Varroa treatment three year cycle.

Beekeeping & Apiculture Forum

Help Support Beekeeping & Apiculture Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.

Curly green finger's

If you think you know all, you actually know nowt!
***
BeeKeeping Supporter
Joined
Jul 30, 2019
Messages
6,473
Reaction score
4,238
Location
Titterstone clee South Shropshire
Hive Type
National
Number of Hives
86 + nucs/ mini nucs
Hi, I'm planning on changing my varroa treatment this autumn.
I've been using apivar strips for the last three years on some of my older colonys and I'm wondering which to change to I'll be going into winter with 35 colonys.
Im looking to buy my treatment now in preparation.
Your thoughts recommendations most welcome.
 
I’ve used only Oxalic sublimation for ten years.
You could try thymol in its various guises. Apiguard is the most common
Abelo sell oxalic acid impregnated glycerine strips
Then there’s MAQS but I’ve only ever used that once when it first came in the market and lost a couple of queens so the rest went in the compost heap.
Oh I did use Amitraz once in a colony that got vaped 7 times and dropped 8k mites.
 
Used MAQs last year for first time. No losses. But lost 2 Qs in hives and 3 in nucs in winter - most unusual.

Using Apiguard this year. (used it before no issues)
Apitraz/next.
 
Thanks I was thinking OA sublimation as I've lots of colonys to do and it would be less intrusive never done it before mind I might need to tutor myself, I've used apiguard and apilife - var and trickling OA.
But so far I've found apivar /apistian to work the best, I've never used maqs or formic acid, for some reason I'm scared of the stuff.

Using OA sublimation isn't it a winter thing to do, or when there's minimal brood.
Obviously thinking of autumn/winter bees getting compromised?

I've done mainly alcohol washes this season and my overall varroa is down on last year, my older colonys had a 10 week cycle in the autumn of apivar and my varroa levels have been low all season so far.

Can I use OA sublimation as a test for varroa count your thoughts.
Cheers
 
Thanks I was thinking OA sublimation as I've lots of colonys to do and it would be less intrusive never done it before mind I might need to tutor myself, I've used apiguard and apilife - var and trickling OA.
But so far I've found apivar /apistian to work the best, I've never used maqs or formic acid, for some reason I'm scared of the stuff.

Using OA sublimation isn't it a winter thing to do, or when there's minimal brood.
Obviously thinking of autumn/winter bees getting compromised?

I've done mainly alcohol washes this season and my overall varroa is down on last year, my older colonys had a 10 week cycle in the autumn of apivar and my varroa levels have been low all season so far.

Can I use OA sublimation as a test for varroa count your thoughts.
Cheers
You can use oxalic sublimation any time brood or no brood. If there’s brood you just vape every five days x three or four

You can do a vape as an accelerated drop yes.
The formula in the presence of a decent amount of brood I use is 20% on the bees so multiply the 24 hour drop by 5 to give you the colony total.
B+ will be along with a more scientific formula but a good treatment is what he does. If I had my time again maybe. :)
 
You can use oxalic sublimation any time brood or no brood. If there’s brood you just vape every five days x three or four

You can do a vape as an accelerated drop yes.
The formula in the presence of a decent amount of brood I use is 20% on the bees so multiply the 24 hour drop by 5 to give you the colony total.
B+ will be along with a more scientific formula but a good treatment is what he does. If I had my time again maybe. :)
Dani is there any reason for not using either oxalic acid dribble or even powdered sugar dusting as a means of achieving accelerated drop. If this would work would you still use the x5 on 24hr drop to calculate load?
Thanks-Dave
 
You can use sugar dusting but it is very invasive done properly;you have to take each frame out and cover all the bees( just like you do a sugar roll). It kills open brood.
Similarly I wouldn’t trickle a colony with open brood no matter what masterbeekeeper has observed.
Randy Oliver dusts each seam liberally. I’m still not happy with the effect on open brood.
 
Last edited:
B+ will be along with a more scientific formula but a good treatment is what he does. If I had my time again maybe. :)

My varroa treatment is continuous. It involves selecting those colonies that cope well with varroa and control mating them generation after generation.
 
You can use sugar dusting but it is very invasive done properly;you have to take each frame out and cover all the bees( just like you do a sugar roll). It kills open brood.
Similarly I wouldn’t trickle a colony with open brood no matter what masterbeekeeper has observed.
Randy Oliver dusts each seam liberally. I’m still not happy with the effect on open brood.
Thanks for info Dani, food for thought.
 
