MITE TREATMENT SURVEY (ONE QUESTION)

[JR4AL]

Now that most BeeKeepers in North America are (or should be) treating for Varroa on our approach to Fall, I thought it would be an interesting topic to ask and get input to the following set of facts:

?If you only had one hive and you had to treat for Varroa, which treatment would you use and why??

Obviously there are no right or wrong answers this is just an open discussion on one?s past experience (or their own opinion) and why their confidence is high as to that particular treatment.



Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro

[Robo]

Apivar for 10 weeks.

Most effective and consistent treatment I have found that is easy to use.  Cost is not an issue for 1 hive and no need to invest in treatment equipment like OA, which would be my 2nd choice or 1st choice if you have many hives.

[The15thMember]

I'm sure many will disagree with me, but for me personally, I'd use FormicPro, but only if the daytime temperatures were low, in the like upper 60's/lower 70's F range.  I have had great success with that treatment in the past, never had absconding or any lost queens, but the stuff seems risky at higher temps.  I like that it's organic, easy to apply, and safe to use with supers on (although I still take my honey off before I use it).  If I had a hive about to crash in higher temps, I'm not sure then what I'd do.  I'm trying a new chemical free treatment this year, which if it goes well, will become my go-to treatment, but it's too early to say if I'll rely on that in the future.     

[Ben Framed]

1 hive or Two Thousand, the threat to that hive would be the same if infected. Several professionals that I have studied have suggested Apivar in August and OAV in December. Bob Binnie for example.

[Robo]

1 hive or Two Thousand, the threat to that hive would be the same if infected.

True, but the cost is not.   Anyone can afford to treat 1 hive with Apivar but as the number of hives needing treatment goes up it quickly becomes very expensive.

[Ben Framed]

1 hive or Two Thousand, the threat to that hive would be the same if infected.

True, but the cost is not.   Anyone can afford to treat 1 hive with Apivar but as the number of hives needing treatment goes up it quickly becomes very expensive.

Very true.

[JR4AL]

I believe I would go with ApiGuard (Thymol).

My reasoning is that in my first year,  I treated my first two hives and had a near perfect result. Post treatment sugar rolls detected 1 mite per 300 bees on hive 2 and 0 mites per 300 bees on hive 1. Another sugar roll one week later yielded the exact same result.

This treatment seemed gentle on the hive with no detectable casualties and I was able to treat late August with temps in the 90?s.

Both hives overwintered well and both hives were split the following Spring.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro

[Ben Framed]

>I believe I would go with ApiGuard (Thymol).

I assume most are good if used correctly. You have started an interesting survey.

[Troutdog]

Thymol is a huge mistake.
Bees function on smell. You just increase odds of supercedure by a lot.
Same with formic, firmuc destroys queen mandible pheromone.
Thymol is also very creative in creating new compounds when other chemicals are present in fungacides etc.
Hop guard is a joke
Sugar dusting is a messy joke.
So whats left.
Cumaphis is not working
Tau-fluvalnate is a sterilizer and doesn't have great efficacy
That leaves apivar and oxalic as your only 2 choices.
Each has its place.
Ixalic requires some stealth and should be utilized during off lay periods.
Just wonder why you guys wait till August to treat.
Doesn't it make more sense to start in spring.

Do any of you even know how to estimate your total mite load?
How can you be so sure if your treatment is working.
Apivar expensive but no looking back and worrying.


Sent from my SM-G965U using Tapatalk

[Nock]

Apivar sure is easy and quick. I was talking to a guy the other day. He said he made his own. And helped on lowering the cost.

[Mamm7215]

I'm sure many will disagree with me, but for me personally, I'd use FormicPro, but only if the daytime temperatures were low, in the like upper 60's/lower 70's F range.  I have had great success with that treatment in the past, never had absconding or any lost queens, but the stuff seems risky at higher temps.  I like that it's organic, easy to apply, and safe to use with supers on (although I still take my honey off before I use it).  If I had a hive about to crash in higher temps, I'm not sure then what I'd do.  I'm trying a new chemical free treatment this year, which if it goes well, will become my go-to treatment, but it's too early to say if I'll rely on that in the future.   

Same here with the same temperature caveat but also NOT the 2 pad for 14 day option.  I do 1 pad for 10 days, then the 2nd for 10 days (but sometimes only the one).

[Ben Framed]

> Just wonder why you guys wait till August to treat. Doesn't it make more sense to start in spring.

