonsense & detracts from the rest of the thread.

The hillbilly beekeeper in america has been using red pepper mint in his hives and the bees put the peppermint in the brood cells, you can clearly see it peppered in loads of cells. He is convinced the mint is keeping the mites from breeding well and disturbing the breeding patten giving him a low drop rate.

 

[Anduril]

I responded to this thread due to the lack of due diligence it deserved. Some responders have apparently commented without looking at the video or scientific paper. The video and paper are in regard to viruses and not as a varroacide. Whether anyone wants to reuse viral loaded comb after spraying with cider vinegar it is their choice. In regard to the peppermint, various beekeepers have tried it with varying results, but this was against small hive beetle and not varroa. Rant over

 

[Moobee]

Because cider can be made from most fruit, pear, peach, cherry, blueberry. Mango

.....'cider is an alcoholic beverage made from the fermented juice of apples'...... Anything else is not cider, it's some made up marketing ploy.

 

[Moobee]

I would rather treat with natural products i can produce myself knowing its organic natural and good for my bees instead of buying chemical products that poison my bees that i know nothing about.
Whats better for the environment too buying chemical products that are toxic or planting peppermint around your hive to keep the mites away from your hive in the first place. My beekeeping is proactive not reactive and i care for the environment whats wrong with that.

There is nothing wrong with trying to be as natural as possible when looking after your bees. Just don't doubt the immense amount of knowledge and wisdom on this forum and think YouTube is the answer to everything. It's often full of complete trash that will neither help your beekeeping or your bees. You might think this hippy drippy stuff is working until three years in when your hives collapse from mite overload.

 

[Helmb1360]

I wouldn't doubt the knowledge of this forum thats why I'm asking what people think. I know after working with nature chemicals should be use with caution and not year after year. just look at what the governments have done to our farms with chemical spraying for pest and disease, soils can't regenerate because all the microbial life has been killed let alone all the pollinating insects. Most company's out there would sell chemicals to treat so they pocket the profits with no thought about wildlife causes and aftereffect.

Bee need bio diversity from plants, microbs, mushrooms/mycelium and much more. there be strong enough eventually to live in harmony with the mites just they need to find a balance. If the mites kill off the bees the mites wont have a host the live on

 

[JamezF]

There is nothing wrong with trying to be as natural as possible when looking after your bees. Just don't doubt the immense amount of knowledge and wisdom on this forum and think YouTube is the answer to everything. It's often full of complete trash that will neither help your beekeeping or your bees. You might think this hippy drippy stuff is working until three years in when your hives collapse from mite overload.

Also, some stuff that's put about in YT videos may be perfectly correct, but only in specific parts of the world. What works fine in the blazing heat of the southern USA for instance may not be appropriate at all in persistent drizzle in the north of Scotland.

James

 

[Helmb1360]

Thats correct, In the south uk we have temperate oceanic climate

 

[Steve at Westerham Beeks]

Its a preventative not a solution, varroa will be picked up and brought to the hive but strong smells microbes and other environmental factors play a part in helping them thrive. disrupt this enough and they won't thrive and your bees are less likely to pick up viruses.

Research on honey bee colonies that are naturally resistant to varroa (ie: no beekeeper intervention) is more instructive to learn from IMHO. The traits of these bees against varroa are the same in different parts of the UK, Europe, sub saharan Africa and South & Central America. It’s hygienic behaviour that’s repurposed for varroa. The bee’s traits to look for are illustrated at: www.varroaresistant.uk

There are scientific papers published there, curated by Prof Stephen Martin, together with case studies from UK beekeepers of how they got there. I hope you find it helpful as a resource.

 

[jarmo henttu]

There is nothing wrong with trying to be as natural as possible when looking after your bees. Just don't doubt the immense amount of knowledge and wisdom on this forum and think YouTube is the answer to everything. It's often full of complete trash that will neither help your beekeeping or your bees. You might think this hippy drippy stuff is working until three years in when your hives collapse from mite overload.

Vinegar and apple vinegar have been used against varroa over 20 years ago. 120 chemical have bee tried against varroa.

 

[Moobee]

Vinegar and apple vinegar have been used against varroa over 20 years ago. 120 chemical have bee tried against varroa.

And the validated results are??

 

[Erichalfbee]

And the validated results are??

I think the point our Finnish friend is trying to make is that many things have been tried...........many
such as rhubarb

 

[jarmo henttu]

And the validated results are??

Not usefull. No one recommends them to varroa.

 

[jimmiestan]

Research on honey bee colonies that are naturally resistant to varroa (ie: no beekeeper intervention) is more instructive to learn from IMHO. The traits of these bees against varroa are the same in different parts of the UK, Europe, sub saharan Africa and South & Central America. It’s hygienic behaviour that’s repurposed for varroa. The bee’s traits to look for are illustrated at: www.varroaresistant.uk

There are scientific papers published there, curated by Prof Stephen Martin, together with case studies from UK beekeepers of how they got there. I hope you find it helpful as a resource.

www.varroaresistant.uk -- excellent site, thank you!

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

Vinegar and apple vinegar have been used against varroa over 20 years ago

And the validated results are?

Not usefull. No one recommends them to varroa

but excellent, paired with salt, on your fish and chips

 

[Anduril]

Vinegar and apple vinegar have been used against varroa over 20 years ago. 120 chemical have bee tried against varroa.

This thread is nothing to do with varroa. Zilch, nada, zero, naught and diddly squat.

 

[Sutty]

This thread is nothing to do with varroa. Zilch, nada, zero, naught and diddly squat.

You forgot "nowt" for us northeners