Thymol Varroa Treatment.

[ichbinpaul]

sorry to bump an old thread but have any of you seen brood kill at this doesage

I used it around two weeks ago, and No brood kill, a small handfull of wasps and bees lying dead at the bottom screen on two hives but probably not related, nothing in the other hives at all, I have not done a varoa count before or after due to plywood closer boards being swollen into place, I have since sorted this though but wont do a count this year now.

 

[drstitson]

me neither.

 

[itma]

DIY thymol varroa treatment is less well-controlled in its vapour release than the commercial products.
As such, if the temperature and ventilation are wrong, there is more potential for problems.
Varroa treatment, using commercial products, is an insignificant part of my beekeeping costs, and consequently I'm not seeing a risk/reward benefit from going DIY.

Thymolating syrup however, compared to the cost of the various 'snake oils' promoted in full-page advertisements, does seem worthwhile! (and negligible risk)

 

[user 6228]

A note of caution on doses.

The amount of a treatment almost always seems to be calibrated using wooden hives and usually larger than UK nationals.

However, it has been found that these treatments have more effect at higher temperatures. This effect will be increased on both the varroa and the bees.

Users of Poly and other hives with a higher level of insulation should be aware that this increased effectiveness may mean greater risk to the bees in their hives.

 

[Finman]

A .

Users of Poly and other hives with a higher level of insulation should be aware that this increased effectiveness may mean greater risk to the bees in their hives.

Not at all, derekm

******************

In Finland thymol dosage is 12g. It is for one langstroth box. The cost per pad is £2

We use only insulated boxes in winter and no harms have happened in that meaning.

Thymol pads are mostly produced by Honeypaw and we do not do them DIY.
Honeypaw tested carefully the procuct before it came to market.

Honeypaw:
Thymol pad

Honeypaw acquired the Finnish pesticide license for thymol in 2002 and has since been delivering it to beekeepers of this country under the brand name Honey Paw Tymoltyyny. The last word is Finnish that translates to “thymol pad”. One thymol pad contains 12 grams of thymol. Per one Langstroth box you need one pad. By autumn 2011 we start shipping a Thymol pad that is suited for a two-box Farrar hive.


The thymol pad is the easiest and fastest technique for August protection. On top of that is the benefit that you don’t loose queens. The only disadvantage of thymol is that it doesn’t kill the tracheal mite. Thymol results in approximately 80% protection outcome.



Thymol pad should be placed to the back side of the hive, on top of frames. The bees’ passage to the feed-box should be arranged from the back or middle of the hive, since the strong aroma of thymol expels bees.

 

[Luminos]

£2 per pad is quite a bit cheaper than Apiguard.
Is it one pad per hive, and that's it? No repeat after a fortnight?

 

[Finman]

£2 per pad is quite a bit cheaper than Apiguard.
Is it one pad per hive, and that's it? No repeat after a fortnight?

Yes, one pad per box and 2 pads for douple brood.

After fortnight temps are usually so low that thymol does not work any more.

And guys do not make their own pad because we get them so easily from Company. It comes via post.

http://www.thorne.co.uk/health-and-feeding/varroa/thymol-based?product_id=1692

Api Var is not bad but what means "Two packets per treatment per hive."....£3


.

 

[Luminos]

Yes, one pad per box and 2 pads for douple brood.

After fortnight temps are usually so low that thymol does not work any more.

And guys do not make their own pad because we get them so easily from Company. It comes via post.

http://www.thorne.co.uk/health-and-feeding/varroa/thymol-based?product_id=1692

Api Var is not bad but what means "Two packets per treatment per hive."....£3


.

Thanks Finman

 

[mbc]

Api Var is not bad but what means "Two packets per treatment per hive."....£3

.

Each packet has two strips,
1 strip every 7 days for each beehive, complete treatment 4 strips for each beehive.

= £6 for a complete treatment, not so easily swallowed as £3, but still cheaper than replacement bees.

 

[itma]

Is it one pad per hive, and that's it? No repeat after a fortnight?

See the first post in the thread

For members who decide to make their own Thymol treatment

Original post made by Hivemaker:

The mixture is 8 grams thymol to 12 grams oil,sunflower,rape,olive or even old chip oil,multiply this measurment to make more.

warm in old pan outdoors until all the thymol crystals have dissolved then add 20 ml of this mixture to a piece of the green absorbent garden oasis(not the grey one) this is the size of a sardine tin or half pound cut comb container. two inches wide, three and a half long, and 8 ml thick. put oasis in container then put liquid on, leave overnight to soak in,will soak in better if warm.

