Varroa treatment

[greandog]

Hello, a quick question about winter preparation and treatment:

I have 3 hives (will possibly unite two) going into Autumn and each have 1 full super left on for winter.

I am planning to treat with Apistan ASAP as I have already removed all other supers for harvesting. The question is:

Do these supers need to be removed when treating? They are all capped and will only be for the bees consumption during winter. Or should they be removed when treating and replaced after treatment has finished?
Thanks

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

Hello, a quick question about winter preparation and treatment:

I have 3 hives (will possibly unite two) going into Autumn and each have 1 full super left on for winter.

I am planning to treat with Apistan ASAP as I have already removed all other supers for harvesting. The question is:

Do these supers need to be removed when treating? They are all capped and will only be for the bees consumption during winter. Or should they be removed when treating and replaced after treatment has finished?
Thanks

If it's just for the bees, safe to leave it on, but I never leave a super full of stores for the bees. so not an issue.

 

[Erichalfbee]

Hello, a quick question about winter preparation and treatment:

I have 3 hives (will possibly unite two) going into Autumn and each have 1 full super left on for winter.

I am planning to treat with Apistan ASAP as I have already removed all other supers for harvesting. The question is:

Do these supers need to be removed when treating? They are all capped and will only be for the bees consumption during winter. Or should they be removed when treating and replaced after treatment has finished?
Thanks

Apistan?

 

[Arfermo]

Apistan? The appropriate one, if any, is Apiguard surely?

 

[StephenT]

Apistan? The appropriate one, if any, is Apiguard surely?

......or Apivar, which I’ll be using shortly. I thought Apistan was generally avoided now due to resistance.

 

[Erichalfbee]

......or Apivar, which I’ll be using shortly. I thought Apistan was generally avoided now due to resistance.

Which is why I asked and Amitraz is showing resistance in some countries already

 

[ladaok]

Which is why I asked and Amitraz is showing resistance in some countries already

Get over it ! amitraz has been used in the US for centuries ....post an article about this resistance which only applies to amitraz with science as the backbone . Tau fluvalinate ( mavrik / apistan ) and flumethrin ( bayvarol ) also show resistance ....any chemical will show up as being less effective against bugs / time in constant use ....the trick is to ROTATE the chemicals

 

[Erichalfbee]

Get over it ! amitraz has been used in the US for centuries ....post an article about this resistance which only applies to amitraz with science as the backbone . Tau fluvalinate ( mavrik / apistan ) and flumethrin ( bayvarol ) also show resistance ....any chemical will show up as being less effective against bugs / time in constant use ....the trick is to ROTATE the chemicals

Only information. No comment otherwise so chill.

 

[greandog]

Ok, well which ever treatment it is (!), what advice would you give to the question?

 

[greandog]

......or Apivar, which I’ll be using shortly. I thought Apistan was generally avoided now due to resistance.

Do you need to remove the winter super though?!

 

[Erichalfbee]

Hello, a quick question about winter preparation and treatment:

I have 3 hives (will possibly unite two) going into Autumn and each have 1 full super left on for winter.

I am planning to treat with Apistan ASAP as I have already removed all other supers for harvesting. The question is:

Do these supers need to be removed when treating? They are all capped and will only be for the bees consumption during winter. Or should they be removed when treating and replaced after treatment has finished?
Thanks

Right under your initial post JBM has said you can leave them on if being left for the bees

 

[ericbeaumont]

Bees move honey around and may not consume all you leave for winter. As you cannot be certain that it won't reappear in a super next spring, consider removing it: extra work worth peace of mind.

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

Bees move honey around and may not consume all you leave for winter.

which is why I questioned leaving a whole super for them

 

[StephenT]

Bees move honey around and may not consume all you leave for winter. As you cannot be certain that it won't reappear in a super next spring, consider removing it: extra work worth peace of mind.

What do you normally do with the excess left over stores that you remove in spring? Is it ok to store and then put back when you take the supers off later in the year?

 

[Erichalfbee]

What do you normally do with the excess left over stores that you remove in spring? Is it ok to store and then put back when you take the supers off later in the year?

Mine go in the freezer especially if there is pollen there too and I use them for making nucs

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

What do you normally do with the excess left over stores that you remove in spring? Is it ok to store and then put back when you take the supers off later in the year?

As I don't leave supers on, the excess stores will be in the brood box (most of my colonies don't seem to need a whole brood box packed with honey to survive winter) so the deep frames removed get put in a sealed spare nuc (or in a brood box cinched up with a board top and bottom) and used for making up nucs or emergency feeding. I don't see the need to freeze them - this year I was using left over surplus stores from spring 2019 and it was all fine

 

[jool]

As I don't leave supers on, the excess stores will be in the brood box (most of my colonies don't seem to need a whole brood box packed with honey to survive winter) so the deep frames removed get put in a sealed spare nuc (or in a brood box cinched up with a board top and bottom) and used for making up nucs or emergency feeding. I don't see the need to freeze them - this year I was using left over surplus stores from spring 2019 and it was all fine

T

 

[jool]

The only reason I would freeze them is to kill any wax moth
Jools

 

[Patrick1]

If it's just for the bees, safe to leave it on, but I never leave a super full of stores for the bees. so not an issue.

This is not good practice, if you leave a super on with honey no matter what the intention is there is no guarantee that the honey will not be extracted in future years or recycled by the bees to a new super. Manufacturer's guidelines should always be followed SUPERS OFF before treating.