You can use sugar dusting but it is very invasive done properly;you have to take each frame out and cover all the bees( just like you do a sugar roll). It kills open brood.
Similarly I wouldn’t trickle a colony with open brood no matter what masterbeekeeper has observed.
Randy Oliver dusts each seam liberally. I’m still not happy with the effect on open brood.

I did it once and had two bees looking up at me with white eyes! Did not get much of a drop either.
 
I did it once and had two bees looking up at me with white eyes! Did not get much of a drop either.


I spent the last two seasons previous messing about with sugar rolls and the like as you said it doesn't really work IMHO..
Alcohol washes are better and quicker.
 
Hi, I'm planning on changing my varroa treatment this autumn. I've been using apivar strips for the last three years.

On the basis that resistance is inevitable with chemical treatments, a change is a good plan.The active ingredient in Apivar is Amitraz, a chemical used widely in farming and animal husbandry. that is not without risk.

There is, though, a much greater risk to your honey sales: customers often ask whether chemicals are used in my hives and whether bees are fed sugar. The sugar question is answered more easily (management of livestock means feeding is sometimes necessary to avoid starvation blah, blah) but there's no wriggle room with chemicals.

Treatments based on thymol, oxalic or formic will not cause resistance as the attack on the mite is broad and it cannot adapt broadly. A chemical targeted at a particular part of the mite gives it a chance to adapt that piece of its jigsaw to work round the attack.

If I were to use chemicals (and remain honest) my honey sales would go down the plughole, and as my main market is an organic one...
 
On the basis that resistance is inevitable with chemical treatments, a change is a good plan.The active ingredient in Apivar is Amitraz, a chemical used widely in farming and animal husbandry. that is not without risk.

There is, though, a much greater risk to your honey sales: customers often ask whether chemicals are used in my hives and whether bees are fed sugar. The sugar question is answered more easily (management of livestock means feeding is sometimes necessary to avoid starvation blah, blah) but there's no wriggle room with chemicals.

Treatments based on thymol, oxalic or formic will not cause resistance as the attack on the mite is broad and it cannot adapt broadly. A chemical targeted at a particular part of the mite gives it a chance to adapt that piece of its jigsaw to work round the attack.

If I were to use chemicals (and remain honest) my honey sales would go down the plughole, and as my main market is an organic one...

I understand the make up of apivar - being a farmer it has been used for livestock cattle mainly.

I to have an apiary in an organic none pesticide location so using an organic varroa treatment there will be paramount.

As you know I'm only starting out Eric, and have been asked so far once what treatments and feeding I use.
I think at catherton I would like to not treat at all and I am looking to maybe have stock at this location that have been breed for this purpose.
Any suggestions on your part would be most welcome?
 
I used 'VarroMed' for the first time last autumn after several seasons using Thymol products. It was easy to use and I did not notice any unexpected side affects and I will be using it again for this autumn.

I do also use Oxalic acid via trickling in the winter time, normally a job for New Years day.
 
There has been no reported resistance to Thymol based treatments whatsoever.
There is no resistance to OA as it's very hard to develop a resitance to something which burns your legs off.
So if you use these two relatively benign (to bees) organic products, why bother chopping and changing?
 
:iagree:
I’ll echo that.
Been using oxalic sublimation for years. The only time I nearly lost a colony to varroa was when I didn’t realise till nearly too late the bees were off out robbing a collapsing colony somewhere and re infesting themselves.
 
I spent the last two seasons previous messing about with sugar rolls and the like as you said it doesn't really work IMHO..
Alcohol washes are better and quicker.

But if you are going to get a decent sample you need 200 - 300 bees in your sample and I really don't like killing that many bees.

I've just bought one of these ...

https://www.abelo.co.uk/shop/new/varroa-tester-3in1/

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AMyA6ajHZKE

Not used it yet but it looks to be an improvement on my kilner jar and varroa mesh lid which I've used for years ...
 
But if you are going to get a decent sample you need 200 - 300 bees in your sample and I really don't like killing that many bees.



I've just bought one of these ...



https://www.abelo.co.uk/shop/new/varroa-tester-3in1/



https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AMyA6ajHZKE



Not used it yet but it looks to be an improvement on my kilner jar and varroa mesh lid which I've used for years ...
Thanks Phil I'll have a look later at the links.

Sent from my YAL-L21 using Tapatalk
 

Latest posts

Back
Top