What varroa treatment for early spring?

[match]

I've been watching winter round here fail to really arrive in the traditional cold and snowy sense, and instead be replaced with warm, wet windy weather - which never bodes well for the bees...

Normally I would pick a cold weekend in mid-January to do an oxalic trickle, relying on the cold period to leave the hives (mostly) broodless and up the efficacy of the oxalic acid.

However this year we just haven't had many days below 5-10C, and I know from experience that my queens will keep laying at those temps, probbaly boosting the varroa numbers too. The crazy storms have also meant I haven't had a chance to give any treatments.

So, I'm assuming I've now missed the window for oxalic to be really effective and useful? (Looks like oxalic during brood-right periods is only 50-60% efficient). Is this worthwhile?

I can't find any info on mite counts for this time of year - which is making deciding on the urgency of treatment all the more difficult. I know my counts in late Autumn were low, but enough that oxalic would have been a good idea...

FERA seems to suggest that the only options for spring treatments are formic (when warm enough) or mechanical treatments, like drone brood removal, or queen trapping.

Any other suggestions greatly appreciated!

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

Just do it - get the oxalic on ASAP, or consider OA sublimation three times, five days apart

 

[oliver90owner]

Your experience maybe, but about nine or ten years ago we had a similar (but not so long) mild period when bees were flying almost daily. There was still a brood break for about 6 weeks even in that year. I have experieced harder winters where the brood break has finished by now, if there actually was one at all.

There will not be a great amount of brood, and most might be varroa infested if loadings are high. Efficacy will depend on the ratio of phoretic to breeding mites in cells, so that 65% is a pure guess. If your varroa loadigs are extreeemly high, even 50% efficacy could be the difference between survival or collapse in the sprng. Treat IF needed.

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

 

[match]

Thanks for the replies - I think I had already come to this conclusion - I was just wanting to see if anyone would say 'no, you've missed the boat, time for something else...'

The 'IF needed' is the tricky question - I know the levels were high enough in Autumn that this wouldn't be a 'no winter treatment needed' so I'll probably go with that as justification to treat - mite drop right now is probably not going to be a good indication of anything.

I can at least measure post-treatment mite drop and get some idea of the efficacy of the treatment.

 

[Finman]

I can at least measure post-treatment mite drop and get some idea of the efficacy of the treatment.

It is not easy to measure the efficacy. Researchers do so, that first they treat with main stuff.
Then they use some another stuff, like Perizin, how much mites are alive in second treatment.

But it takes two weeks, when trickling or gasifying is at its best.
Lots of dead mites drop into empty cells, and you may get huge dropping after 2 months when mites died. Bees ckean the cells when weathers become warm.

 

[jeff33]

How about Maqs strips? I didn't use oxalic this winter as it was too warm and one of my hive as a fair bit of mites. I will be using the strips as a one off treatment in april + add a frame of drone foundation.

 

[mbc]

A late march thymol treatment is popular in some parts. Depends on the strength of the colony whether this is viable, it can be the end for middling to weak colonies at this time of year.
If keeping organic isnt an issue, then probably the most effective treatment would be apivar, one strip per five frames of brood, so almost certainly only one strip per colony needed at this stage in the season.
Otherwise JBM's suggestion of oav three times, five days apart is a good option.
Each have pluses and minuses, you pays your money and takes your choice, but any would be better than nothing if varroa are becoming a problem imho.

 

[mbc]

Too cold for formic/maqs for some time yet.

 

[jeff33]

Yes that's what I thought and it will slow the queen laying for a while to. My colony was weak last summer but seems to have recovered (famous last words) so I am reluctant to interfere too much if it risk weakening it again. Does Apivar causes the same issue?

 

[mbc]

Does Apivar causes the same issue?

no

 

[Nige.Coll]

Treating for varroa is all about being versatile.
Having as many tools in the kit helps sort out any situation you may come across.
All treatments have their place and good points and bad.
The ability to vapourise OA at nearly any time is something that makes this treatment a great tool to have in the box.

 

[shazzer]

Checking my Inspection Board

I have been meticulously checking my Inspection board for Varroa and have now stopped finding them.

We only found a few about a month ago.

Is there less Varroa activity around this time Late May early June?

There is hardly any Drone comb in my frames so I don't know if this has anything to do with it.

 

[B+.]

I have been meticulously checking my Inspection board for Varroa and have now stopped finding them.

I suspect you will find mites are still present in the cells. The natural mite drop test only indicates the number of phoretic mites so is used during broodless periods. Once the colony has brood, it isn't a very reliable test.

 

[shazzer]

I suspect you will find mites are still present in the cells. The natural mite drop test only indicates the number of phoretic mites so is used during broodless periods. Once the colony has brood, it isn't a very reliable test.

Yes I have quite a lot of brood as expected at this time of year. When the brood decreases then I should be seeing more mite drop. Hopefully not though :-(

Thanks for the reply.

 

[Eyeman]

I have been meticulously checking my Inspection board for Varroa and have now stopped finding them.

Are you using a 'sticky board'?
Ants like to clear the mites off the boards.

 

[shazzer]

Are you using a 'sticky board'?
Ants like to clear the mites off the boards.

No Sticky board. I am lucky as I have a rooftop hive No Ants, I only get a few pollen (red coloured) mites and some ejected wax moth grubs.