Winter OA Treatments

[jezd]

POLL: When did you treat your bees with Oxalic Acid?

Hope admin will indulge me on this poll, asking when you did (or plan too) your OA treatment.

OA done over the Winter period Nov 2009 - Jan 2010, or if you decided not too.

Cheers

JD

 

[Hivemaker.]

N/a.....n/a

 

[BKF Admin]

Completed late December 2009

 

[jezd]

Think the poll needs another section. To much like treat all,or treat none.

Not sure if I can edit a poll....admin?

 

[oliver90owner]

Responded, but when it says 'your bees', it should not necessarily indicate blanket treatment - I treat only as required, so not necassarily all of them.

Plans might be one thing, 'actuality' is another. I don't plan, I monitor and act according to needs, and actually action my decision based on observations, where varroa are concerned. Bee farmers have to plan ahead to get their jobs done, so there is a considerable difference, in attitude to treating and the organisation to carry it out, than for some of us who have just a few colonies.

So I'm a bit with Hivemaker. But let's face it: you can't please all the people all the time. So typical poll without too much thought of the real underlying problem -varroa - which some of us know already is not a simple treat or not treat. Demonstrated with November treatment option. Nobody plans to treat with oxalic acid in November. They may have treated,or should have treated, if mite infestation was at alarming levels. but it would not have been 'planned' (organised in advance). Let's face it, if it had continued with mild weather up to the new year nobody, or very few, would have treated by now. So too much weather dependence to make any sensible conclusions from the data (to extrapolate to future years, for example)

Just my take on it. Good job we are not all the same minded. I'm still with you, Hivemaker

Regards, RAB

 

[jezd]

thanks guys, my thinking was around timings more that all/partial etc, I am being pushed back due to weather and it got me thinking if I was alone or not as we get into 2010

 

[Hawklord]

I did mine on 29th December.

 

[thurrock bees]

i did mine on boxing day, all were treated no matter what the mite drop is/was.

 

[MJBee]

Snap Hawklord

Checked the mite drop - very variable, a 3 day drop between Best 9 and Worst 600+

All were treated with Apiguard late August so I do not fully understand the wide range of mite drop.

Anyone got any theories/reasons/ideas? Mike

 

[RoofTops]

The reason why OA is recommended in the winter now is because thymol treatments are not 100% effective - not that it ever was with synthetic pyrethroids, but they were not far off. As for the variation between hives I can only suggest variations in the effectiveness of the thymol treatment due to factors we probably don't fully understand, such as difference between colonies in how the bees react and the relative strengh of the colony affecting the temperature where the thymol is. Plus, the original number of mites in the colonies before thymol treatment, and even perhaps the breeding rate of the mites.

Whatever the reason or reasons your results are a powerful argument why a winter treatment of OA is so essential following an application of the sort of summer treatments now generally available (putting aside synthetic pyrethroids) be they 100% thymol or mixed in with essential oils - 'cos on their own they are not enough.

 

[RoofTops]

Sorry to say, but this poll is a little misleading. I treated all my hives in late December, but the radio buttons only allow me to choose one of these options. However, the results for those who clicked on "treated all hives" and who therefore were unable to say when they did it, count towards the 100%.

I suggest if you run this again next year delete the last two choices or have them in a separate poll.

 

[BKF Admin]

Sorry Rooftops thats my fault as I added the last 2 options after the poll had started and could not allwo multiple answer's.
I will remove the bottom 2 options..

 

[RoofTops]

The supreme power of Admin. Don't let it go to your head!

 

[jezd]

still, as I said, timing was my thought on this rather than do or dont