Varroa treatment and solid floors

[AndreaW]

Title says it all! I have a solid floor, does this hamper varroa treatment, I see a lot of discussion of checking inserts whilst treating which I presume isn't possible with a solid floor. Should I buy an open floor now or is it best to change in spring?

Thanks

 

[Oandy]

Hi Andrea you can change the floor now then monitor the varroa drop. The bees will not come to harm with mesh floor Installed over winter. My Hives and Nucs have mesh floors and there has been no harm done to the bees. I blocked the top vent and slid the varroa board in almost all the way. left just enough to give a little air flow. to avoid condesation inside the hive. Andy

 

[Finman]

Nothing wrong with solid floor. You need not calculate mites. They are there more or less.

It is better to handle varroa when you have taken away honey yield. Thymol and formic acid is rigth to protect winter bee brood.

 

[AndreaW]

Thanks for replies. I will stick with solid floor for now then and just treat - need to keep my costs down a bit anyway as want to buy another hive
Thanks

 

[Arfermo]

Thanks for replies. I will stick with solid floor for now then and just treat - need to keep my costs down a bit anyway as want to buy another hive
Thanks

You really ought to get round to mesh floors as it allows the live mites to fall out of the hive and not climb back up. If you aim for more hives next year it is a must imho and it is not a problem in the winter either. I leave mine open all winter with none of the insulation that others on this forum bung in - no problem.

 

[milkermel]

I look after a hive that had a solid floor and that is the only one that has had a major problem this year with Varroa. I persuaded the owner to invest in an omf and treated with beevital and have seen a great improvement in the bees. no more deformed young and walkers!

It has taken 2 years to become a problem but once it became a problem it was very disheartening seeing the issues. Personally I would never use solid floors now.

 

[AndreaW]

On my list for next year now - will see if National Beekeeping will ammend the cost of their complete hive price for an OMF instead of solid

 

[For want of a better word]

Why do the manufacturers supply solid floor as standard... just to keep the price low?

 

[oliver90owner]

If 'standard' means 'basic', yes. 'Extras' are usually more expensive.

Or maybe it was the 'standard' - certainly was, when the British Standard Hive was originally drafted.

 

[Chris58]

We have a solid wood floor on our National, turned around, with a mesh floor, so there is air flow from the old front, which is now the back, as it were - I slid a board in to monitor varroea, will this system be ok?

 

[The Apprentices]

I have just fitted a newish Thorne mesh floor to my national setup.

After B-Vital treatment on close inspection of the solid floor showed hundreds of young Verroa simply crawling around waiting for another ride, this is why I changed to a meshy of my own design.

On the ability of the Verroa not being able to climb back in after falling out I'm not that convinced, these beggers are fast and have legs, that is why I have made a drawer type with oil bath below a finer wired No.8 mesh which gives them less places to sit and wait.

Mesh floors for me from now on.

 

[BBG]

Title says it all! I have a solid floor, does this hamper varroa treatment, I see a lot of discussion of checking inserts whilst treating which I presume isn't possible with a solid floor. Should I buy an open floor now or is it best to change in spring?

Thanks

OMF, varroa tray ONLY inserted for 3/4 days for varroa checks (thymol exception) some 1992 info from MAFF

http://website.lineone.net/~dave.cushman/kenhomf.html

Sadly, the conditions described still exist due to lack of understanding of these

 

[Hivemaker.]

After B-Vital treatment on close inspection of the solid floor showed hundreds of young Verroa simply crawling around waiting for another ride

Speaks volumes for the efficiency of that treatment.

 

[The Apprentices]

Speaks volumes for the efficiency of that treatment.

It does and I wished I had my new drawer floor ready for the Warre I could have captured the little beggers whole in the oil that kills them and not letting them fall on the floor to crawl around near the hive entrance in contact with any bees on the ground and maybe back into the hive again.

The old floor was a godsend to try a number of different things to knock them out, I tried window cleaner, a few different household solvents that never killed them either, tough little barstuards, but give them a floating of fine oil and they soon showed no signs of life under the magnifier.

It seems the oil covers their breathing tubes and its lights out, hensce the oil drawer with a few drops of wintergreen just to make sure, the oil also preserves them for detailed microscope analysis.

Mesh floor/oil drawer every time from now on, bag em and burn em, clean out drawer with boiling water and replace.

On the efficiency of the contents of said bottle I think it is done mostly by the bees themselves preening and not the actual liquid, and if it could be made by ourselves it would be a lot cheaper too.

 

[onriver]

I've been surprised when delivering nucs to new beekeepers how many have solid floors in the hives I was transferring into. I suppose naively I'd assumed that every beekeeper nowadays used OMFs of some description but that isn't the case,
For all that I advised either a new floor or at least cutting out most of the floor and pinning a mesh instead, to little comprehension.
Is the problem that the courses for beginners don't stress varoa control or that equipment sellers still offer solid floors?

 

[Hivemaker.]

I prefer to use something that just kills the mites dead in the first place,no problem with them climbing back up off the floor then, have little interest in just knocking them off the bees. Thymol and formic acid do a fine job of killing them. I also prefer solid floors.

 

[AndreaW]

I've been surprised when delivering nucs to new beekeepers how many have solid floors in the hives I was transferring into. I suppose naively I'd assumed that every beekeeper nowadays used OMFs of some description but that isn't the case,
For all that I advised either a new floor or at least cutting out most of the floor and pinning a mesh instead, to little comprehension.
Is the problem that the courses for beginners don't stress varoa control or that equipment sellers still offer solid floors?

I'm hoping it is the latter, although I must say I remember mention of varroa on my course and OMF but they weren't really stressed as the best option - I think I got that from on here and in books.

It has always been my intention to change and will be doing so in the spring to spread the cost. I didn't buy one initially as the complete hive set (not the basic beginners kit I might add) came with a solid floor from National Beekeeping Supplies.

 

[The Apprentices]

Maybe its best to have several options open at any one time, wheather it's a mesh floor with or without floor or collecting drawer, Varroa filter, chemical cosh etc, etc.

As long as all options are collectively deminishing the problems there will be some return for the thought energy input, there are many times in life where there is no "Magic Bullet" which many seek, but that just life Jim.

Open minds lead to creativity and being able to think outside this box full of bees, I for one as many who know the man, have not been institutionalised quite enough to think otherwise.

Must be something in or maybe not in our water.

 

[RogueDrone]

£hornes do an economy mesh floor and this wood be a quick fix as above fit mesh between BB and solid floor reversed then inspection card slides between the two floors have this on several hives.
Another option with economy OMF screwed on to some 2"*1" roof battern to make up what is been sold for £30 standard OMF.

 

[BBG]

Nothing wrong with solid floor. You need not calculate mites. They are there more or less.

It is better to handle varroa when you have taken away honey yield. Thymol and formic acid is rigth to protect winter bee brood.

Hi Finman - would you explain how you use thymol and formic acid please.