Just one example:

According to Bob Binnie.
Bee Culture
The Magazine of American Beekeeping
MARCH 26, 2019

WHY WE PRODUCE NUCS AND HOW WE DO IT - WHETHER FOR PLEASURE OR PROFIT, ANY BEEKEEPER CAN BENEFIT FROM PRODUCING NUCS.

"I submit that a beekeepers calendar actually begins in August, and that what we do then sets the stage for success in Winter, Spring, and beyond. I came to this conclusion before mite problems existed and believe this concept is even more important today. In other words: If you don't treat your bees right in late summer and Fall, you may not have any good colonies to work with in the spring."

I have heard him say at other places that a good build up of healthy colonies going into winter is imperative if you wish to come out of winter with robust hives. In my opinion his success of many avenues of beekeeping, not only of honey production, can not be denied.

Troutdog, I have been meaning to ask you, where are you located?




                                                                                                                                                                                .

[Robo]

My reasoning is that in my first year,

Can I ask if you started with package bees or an established hive?   It makes a big difference as most packages are treated for varroa before the are shipped, that and the brood break pretty much make varroa a non-issue the first year.

[JR4AL]

My reasoning is that in my first year,

Can I ask if you started with package bees or an established hive?   It makes a big difference as most packages are treated for varroa before the are shipped, that and the brood break pretty much make varroa a non-issue the first year.

This is a very relevant question to the decision that I made in my first hive treatment. I started with two nucs from a local Beekeeper (in April 2019) He had not treated the parent hive nor the nucs that he sold me. We discussed whether I should treat my first year and he suggested that I learn how to test for Varroa and make the decision as to whether I should treat. My first ever sugar roll (in August 2019) resulted in a mite count of 5 mites per 300 in hive 2 and 8 mites per 300 in hive 1. Although there was an obvious break in the mite brood cycle with the nucs there was a mite presence after the hives were established that I believed deserved attention. Candidly, I had got attached to these two hives and I treated them for Varroa with the belief that if I did nothing and knew I would have felt worse than having treated and had loss them ultimately. Thank you for asking this question it defiantly may help someone else understand my reasoning.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro

[Robo]

With those mite counts you made to correct decision to treat.

[Michael Bush]

Nothing for the last 13 years.

[beesonhay465]

in answer to your question. I had one hive last year a swarm moved into a hive I built. I decided to treat Aug Sept and October with the oa and glycerine saturated blue paper shop towel.one shop towel placed on top of the brood frame each month. the remainder of the first removed. they came through the winter booming. swarmed 3 times. I caught two of the swarms and hived them. the two swarms that were caught I recently sold for $500.the harvest from

                                   the original hive this spring was 26 lb. of comb honey. i have never checked for mites.have never seen a queen.i have the original hive currently for sale.im to be 85 shortly and the lifting is getting to be too much.

[TheHoneyPump]

ApiVar for the novice and minimalists.  Easy to use, set and forget.
For those more involved and regularly fussing over their bees ... for only one or a few hives ... as per the OP question.
Have a serious look at a thymol based treatment. (Eg ApiGuard, ThymoVar). While not as sharp a knock down as other heavy hitters, it does work well and I have observed thymol results to have additional benefits of controlling tertiary microbiocritters and pathogens. A foundation of beekeeper experience is required in use of any fumigant type (thymol, formic) as they can have side effects that have to be watched for and effectively managed to get the hive through. Here is a short read on Thymol.  https://www.beeculture.com/thymol-varroa-control/

As the size of the apiary (number of hives) goes up, other methods become more cost effective in both time and money. (eg OAV).

With only 1 to 6 hive, we would expect the hives to be managed quite intensively.  So it really does not matter what method or type of product is used. What matters is that the beekeeper is monitoring the overall health of the hive and acting on the cues accordingly.

Hope that Helps!

[FatherMichael]

Waiting for the temps to cool enough for MAQS, since I already have some.  We've still got some 90* days ahead of us here.  Ugh.

Will probably switch to Apivar or the shop towel method.

In the meantime, I am curious how the hygienic "survivor" queen from California works out.

[Beeboy01]

Oxalic acid vapor is my first choice. A single dose along with a 24 hour followup will give a mite count if the hive is set up with a screened bottom board. The cost of a vaporizer wand is minimal when compared to the cost of the rest of the equipment and bees.