BEEKEEPING LEARNING CENTER > DISEASE & PEST CONTROL

varroa heat treatment?

(1/5) > >>

herbhome:
Anyone have any experience with this technique or any feedback as to effectiveness?



www.greenbeehives.com/thevictor.html

little john:

Re-arrange the inside of the hive and then two-and-a-half hours per treatment ! - they've got to be kidding.   And - to add insult to injury - a second treatment is required as the first is only 80% effective.  That's the most impractical idea I've heard in a very long while.  Also - how many hives before the battery needs re-charging ?


Neill, if you do forum search for "Mite Zapper", you'll see that elevated heat treatment has been discussed here several times over the years.  Here's a quote from the Mite Zapper User Manual:

--- Quote ---Note Regarding Mite Mortality:
The MiteZapper? works by progressively killing the varroa trapped inside the sealed drone cells, each time you zap your colony. After the 1st zapping you will kill a significant number of varroa mites. The remaining varroa still alive in the colony will be trapped and killed by the 2nd zapping, and so on. By the 3rd or 4th zapping, the number of varroa in the colony will be under control and will be tolerated by the bees.
--- End quote ---

So - after 4 applications, the number of mites will be "under control" ... whatever that means.  So - that's four generations of drones, reared at a substantial energy investment - and allowed to become knackered by Varroa, just in order to kill those mites.

Contrast 'The Victor' and 'Mite Zapper' approach with a single dose of Oxalic Acid dust generated by Vapourisation, and applied during a broodless period in winter. Whilst not suggesting that this is ever 100% effective, it appears to be the most efficient and cost-effective solution to the Varroa problem at the present time.

The idea of killing of mites by an elevated temperature was first trialled back in 2001.  Sixteen years later, this technique still hasn't been embraced by the wider beekeeping community.  I suspect there's a sound reason for this. 

It certainly doesn't appeal to myself, but - if you should decide to try one of these devices - do let us know how you get on with it.

LJ

Acebird:

--- Quote from: little john on November 26, 2017, 11:06:49 am ---The idea of killing of mites by an elevated temperature was first trialled back in 2001.  Sixteen years later, this technique still hasn't been embraced by the wider beekeeping community.  I suspect there's a sound reason for this. 

--- End quote ---

I suspect bottom line.  Even OAV is not predominately used by commercial beekeepers.  Anything that requires time and investment to try to eradicate the mite that can't be eradicated will not be used by commercial operators especially if a lot of labor is added to the operation.  I have a feeling that the more OAV is used the less it will be liked on a large scale.  My guess is the lose rate will return to what it was prior to the first few years of use.

herbhome:
Thanks guys,

I came across this on Amazon and it piqued my interest.

EaglePestEliminators:
Treatment ought to be performed 2x per year. So anytime a promising new procedure of treatment becomes available it's worth our time to start looking into it. When these treatments have traditionally provided very substantial levels of control, there's an increasing prevalence of resistance to such chemicals which makes them less reliable in some places. This two-stage treatment, therefore, guarantees that the colony is wholly rid of the mite. After the oxalic treatment was completed, the very best insulation needs to be reinstated and any top ventilation closed-off. Under these conditions, oxalic acid vapor treatment can be extremely effective in the event the crisis arrives mid-winter.

The treatments are extremely costly and labor-intensive, with inconsistent outcomes. So it has to be applied in autumn when there is no brood in the hives. Every one of these treatments has its advantages and disadvantages, and some are effective while others aren't. It's a disadvantageous treatment on account of the widespread mite resistance to it because of its overuse.

Oxalic acid is now EPA approved and aren't going to damage your colony. Formic acid can be found in gel packs, but it's caustic and tricky to administer. Caution in some stocks the formic acid within this treatment may impact the queen.

Navigation

[0] Message Index

[#] Next page