To treat bee's cut this in half and place the two parts on top of brood frames over the brood area. reduce entrance to about 2 inches and block of any feed holes,and mesh floors,give second treatment in two weeks and another 2weeks later.
...
Admin edit:

I follow the recipe above with the only difference being I fold a Kleenex into 4 and add a single dose,then put into a plastic container(Curry size)and add a sheet of grease prood paper,I then do the same with the next Kleenex and so on.
When I get to the hives I add one tissue per hive discarding the grease proof paper.

 

[Luminos]

See the first post in the thread

Thanks Itma, but I meant the ones Finman was speaking of, the ones commercially available, not the home-made ones

 

[alanf]

Yes, one pad per box and 2 pads for douple brood.
After fortnight temps are usually so low that thymol does not work any more.

Interesting that one dose is standard in Finland. By some way the lowest amount of active ingredient for any of the thymol treatments. As you say, the single product dose is tailored for the Finnish climate and a short period when it can be applied. All the other thymol treatments I'm aware of and sold across Europe expect 2 or more doses. This is what I reckon are the currently available products with weight of active thymol ingredient and current treatment price per hive, the top three are the current UK VMD registered thymol treatments.

• Apilife Var (Italy), 8g per strip, 1 strip per hive box, 4 weekly doses per season = 32g thymol, UK price £6 (*1)
• Apiguard (UK), 12.5g per pack, 1 pack per hive box, 2 doses for 2 weeks (min) each = 25g thymol, UK price £5.26 (*2)
• Thymovar (Swiss), 15g per pack, 2 doses for 2 weeks each = 30g thymol, UK price £4.80 (*3)
• Hivemaker formula, 8g per pad, 3 doses for 2 weeks each = 24 g thymol, UK price £2 (*4)
• Tymoltyyny (Finland), 12g per pad, 1 dose = 12 g thymol, Finland price £1.84 (*5)

*1 Th0rnes price inc VAT for one hive (2 packs of 2 strips each)
*2 Th0rnes price inc VAT per hive for 5 hives (10 packs)
*3 Agr1nova price inc VAT per hive for 5 hives (10 packs)
*4 Th0rnes approx price inc VAT per hive for four hives (100 g thymol pack, oil and pads extra but minimal).
*5 Lahtisenvahavalimo.fi price per hive for 5 hives, 11 EUR (9.18 GBP) (tax position unknown) for 5 thymol pad packs.

Only Apilife Var is readily available everywhere in one hive quantities, everything else is listed in packs for 4 or 5 hives.

Prices from web sites as at Nov 2013 for minimum quantities and approximate exchange rates, all exclude post and packing. Products are all available from other suppliers and will be cheaper in larger quantities - Th0rnes is the largest UK supplier but rarely the cheapest and does not stock Thymovar. For example, CWJ sell Apiguard tubs that work out under 3 pounds per hive for 30 hives and 1kg tubs of thymol that would make the Hivemaker formula under 1 pound per hive for 40. Originating country is as for the licence address on the pack, not always clear where they are actually made.

 

[Finman]

.
Alanf's comparision just what we need in discussions...

I wonder how wise is to make own thymol pads. compared to commercial, if you have under 10 hives?

.
When you get all ingredimenst, not only thymol stuff....

 

[biglongdarren]

Are people still using this to treat?

Darren

 

[protheroe]

put my last treatment on a couple of days ago.out of all my hives only three had a very large drop which suprised me considering the summer we had.then again,most had nucs taken from them earlier in the year and a few overwintered double broods were split into singles with some missed swarms so that messed about the varroa cycles.the three hives with high drops were the hives that had no brood taken from them

 

[Stiffy]

The original recipe mentions green and not grey oasis , what's wrong with the grey ?
S

 

[victor meldrew]

Grey oasis block is for dry floral arrangements whereas green is for wet!
VM

 

[fady_ghaly]

a piece of the green absorbent garden oasis(not the grey one)


what is thattt???????

 

[theeggman]

It's a 'rigid' sponge like material. It holds water when wetted.

I use folded up paper kitchen towel, (from a roll) instead.

Paper tissues could be used as well but are less strong when wet.

I hope this helps.

 

[alanf]

a piece of the green absorbent garden oasis(not the grey one)


what is thattt???????

http://www.oasisfloral.co.uk/oasis-brand-floral-foam/wet-foam/oasis-ideal-floral-foam-maxlife-brick

Other brands and sizes are available.