Still significant mite drop after OA

[Swarm]

They won't be sealed off for long so I wouldn't worry about bees returning, I'm more concerned with these high mite numbers and after so many treatments.

 

[Erichalfbee]

Done my final vape of this cycle and still over 100 mites dropping after 24 hours.

So I’ve now vaped 1 complete cycle with GasVap and another with a sublimox. 8 treatments now.

I guess I keep going??!

Or do I treat again when brood less later in Wilmer?

I'm in a similar situation. Done 7 vapes and still > 100 on a few hives, far less on others.
I'm going to carry on as the numbers  are reducing. I may swap to every 3 days. My bees are in the garden so fairly easy to do.

To be honest after experiencing just this a few years back I’d put in some Apivar and forget it for a few weeks till it’s time to get the strips out.

 

[lizzie-drippin]

OK, maye I put in Apivar then. I know you are meant to remove supers, but can I leave supers on if they are just there for the bees rather than there to be harvested?

 

[JamezF]

OK, maye I put in Apivar then. I know you are meant to remove supers, but can I leave supers on if they are just there for the bees rather than there to be harvested?

You may need to check whether you can use the supers for subsequent harvests. Some treatments you can, some you can't. I can't recall which is the case with Apivar at the moment.

James

 

[Hachi]

I'm in a similar situation. Done 7 vapes and still > 100 on a few hives, far less on others.
I'm going to carry on as the numbers  are reducing. I may swap to every 3 days. My bees are in the garden so fairly easy to do.

I helped a friend vape their hives, they bottled it too when drops got to a hundred. From one hive with a mite drop well into 4 figure drops. They lost all 9 hives that winter; they were crushed.

 

[Sutty]

I helped a friend vape their hives, they bottled it too when drops got to a hundred. From one hive with a mite drop well into 4 figure drops. They lost all 9 hives that winter; they were crushed.

Do you mean they stopped treating when they got to 100??

 

[Erichalfbee]

I helped a friend vape their hives, they bottled it too when drops got to a hundred. From one hive with a mite drop well into 4 figure drops. They lost all 9 hives that winter; they were crushed.

Putting in Apivar isn't bottling it. It's what I did and the colony was fine

 

[Erichalfbee]

OK, maye I put in Apivar then. I know you are meant to remove supers, but can I leave supers on if they are just there for the bees rather than there to be harvested?

If you are leaving supers on then unless you can mark the frames (in the spring) so that they never enter your food chain then keep going with the OAV.

 

[Hachi]

Putting in Apivar isn't bottling it. It's what I did and the colony was fine

I guess what I'm saying [badly] is to stop and risks losing the hives. Surely on the balance of probabilities it is wiser to keep battling than give up completely, but hey they aint my bee's.

 

[Hachi]

Do you mean they stopped treating when they got to 100??

Hell no

 

[Hachi]

The accepted doctrine is a count >10 over a 7 day period risks losing the hive to a mite infestation. This hen becomes you goal doesn't it?

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

The accepted doctrine is a count >10 over a 7 day period risks losing the hive to a mite infestation. This hen becomes you goal doesn't it?

I never check, to be honest

 

[Hachi]

Neither do I, but when you ask.........

 

[Xander]

I was joking, you know. Shops here have the Christmas sections open, though

Ah yes....I remember the Pizza and curry days

Cold donner kebab with congealed garlic mayonnaise and hot chilli sauce to cure the hangover.

 

[Erichalfbee]

donner kebab

Yes. Have to be drunk to eat that
A favourite meal on the last Tube home.

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

Cold donner kebab

yep - there was an excellent restaurant who also did takeaways on the walk back from the scotchman pub to the nurse's home at the Royal Infirmary in Bristol, there was always enough left over from a large doner sat on the bedside table for breakfast