Hopguard

Has anyone used Hopguard for varroa?

Not licensed here till next year.
BUT I suppose that's not what you asked. I'd be interested too. It has been available in The States for some years, I suppose somebody might have brought some over.

It's an interesting product, some very promising results showing up in some of the US bee sites ... I tried to get hold of some earlier in the year but, although there's nothing to stop people importing the stuff, the suppliers in the states are unwilling to ship to the UK.

I was going to get my Cousin in Canada to buy some and post it over but it was not licensed for BC so she could not even get some sent to her.

Although it's based on natural oils from Hops it works as a contact miticide - it's apparently very sticky and messy when you take the strips out of the sachets initially and some bees do get stuck up in it and can die .. warnings to be careful not to smear your queen with it when installing the strips. It won't kill mites in cells and so if there is capped brood you need two to three weeks of the strips being in the hive and possibly a second treatment. It certainly kills varroa and there haven't been any really adverse reactions to it although some keepers have reported that the bees don't like it that much when it's first put in the hive .. they eventually clear the strips out so you can just leave them in the hive and there's no contamination of any honey.

But ... it's all academic until Vita have got 'approval' to market it in the UK .. main distributor in the USA is Mann Lake so I would think they'll be on to it as soon as it's released over here.

I haven't needed to treat my bees (yet ... I know ... comments not required) but I had a fairly high varroa load earlier in the year and Hopguard interested me because of its 'natural' claims .. (Yeh I know ..so is Thymol and OA - Rhubarb and Thyme) .. but, when I couldn't get hold of Hopguard, I just carried on with my normal IPM and the varroa levels in all three hives, at the moment, are negligible so perhaps it was all for the best anyway !

For those who have not come across it ... this is one of the better US beekeeping sites:

http://scientificbeekeeping.com/miticides-2011/

Yes I thought it interesting that someone had identified the hop oil worked in the same way as formic acid, thymol etc? from what people are quoted as saying....it does seem to be better tolerated and not such a harsh treatment, and people are using it on their nucs without problems. I chuckled when someone suggested using a bunch of hops on top of the frames in one of the forums. It brings a whole new aspect to sitting in the sunshine, sipping a beer......

pargyle said:

I UK .. main distributor in the USA is Mann Lake

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I tried to order some but they won't ship....you're right.
There is lots of discussion about it on American websites.

Blimey thats interesting
I'm growing my own hops - not harvested yet.
I might try chucking a handful in an eke for a few days before my Apiguard to see if I get a drop

If you do .....we all want to know! Then be ready to package up your hops for shipping......bound to be cheaper than being shipped from States.....see the hike on MAQS!

Some of the testing was carried out here on our hives. It is an effective treatment. Hopguard 2 is now available. The difference is in the length of time that the product is active. Hives treated with the product look very healthy.

Norton said:

Some of the testing was carried out here on our hives. It is an effective treatment. Hopguard 2 is now available. The difference is in the length of time that the product is active. Hives treated with the product look very healthy.

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Hi Norton, that's very encouraging and coming from you it's an endorsement worth taking on board. Let's hope they manage to get it up and running in the UK for next season .. it will probably be twice the price of the stuff anywhere else in the world but that's par for the course over here.

Lots of people looking for ways of making it themselves from hops ... nothing much looks like it's going to work so far ...

This is the label that Washington State have insisted on:

http://wasba.org/wp/wp-content/uploads/2014/01/HopGuard-Container-Label-2014.pdf

Might look promising but there is a warning of mite resistance building up, in that link.

oliver90owner said:

Might look promising but there is a warning of mite resistance building up, in that link.

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Yes ... I noticed that but, for me, I think it would be only as and when and importantly IF needed ... I've no real desire to treat if I can avoid it and I only started looking at it when I had a fairly high mite load just before they swarmed in May. Since then mite levels have been low and I would just consider it one more tool in the IPM.

I think that less is more when it comes to treatment and certainly ringing the changes is essential IMO.

Do you add anything health wise in your feeds..to support immune response and strong colony build up etc during the autumn and spring. In addition to the other methods of varroa control you use?

I can't answer for pargyle but a lot of Beekeepers add thymol to autumn feed to help prevent nosema

Erichalfbee said:

I can't answer for pargyle but a lot of Beekeepers add thymol to autumn feed to help prevent nosema

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Tremyfro said:

Do you add anything health wise in your feeds..to support immune response and strong colony build up etc during the autumn and spring. In addition to the other methods of varroa control you use?

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I didn't last year and there was no sign of nosema but there is plenty of evidence that thymol added to the autumn feed as per hive makers revipe does help those colonies susceptible to nosema ... I have highly insulated hives and my daily recording of temp and humidity last winter and during the wet spring showed that the temp in my hive never fell anywhere near the level where it would be considered cold ... And cold damp conditions can be a major factor in the onset of nosema ... I'm on the fence at prsent but certainly not averse to thymol ... Phil

pargyle said:

I didn't last year and there was no sign of nosema but there is plenty of evidence that thymol added to the autumn feed as per hive makers revipe does help those colonies susceptible to nosema

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According to the the Eig study, they also found that colonies went into spring much stronger and built up quicker, so it's worth giving them thymol just for that

I have made some up. Thanks for the recipe. I am sure my nuc will benefit too. As soon as we have a settled day, we will be moving them into a poly hive. They will have a bit more room for the stores...they are very busy today packing it in.

Whilst green products are to be encouraged, my experience with "natural" slug pellets does not encourage me.

To be effective slug pellets need to be dispersed over the whole garden before any damage is noticed(february/March) as soon as the soil warms a little. Then they should be used regularly throughout the growing season around four to six weeks apart. Slugs will invade from nearby land and eggs hatch throughout the warm weather. Slug control is a constant battle, not a one off event.

Throw your slug pellet over the fence into next doors garden. Your slugs will then pack their bags and holiday in next doors garden and never return.