Varroa Vapouriser

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SteveJ

House Bee
Joined
May 8, 2010
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Location
Cleveland
Hive Type
14x12
Number of Hives
30
Spotted a varora vaporizer on bid four bees. Tried to put a link on this post but it got removed.

How effective would it be? Especially as I have a shed full of copper pipe and brass fittings.

SteveJ
 
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This looks just like a bit of copper pipe with a bend in it. Place the open end in the entrance and seal. Place OA in other end of pipe and seal with stop end. Then heat with blow torch. Simplez

SteveJ
 
This looks just like a bit of copper pipe with a bend in it. Place the open end in the entrance and seal. Place OA in other end of pipe and seal with stop end. Then heat with blow torch. Simplez

SteveJ
Fill the copper pipe with sand and seal the end.
 
Is it not, as he said, a glow plug from a diesel car that a 12v battery would heat up.
 
My opinion. If you want to use oxalic acid, trickle it from a syringe its a lot safer and I understand more effective.
Cheers
S
 
Copper pipe, when heated gives off a gas which I'm lead to understand is poisionous. (Need a spell checker on this forum)
 
Copper pipe, when heated gives off a gas which I'm lead to understand is poisionous. (Need a spell checker on this forum)

Oh dear,this is bad news...most houses have copper pipes with hot water in.
 
Is it not, as he said, a glow plug from a diesel car that a 12v battery would heat up.

he didnt say it was.

he just described it as a diesel glow plug..

agreed it doesnt look like anything from any engine that I have seen.. rather a large heavy duty connector,,, but,, its does seem to be a glow plug just the same as in any modern diesel engine.
 
Hot water at a max of 60c

I thought it was being heated with a blowlamp.
 
My opinion. If you want to use oxalic acid, trickle it from a syringe its a lot safer and I understand more effective.
Cheers
S

From what I've read the vaporizer is more effective and has lower (bee) mortality rates compared to the trickle method.

I also find it very quick to do an apiary with it, it doesn't require opening the hives.
 
I don’t use this method mainly as it is bloody dangerous (to me) without the correct equipment, respirator gloves and also I understand runs the risk of overdosing the bees. I also understand that two treatments are necessary to be effective but stand to be corrected.

I can’t understand why anyone would want to take the risk with this method but each to their own.

If you are unsure about mixing oxalic buy some ready mixed make sure it’s warm so you dont shock the bees, fill a syringe with 50ml and trickle 5ml over each seam, done in a very short time.
Cheers
S
 
.
Stiffy is surely right. Vaporizer is an old invention compared to trickling. It is expencive.

Dead rate of bees - it has no practical meaning . In boath methods mites die during one month, if you want to count them.
 
I don’t use this method mainly as it is bloody dangerous (to me) without the correct equipment, respirator gloves and also I understand runs the risk of overdosing the bees. I also understand that two treatments are necessary to be effective but stand to be corrected.

It only takes one - if I had to go around my apiaries twice I almost certainly wouldn't use it.
 
.Vaporizer is an old invention compared to trickling. It is expencive.

Age of of method is not really something I would take into consideration ;)

Effectiveness, cost, time taking to apply it, harm to the bees, would be some of the things I can see useful to discuss, not how old something is.

Effectiveness = from papers I've read vapourising is more effective.

Cost = setup would be expensive for a couple of hives, but once you start getting a few it works out cheaper.

Time taking to apply = as a guess for N hives it's about ((N*2.5)+5) minutes - I'll time next time (I don't really want to be out in my apiaries in winter for longer than I need to)

Harm to the bees - from papers I've seen it causes less harm to the bes.
 
Finman says 'It is expencive.'

Mine started a simple lump of aluminium circular bar, turned out to hold a gram of oxalic acid and drilled for three diesel glow-plugs (50W each), some heavy duty connecting wire and the battery was simply 'borrowed from one of the cars. I may be hunting round for some replacement glow-plugs shortly, to re-commission it (I used the plugs in another diesel car engine).

Total cost of materials at the time - zilch. Time was free to me anyway.

Not as quick as trickling but OK for a small number of hives.

Regards, RAB
 
What Finman means by "old invention" is that vapourizing was one of the first methods to be used for applying OA but has since been superceded in most places by trickling.
 
It is a method that was heavily promoted by Eric McArthur in his tenure as editor of the Scottish Beekeeper.

As also said it is a method superseded by trickling which again shows how fast the changes are in treating for varroa.

Let's see. Lactic acid, Formic acid, Bayervol, Apistan, umm... sugar dusting, oops I for got tobacco though that was really for sampling, then has come oxalic trickling. I almost for got the minor issue of the name change and all...What next?

And folks complain books are out of date if there is not a varroa chapter...LOL About as much use as a chocolate fire-guard as by the time the book is printed any varroa info is near sure to be out of date.

PH
 
I don’t use this method mainly as it is bloody dangerous (to me) without the correct equipment, respirator gloves and also I understand runs the risk of overdosing the bees. I also understand that two treatments are necessary to be effective but stand to be corrected. I can’t understand why anyone would want to take the risk with this method but each to their own.
S

Absolutely and emphatically wrong. Evaporation is no more dangerous than trickling oxalic. Just read Wally Shaw (Bsc) in Beecraft Dec. 2010 Issue, Page 11 for a truly authoritative riposte to the stupid opinions that are regularly espoused by those who have no experience whatsoever of all of the various application methods. As for Drobbins method in the link provided by Dishmop, that looks to be every bit as horrific as the one at the following link http://www.mydeo.com/videorequest.asp?XID=27832&CID=170951 .

Lastly, the instructions that come with the Varrox vaporiser say that more than one application may be used if required. I gave two of my 1½ Nationals 3 doses last year before the mite drop became low enough for my satisfaction with no ill effects whatsoever. In fact, those two hives produced 251 lbs of honey between them and still had a superful each to carry them through till yesterday when both hives were still eating what was in the brood boxes. Beat that!!! As for trickling, I know of beeks who have given more than one dose, even though everything I have read says a single dose only is recommended. Celia Davis is supposed to be the expert on that and advocates a single dose only. But that emphatically does not mean that a single trickle is more effective than a single evaporation dose either. The plainest fact is that evaporation is significantly less invasive than trickling ever can be at a time of year when opening up the hive is not welcomed by the bees. OK?

Happy Xmas to one and all.

TTFN

HGA
 
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