Verroa issue

[Bugbyte]

Hi all,

We have a new hive that has done very well and is very healthy - we got 4 kg of honey this year - and we are setting it out for winter. The bees have a full super of honey, and the brood box has less brood and more honey as time goes on. This inspection there were no new eggs but I could see some grubs still to be capped.

6 weeks ago we did the icing sugar rolling test and got 8 verroa which according to Youtube this was high. We put in Verroa strips over 4 weeks as recommended, and there was an increase in dead verroa on the bottom board. Because the verroa count on the board has been increasing if anything over the past two weeks we did an Api Bioxal vaporising treatment with the hive sealed last Monday evening. In todays inspection, I have just done a icing sugar rolling test with 300ml of bees and got 18 verroa! The only consolation was that they were dead when they came off the bees.

Why can't I kill them off and what can I do? Or have I already killed them off and their dead bodies are slowly falling off the bees? The Api Bioxal states I can only do this once a year - is this right? Would it be OK to nuke them once a week for the next month to see if that works?

Thanks in advance for any answers.....

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

Would it be OK to nuke them once a week for the next month to see if that works?

no, vape them once every five days for a fortnight

 

[Murox]

What were the "varroa strips" you used called?
The drop on the board is not really reliable.
You can use multiple (repeated) vaporisation of oxalic acid 4 or 5 days apart covering the life cycle of the varroa.

 

[Ian123]

Most haven’t got the kit to vape, if your worried stick some apivar in.

 

[blackcloud]

The OP has already vaped once Ian
Bugbyte-A new generation of varroa will emerge with each new bee that hatches from its cell-hence the need to repeat Oa treatment (which cannot penetrate the wax capping like Apivar can)
A few cycles of vaping will reduce the amount of mites laying the eggs in the first place.

 

[The Poot]

I wouldn’t be doing inspections this time of year… I think JBMs advice is what you should go with.

 

[Erichalfbee]

I wouldn’t be doing inspections this time of year… I think JBMs advice is what you should go with.

I’ll second that.

 

[Bugbyte]

Thanks for your replies. I will vape them in an hour when they are all back home.

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

I will vape them in an hour when they are all back home.

no need to wait for them all to be inside, just do it when it suits you, any bees returning later will still get covered in the OA microcrystals deposited inside the hive and on the bees that were home at the time. I vape from underneath the the OMF and never bother closing the bees in and I do it at whatever time of day I can find the time

 

[Bugbyte]

Well, they are royally annoyed with me. They are all sitting on the outside of the hive having a moan.

 

[Swarm]

I know a beekeeper who has a colony that objects.

 

[pargyle]

Most haven’t got the kit to vape, if your worried stick some apivar in.

"over the past two weeks we did an Api Bioxal vaporising treatment with the hive sealed last Monday evening"

Three vapes at 5 day intervals should sort the problem. No need to seal the hive up.

 

[E&MBees]

Well, they are royally annoyed with me. They are all sitting on the outside of the hive having a moan.

This is Matilda’s lot, they are the only colony of mine who have a hissy fit each time I vape!

 

[Erichalfbee]

Well, they are royally annoyed with me. They are all sitting on the outside of the hive having a moan.

Mine never seem to notice, after the initial roar I get one or two bees rattling out of the entrance but that's all

 

[Bugbyte]

Its been dark for three hours, raining and cold there is still about 100 of them sitting on the outside. To be fair, they don't usually sulk too much and are very placid. I hope they go in before getting too wet.

 

[Erichalfbee]

You could always gather them up in the morning and tip them into the feeder hole

 

[Bugbyte]

Will do if they are still there.