Varroa treatment and feeding

[Barbara99]

I did a varroa drop test today with icing sugar and got an appallingly high count. I am still feeding syrup but wonder if I should do an oxalic treatment now rather than in the winter and will it contaminate the syrup in any way or should I remove the feeders.
I was really surprised as the hives are full and not showing any sign of distress. Thank you

 

[Erichalfbee]

I did a varroa drop test today with icing sugar and got an appallingly high count. I am still feeding syrup but wonder if I should do an oxalic treatment now rather than in the winter and will it contaminate the syrup in any way or should I remove the feeders.
I was really surprised as the hives are full and not showing any sign of distress. Thank you

So glad you posted this
It’s a lesson to everybody
Just because you can’t see varroa doesn’t mean they are not there
Did you count them? Because presuming there is brood in the colony what you have on your board in the first 24 hours represents 20% of the total
Vape them four times
Days 1/6/11/15 if you leave it till your midwinter treatment they will be dead

Oxalic is fine with feeders on

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

Have you not done any autumn varroa treatment? Apiguard or similar?

 

[Erichalfbee]

Have you not done any autumn varroa treatment? Apiguard or similar?

Doesn’t sound like it
I might move this to the beginners section where it might get more exposure

I did a varroa drop test today with icing sugar and got an appallingly high count. I am still feeding syrup but wonder if I should do an oxalic treatment now rather than in the winter and will it contaminate the

If you can’t vape then it’s too late for Thymol treatments. You’ll need to use Apivar. Do all your hives. If you have only one then I have Apivar spare if you’d like some.

 

[Barbara99]

I have been monitoring the varroa with sugar shake and the numbers have been low but within the last fortnight the count quadrupled. I was waiting for cooler temp and less brood but will take your advice and start the oxalic treatment now even though still feeding. Thanks for your help

 

[Millet]

I have Amitraz in my colonies and for the little effort it takes i have still been vaping them with oxalic acid just to be on the safe side...some colonies have very few varroa but as usual i have a couple with large loads dropping..all the hives have had four vapes and will get a fifth and final one today..i have also been feeding them while treating them like i have done for the past few years.

 

[Erichalfbee]

all the hives have had four vapes and will get a fifth and final one today..i have also been feeding them while treating them like i have done for the past few years.

Same here. Some have had three vapes and I’ve left it there
Two will have five
The nuc has Apivar in it as I couldn’t be bothered to make an eke to vape them

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

I have been monitoring the varroa with sugar shake and the numbers have been low but within the last fortnight the count quadrupled. I was waiting for cooler temp and less brood but will take your advice and start the oxalic treatment now even though still feeding. Thanks for your help

so you have been doing a sugar shake, not sugar roll? a totally inefficient method of varroa monitoring and/or control.
You need to get your colonies treated properly ASAP otherewise you are going to compromise your winter bees.
Oxalic tricking at this time of year is next to useless.

 

[Erichalfbee]

I think shake and roll seem to be used synonymously these days
Randy Oliver certainly uses sugar shake for rolling a measured amount of bees in sugar and counting the mites
http://scientificbeekeeping.com/sick-bees-part-11-mite-monitoring-methods/

I always considered a sugar shake, using sugar as a fast acting phoretic mite dropper, quite accurate as far as getting an accelerated drop count goes. The trouble is people don’t do it properly as it involves dusting every bee on every frame and is therefore very invasive. That’s why I prefer a vape and a 24 hour count. Then you run into trouble measuring your varroa load if you have supers on.
If you are going to count the mites in a measured sample of bees then an alcohol wash is the preferred method.

I’ve given up with all this
I just treat my bees routinely in the autumn
I don’t bother with anything mid winter
In the spring I do an accelerated drop with oxalic before supers go on