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Author Topic: ThymoVar ?  (Read 3419 times)

Offline TheHoneyPump

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ThymoVar ?
« on: August 30, 2018, 12:32:16 am »
My main supplier is out of ApiVar and will not have any until October, too late for my bees. They do have ThymoVar.  I am not familiar with this product, nor are my colleagues around here.  It is also 30% more expensive.  I tried some google searches and not much in terms of first hand experience or comments/reviews are revealed.  Plenty of sales pitches though.  I am bouncing between some home brew patties and feed concoctions or the Thymo product.

I am looking for comments from folks who have actual use and experience with ThymoVar.

What say you?
« Last Edit: September 02, 2018, 01:22:33 am by TheHoneyPump »
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 BeeMaster2

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Re: ThymoVar ?
« Reply #1 on: August 30, 2018, 12:55:55 am »
That is the first that I have heard of it.
Jim
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 TheHoneyPump

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Re: ThymoVar ?
« Reply #2 on: September 05, 2018, 12:08:24 am »
I went for it as a trial on a few hives.  Pricey.
Simple to apply.  I have to admit, I do kind of like the smell!  Reminds me of a simmering tenderloin every thyme I walk by a hive when the sun is beating down on it. ;)

I have noticed the effect that mid afternoon "playtime", orientation flights of young bees, seems to be suddenly MUCH more active.  Not for sure if that is effect of the Thymol or if is just the point in the brood/bee cycle that the colonies are in.  By my brood notebook and the calendar, they are going through a population burst of new bees at the moment as well.

I will do mite washes in 10 days to see what is what.
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 blackforest beekeeper

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Re: ThymoVar ?
« Reply #3 on: September 05, 2018, 10:49:05 am »
Hey HoneyPump,

I have some (little) experience with ThymoVar resp. ApiLifeVar, which is more or less the same. For my region, it sucks. Maybe when You have very little mites and weather is dry and warm and You keep on putting these stripes on for weeks on end. Might get by.
For me, it seems a waste of time. Also, the hives STILL smell of this stuff next spring.
I tried it on some nucs last year. The rest didn`t have much mites, so I decided for these stripes to keep mite count low on the ones with a little more. Effect was negligable.

I use formic acid and oxcalic acid.

Offline TheHoneyPump

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ThymoVar ?
« Reply #4 on: September 07, 2018, 01:22:06 am »
Thanks BFB.  That experience may be why this product is basically an unknown or unspoken of around here. 
Sure would be nice to hear from more people on this. Perhaps the beekeepers do not want to admit to spending good money on something with mediocre results?  I will know some results here at the next break in good weather and personal time aligns to go do some alcohol wash mite counts.  Until then, I just walk by and be thinking dinner must be almost ready.
« Last Edit: September 07, 2018, 11:18:26 am by TheHoneyPump »
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 blackforest beekeeper

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Re: ThymoVar ?
« Reply #5 on: September 07, 2018, 02:23:05 am »
Thanks BFB.  That experience may be why this product is basically an unknown or unspoken of around here. 
Sure would be nice to hear from more people on this. Perhaps the beekeepers do not want to admit to spending good money on something with mediocre results?  I will know some realists here at the next break in good weather and personal time aligns to go do some alcohol wash mite counts.  Until then, I just walk by and be thinking dinner must be almost ready. ;)

What does "BFB" mean?

Offline BeeMaster2

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Re: ThymoVar ?
« Reply #6 on: September 07, 2018, 07:55:08 am »
BFB- Black Forest Beekeeper.
Since you do not sign with a name, we abbreviate your handle.
Jim
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 TheHoneyPump

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Re: ThymoVar ?
« Reply #7 on: September 10, 2018, 04:26:58 pm »
Weather decided to get unpleasant.  Has been cool and raining.  No update to share yet.
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 TheHoneyPump

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ThymoVar ?
« Reply #8 on: September 29, 2018, 02:31:06 am »
Unfortunately, other than just a few afternoons of brief hot sun here and there this September has been overall cool, cloudy, rain, snow. Not good weather for going into hives to do bee work. The times that the sky did open up it got nice and warm with bright sun beating down on the dark brown boxes. Am sure they got warm enough for the thymol to work its magic as could sure smell it and the bees tended to storm out for fresh air.

Yesterday I hoped to get some data. It was nice and sunny but unfortunately was just too cold to crack into any hives, being just above freezing. All I could do is lift covers for a peak and tip hives to look at bottom boards. Visually everyone in there are very healthy in appearance and activity. The bottom boards are clean, very little debris, they've done a good job of sweeping out the trash and the dead.

I cannot do any washes to get mite counts in these conditions to say if this stuff definitively works or not, or what the change in numbers are. Therefore I have to fall back on the last counts which were already low and just use sensory inputs and my experience to assess what is current status. ... They all look great. The bees are nicely clustered and actively organizing the nests. They smell nice of thyme, scrumptious pollen patties, fresh baby bees, and ripening syrup. The nest is large, robust, is warm and uniform. The hives are up to weight on stores. Bunch of happy buzzy fuzzy cozy bees. They are transitioned into winter mode.

I think this is queue that it is time to just get on with getting them wrapped for winter.  Daytime highs now barely reach 4 deg C and overnight lows are -5 deg C.  The 2018 Season is done here.  Nothing left for me to do but tuck them in and go drink hot cocoa.  The rest is up to the bees now until April 2019.

« Last Edit: September 30, 2018, 05:45:09 pm by TheHoneyPump »
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 TheHoneyPump

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Re: ThymoVar ?
« Reply #9 on: October 20, 2018, 09:27:50 pm »
Finally some personal time and a brief weather break aligned to go have a look.  Results are mediocre.  The ThymoVar did not appreciably reduce the mite counts.  At best it held them at a constant. It may have helped prevent the fall mite to bee ratio spike.  However it certainly did not have a measurable mite killing, mite reducing impact.

My opinion on this stuff.  It is expensive.  Is easy to use the pre-cut strips.  It smells nice, if you like thyme. It makes most of the bees rush out for fresh air on a warm day.  It does NOT give a satisfactory mite kill.  It affects the mites in that the mite population did not burst as it would have otherwise. However it did not actually reduce the mite load. The thymovar does not have any significant knock down power.

I will admit it.  I spent good money on mediocre results.  <--  There, I said it!

In conclusion I support and agree the experience of BlackForestBeekeeper shared above. High expense and effort, negligible results.  It ranks as a failure.  I will not be using ThymoVar again.  Going back to the tried and true of what we have been using for many years.  Monitor mite load by alcohol wash or sugar jar.  No treat until threshold of 4 per 100.  ApiVar strips for basic control when warranted.  Oxalic acid vaporizer for major knock down when needed.
« Last Edit: October 23, 2018, 12:06:04 am by TheHoneyPump »
When the lid goes back on, the bees will spend the next 3 days undoing most of what the beekeeper just did to them.

 

anything