too late to treat for varroa

[stoneleighhouse]

Very late collecting bees fro moors due to weather and transport problems.
Is it too late to treatr for varroa or best left until next spring?
James

 

[VEG]

Never too late to treat.
Mine are just into their second week of first tray of apiguard.

 

[Ely]

There is always midwinter oxalic?

 

[Luminos]

You might not have any bees in spring...

 

[stoneleighhouse]

thanks guys cant see any varroa drop whatsoever right now but dont want be complacent and come a "cropper"

 

[region2]

Maybe check with icing sugar - that'll dislodge the blighters!

R2

 

[justme]

mentioned before on another thread, try 'sprinkling' va**oag*rd over them if not too cold to open. Will knock a lot down and maybe give them more of a chance. Thymol doesnt work over 15 degrees, not sure how warm or not it is where you are.
Also mentioned on another thread, that not seeing many on the varroa board doesnt mean they dont have any/many. Apart from the fact that ants and things will carry them off they may not be brill at grooming and have lots on them. I hope not but who knows?

 

[DanBee]

The principal problem is the virus load in the winter bees, not the absolute number of mites in the hive. Thus it is possible to knock-down the mites now but for the damage to have already been done. This will relate to your previous attempts to control mite numbers earlier in the season, the prevalence of viruses in your colonies, etc. If you have obvious DWV amongst more than a handful of adults i'd say this is an indicator of potentially dangerous virus levels.

You are not alone in treating this late - I understand some heather areas have only just finished, and those who migrate regularly to the heather face this problem each year, and have to mitigate it through their year-round management practices. I do not so cannot speak from 1st hand experience.

The treatments that will have problems are those that require a certain temperature. Apiguard springs to mind - needs a consistent 15 deg C + outside temperature for six weeks for full effectiveness, IIRC. Formic acid pads are effective down to 10-12 deg C +, IIRC, and I believe strip-based products are effective at almost any temperature as long as they are within the brood area (contact rather than evaporative/fumigative). Check the instructions for your preferred treatment.

I'd be very interested to hear the advice of somebody like ITLD who migrates most/all colonies to the heather annually, as I understand it

 

[victor meldrew]

I've harvested crop late this year . so giving autumn treatment a miss
OA late December is my route this year! In spite of the adverse effects reported on Queens it is never the less an effective treatment .
I usually rely on thymol based treatments but as an emergency will use OA occasionally
VM

 

[Hivemaker.]

Many of my heather going stocks have been broodless, so only need a short treatment, lots of them just starting to lay up again now, and it will be these young winter bees that are the important ones to have healthy and carry the colony through the winter.

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

Halfway through treatment on half of my hives. Started on the other half today - only started treating the association apiary hives today as well.

 

[Vramin]

You can't rely on pre-treatment drop count. Mine had a daily drop of 8 prior to treatment, but I counted 2700 during treatment!

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

You can't rely on pre-treatment drop count. Mine had a daily drop of 8 prior to treatment, but I counted 2700 during treatment!

one of my hives hardly showed a mite before treatment but now...... wow!

 

[justme]

Also varroagard is much more effective, I know I've used them both.

 

[Grub]

Hi All

On 2nd tray today and thats taking advice from our old bee inspector and from a good mate on here thanks Veg.

HB still in full bloom and bees still working hard.

Grub

 

[Poly Hive]

Dusting with sugar is now considered pretty much a waste of time and money.

I too am waiting until mid winter to OA. Can't say I have seen any probs with queens due to it.

PH

 

[Chris B]

I've found thymol to be effective throughout October in the past. Not ideal to leave it that late but I've always got away with it when I've had to. The 15 degree thing is not a magic on/off switch for efficacy - the lower the temperature the slower the thymol vapourizes, but there are other variables e.g. ventilation, and of course if there's a brood nest then it's warm inside anyway.
I would treat them on the basis that something is better than nothing.

 

[Luminos]

You can't rely on pre-treatment drop count. Mine had a daily drop of 8 prior to treatment, but I counted 2700 during treatment!

 

[region2]

I thought advertising not allowed! Icing sugar is generic, varroagard isnt!

Unless you're the manufacturer of Varroa Gard then you're not advertising it - you are just mentioning its name.

Dusting with Icing Sugar can give you an indication of the presence of varroa pdq so a good indicator of their presence. However, I understand that it needs to be done very regularly to have an actual effect on the mites...

R2

 

[itma]

The principal problem is the virus load in the winter bees, not the absolute number of mites in the hive. Thus it is possible to knock-down the mites now but for the damage to have already been done. ...

There was some research this year that indicated that after the varroa infestation had been intense, even after the varroa were dealt with, the virus load remained high.
So keeping varroa down at all times is good ...


But my impression is that the big concern at this point is varroa in the brood cells with the 'winter bees' - messing up their development and shortening their life, preventing them foraging for the colony in the spring, with consequent dangers to the colony survival.
The more varroa, the higher the proportion of 'compromised' winter bees and the greater the problem at the end of winter.