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Author Topic: Which is the very best for treating Varroa Destructor of these two?  (Read 2510 times)

Online Ben Framed

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What is the very best at treating varroa destructor?  I read where both formic and oxalic acid are each considered organic. So which is the best? What are your opinions of EACH and WHY. Your responses will be very much appreciated. I feel certain that there will be different opinions and different reasons why. This is how we learn.
Thanks,
Phillip   
« Last Edit: June 19, 2019, 05:12:03 pm by Ben Framed »
2 Chronicles 7:14
14 If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land.

Offline BeeMaster2

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Phillip,
Oxalic acid is naturally occurring in your honey. It is made from avocados. I have had yellow jackets trying to get in a hive while I?m treating it with oxalic acid. It did not bother it one bit.
Jim Altmiller
Democracy is 2 wolves and a lamb voting on what to have for lunch. Liberty is a well armed lamb contesting the vote.
Ben Franklin

Offline Live Oak

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In my opinion, of the two, formic acid is much better than oxalic acid as formic acid kills reproductive mite that live in the capped brood as well as phoretic mites.  It is big draw back is that it is VERY limited in its use with respect to ambient temperature.  Early Spring and late fall is the best time for its used depending upon the latitude you live in.  The directions claim it can used between 50 and 85 degrees if I remember correctly.  I would not use it on my bees much above 75 degrees from my past experience applying it due to its tendency to kill or damage the brood and it can kill the queen or stop her from laying in some circumstances. 

Oxalic acid vapor in my opinion is an excellent treatment for phoretic mites on your bees in a broodless or near broodless hive.  OA should NOT be used on hives with brood.  It can be very hard on brood although not as much as formic acid.  OA in my opinion is a great treatment for cool weather or Winter treatment in a broodless or near broodless hive should you find you have a mite problem at that time. 

Unfortunately BOTH require that you remove honey supers when applying.

In my opinion and experience there is a far better method of treatment but that is not the crux of question of this thread.   

Online Ben Framed

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Jim, Live Oak, thank you both for your answers. What a good way to start off of posted comments in a thread with answers from you two! Live Oak it has been a while since I have had the pleasure of hearing form you Sir! You have been a tremendous help to me in the past and I appreciate your sharing and posting of your experience now. I hope you both are having a wonderful season this season. May your expectations for your honey and bees be overfilled! 

PS My curiosity is bubbling over with what your opinion is even better than these, as you wrote.  ''In my opinion and experience there is a far better method of treatment but that is not the crux of question of this thread''

Thanks again, Phillip
2 Chronicles 7:14
14 If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land.

Online Ben Framed

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AH HA;  Live Oak I just found your answer on the thread titled . 7 day vs 14 day Formic Pro treatment
Thank you for taking the time to look up this link and post.
Phillip
2 Chronicles 7:14
14 If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land.

Offline Live Oak

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As I was!  I need to post a correction.  MAQS does not require the removal of honey supers. 

http://nodglobal.com/faq-maqs/

Personally, I have doubts about doing this and might either removal the honey supers or place a sheet of card board between the honey supers and the rest of the hive being treated. 

Online Ben Framed

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As I was!  I need to post a correction.  MAQS does not require the removal of honey supers. 

http://nodglobal.com/faq-maqs/

Personally, I have doubts about doing this and might either removal the honey supers or place a sheet of card board between the honey supers and the rest of the hive being treated.

Hats 🎩 off to you Sir!!  Thank you for the clarification, along with your valued opinion on this..
Phillip
2 Chronicles 7:14
14 If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land.

Offline TheHoneyPump

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Which is the very best for treating Varroa Destructor of these two?
« Reply #7 on: June 21, 2019, 11:54:03 am »
I have observed MAQS to kill quite a lot of brood. But the question may be if that was brood already pretty much dead from the mite load. Wrt queens if it does not kill her, it stops her laying, and always follows with some supersedure cells. I have not ever had any such problem with OAV.

They both have their purpose and best use in time. I would not say that one is better than the other. They are different. They both work. They both have a place in the beekeepers tool box.
When the lid goes back on, the bees will spend the next 3 days undoing most of what the beekeeper just did to them.

Offline Live Oak

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Re: Which is the very best for treating Varroa Destructor of these two?
« Reply #8 on: June 21, 2019, 12:36:14 pm »
I have observed MAQS to kill quite a lot of brood. But the question may be if that was brood already pretty much dead from the mite load. Wrt queens if it does not kill her, it stops her laying, and always follows with some supersedure cells. I have not ever had any such problem with OAV.

They both have their purpose and best use in time. I would not say that one is better than the other. They are different. They both work. They both have a place in the beekeepers tool box.

Agree.  Hence why I changed over to thermal treatment.  The hives I treated with the Mighty Mite Killer about 3 weeks ago are now busting at the seams with bees.  Once I make a final pass through the apiary to address any queenless hives I will begin splitting out these hives into nucs so the hives don't get over crowded.