Natural Beekeeping International Forum

[Nicola Thomas]

As I said in my introduction, I am new to beekeeping. I have noticed that my bees do have veroa and it seems to be increasing so I need to treat t hem immediately.
Can you suggest which is the best method of treating my bees without harming them in any way, as I only have one hive and cannot afford to lose them until I am more established.
I have heard that Apiguard is good but am concerned about immunity, how do I know which product to start with.

[zaunreiter]

At this time of year any thymol won't help. You either use vaporized oxalic acid, which does harm the bees the least. Or you use lactic acid which you spray lightely onto the bees. Lactic acid doesn't help with severe cases of varroa. If you got the choice, I'd used vaporized oxalic acid, for four times. Find an experienced beekeeper who knows how to use the vaporizer.

[MilanBencúr]

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[CeeBee]

Apiguard is thymol, right? (not to be confused with Apistan, which is fluvalinate miticide?). Guess we ought to be certain which you're talking about - I think that 'immunity' to thymol and organic acids is unlikely, whereas we know that fluvalinate-resistant mites are widespread.

'zaunreiter' says it's the wrong season for thymol. I can't argue - I don't know. I treated my own two HTBH with MAQS strips back in August - I improvised regarding the application method - suspending two strips per hive between bars using plastic garden-mesh (recommended method is to lay the strips over the bars - on traditional hives with gapped bars). The MAQS seems effective - lots of Varroa drop, and very active bees since. I don't see restrictions on season or number of applications for MAQS (think minimum temp. above 10C for 7 days needed, so perhaps late-September in the UK is getting late?).

[Nicola Thomas]

Thanks all, for the advice. It think I have sort of decided to try the oxalyc acid vaporising method as time is moving on. I am off tomorrow to try and purchase some, so fingers crossed. this is what I call stress of the fourth degree!!!!

[ivanco]

I heared that varroa can be treated with heat (43 dC), and there is device available on the market for doing this. it is called Varrtreat (varrtreat com). Can someone post expirience with this device?

[AndyC]

The oxalix acid vaporiser treatment using a battery is quick, simple, effective, needs little equipment and works if applied at the right time.
Same beeks I know treat three or four times a few weeks apart over a period when there is little or no sealed brood in the nest.
I treated my hives once in mid December, checked the drop, that was only above a few dozen on one hive and don't appear to have a problem with the wee beasties this year.
The KISS principle is worth considering.

[Almalutz]

Two methods for treating Varroa mites (Varroa destructor) were tested during this study. One method of treatment was vaporized oxalic acid applied once per week for 3 weeks. This method did prove beneficial in reducing mite loads in honey bee (Apis mellifera) colonies.

[catchercradle]

I haven't treated now for several years but one of my colonies does have quite a high load, though the Bee Inspector who came because of EFB within 3Km has seen a lot worse. I may treat at some point but at the moment still far too much brood with the unseasonably warm weather.

Dave