Essential Oils for Mites?

[Ben Framed]

Anyone here use essential oils for the aid in treating bees for mites?

[Bob Wilson]

Michael Bush mentioned about whether they kill a lot of other mites and bacteria also, upsetting the ecology of a colony. Personally, I do not know.

[BAHBEEs]

My issue with "Essential oils" is that they fit in a class of chemicals I call the "trusted but untested".  Folks feel they are safe for almost any use, but unfortunately they have been studied for little to any use.  We have run into many that have negative health effects...but a very few have been studied.

The result is that use of them is pretty much a crap shoot.

[Ben Framed]

My issue with "Essential oils" is that they fit in a class of chemicals I call the "trusted but untested".  Folks feel they are safe for almost any use, but unfortunately they have been studied for little to any use.  We have run into many that have negative health effects...but a very few have been studied.

The result is that use of them is pretty much a crap shoot.

I can understand your issue via the terms and concerns that you stated. I have not researched this extensively but I have lightly looked into essential oil use for honey bee health, not just for a mite deterrent, but over all bee health. I found an article as far back 1996 which sounded very promising, but as you described, the end of this article suggested more research needed to be done. Another article from 2016 also looked promising. I am hoping some experts here have extensively studied this and can enlighten us. I do know that there are breeders that use these and claim success. When I have time I will look for and post what I have found. I have talked to some experts which claim essential oils can break down enzymes in the bee gut, but others claim these enzymes can be rejuvenated by feeding Ultra bee. I do not know. (As of yet). Thank you both for your responses.
Phillip Hall

[Ben Framed]

This is just a sample of one of the research papers.
I have not had the opportunity to go very deep with this. Hopefully in the future I can. I am not suggesting the use of such though I have been using oils since the first fall that I began beekeeping. (During the end of the fall flow until the beginning of the spring flow). They may or may not helped but I feel certain that they have not hurt. I learned of their use from three prominent bee men. Two in Georgia and one in Indiana. I have lost two hives by starvation, one by SHB. The lost colony by SHB was before I used essential oils. I feel I have been very fortunate.
Phillip Hall

Results of Research: Using Essential Oils for Honey Bee Mite Control Jim Amrine, Bob Noel, Harry Mallow, Terry Stasny, Robert Skidmore(Last Updated: December 30, 1996)

This is a sample of what is in this article.

Essential Oils have Two Modes of Action:

" 1) Toxicity by direct contact:When varroa mites contact essential oils such as wintergreen, patchouli, tea tree oil, et al., mixed into oil or grease, they are killed on contact--usually within a few minutes.

 2) Impaired reproduction via feeding syrups containing essential oils:When varroa mites feed on larvae that contain essential oils, their reproduction is interrupted. If the oil is strong enough, the females are unable to lay eggs. If the oils are in lower concentration, eggs are layed, but development of immature mites is delayed; young mites do not reach maturity before the bees emerge from the cell; consequently, the immature mites die.

Involvement of Essential Oils in Impaired Reproduction of Varroa Mites: Syrup containing the essential oils is fed at the hive entrance or in the broodnest. Many bees feed on the syrup and pass the essential oils around by trophalaxis (adult bees sharing their food reserves). The syrup and essential oil is ingested by nurse bees and enters the communal food in the crop and passes into the milk glands. When the nurse bees feed larvae, the essential oils are in the bee milk and communal food and are ingested by the larvae. Thus, when female varroa mites feed on treated larvae or larval food at the bottom of the cell, they ingest the essential oils which adversely affect their reproduction. The probable mechanism is interference with enzymes in the complex gestation (especially in the production of nutrients and new proteins) of the oocyte and embryo-larva of the varroa mite. Research needs to be conducted to verify this hypothesis and to verify the presence of the essential oils in bee larvae and ultimately, in the female varroa mites."

[tycrnp]

LOL!  I actually use A LOT of EOs and I am a big believer in them.  However, I have not used them on my bees.  I have considered making the grease patties with EO in them, but our winter has been so mild I was afraid I would have a greasy mess in my hive.

[BurleyBee]

I?ve been making fun of my wife for years when it comes to EO; however, after mite build up last summer in my Apiary I decided why not give them a try.  After adding them to my syrup feed, I did see an increase in dead mites on sticky boards.  Now this is not any scientific data, but it seems to have helped my bees more than anything.  Below is the recipe I use for what it?s worth.  I have not tried the grease patty method yet.


HBH RECIPE:

I halved the original-this makes around a gallon if I remember right.  Last me a long time.  The drops aren?t really measured, there is a dropper build into the top of my Young Living EO.

1st made 1:1 syrup with 2 Quarts sugar (4 lb bag) and 2 Quart water
Then took a cup of that syrup and added to blender with 3 Tsp Lecithin
Blended for 1 min then added
25 drop lemongrass
25 spearmint
12 Thyme

Add 1/4 cup to each gallon Of feed

[Ben Framed]

 BurleyBee, Welcome to Beemaster!


PS
let me add the wise men knew the value of Essential Oils. And they were WISE Men. They brought the best gifts available to our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Frankincense and Myrrh was among these gifts.  I do not know if either of those would have an effect on mites but apparently are good stuff. Good enough for The King of kings and The Lord of lords! 😊

Phillip Hall





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[BurleyBee]

Thanks Ben.  Didn?t realize that was my first post.  Fellow Mississippi beek here.

[Jaimes36]

I have used nothing but EO?s on my bees. This past winter is the first time I have lost bees to Varroa in the six years I?ve been a beekeeper. And I have to admit I was pretty slack in the fall with my regular EO feeds. I use Thyme Tea Tree and spearmint no real measurement basically 1 ml. Of each treats around 5 hives. I emulsify with lecithin in the blender while syrup is still pretty warm. I?m a firm believer that my varroa is well managed with a treatment about every other month.  _J


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