I need a plan for varoa

[idg]

I had 9 colonies going into winter. In September all colonies had apiguard on. In January I used a home made vapouriser on 7 of the hives (unfortunately my car battery died before I could complete the last 2 and I never got round to completing)
I have lost one of the 9, I thought due to being too small but now I am not sure. I was watching the bees this afternoon and one bee was resting on a fence post in front of the hive. I noticed she had a varroa on her back. Which got me wondering if I had a problem with varroa.
I am desperate to carry out my first inspection but the weather hasn't gone above about 12 degrees yet, so I have held off.

So what I would like to do is carry out a thorough course of varroa treatment. My method is to add a thumb nail sized mound of oxalic acid into my vapouriser and treat all hives, then repeat. Is this a satisfactory method and how often should I repeat.

Will it do any harm in any respect?

 

[Erichalfbee]

If you are planning to sublimate oxalic acid you should be measuring out 2g for each hive. The regime in the presence of brood is to treat every five days three times, measuring the drop and adding a fourth treatment if the infestation is severe.

 

[idg]

Thanks erica. The trouble is I don't really have any means of measuring 2g accurately. Can anyone suggest a volume that would represent 2g? The sublimater made using a 22mm copper end stop if that helps. I.e full, half full?

 

[Erichalfbee]

I just tried it for you
A level half teaspoon cooking measure is 3 g so take it from there?

 

[idg]

Thank you very much.

 

[Poly Hive]

Buy some accurate kitchen scales, for £20 you can be sure.

PH

 

[pargyle]

Buy some accurate kitchen scales, for £20 you can be sure.

PH

£20 ???? Are you rich or something ??? £4.99 - 3 day delivery, ex-UK stock including postage ... and they work and they are very accurate ... and small enough to go in your pocket and a lid so the bees can't propolise them ...

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Electroni...055544?hash=item43d678e338:g:blwAAOSwAuNW598F

 

[B+.]

£4.99 - 3 day delivery, ex-UK stock including postage ... and they work and they are very accurate ...

I bought one of these last year but had a bit of trouble with the company. They sent the 0.1g version first and tried to get me to pay extra for the 0.01g one I had ordered

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

Thanks erica. The trouble is I don't really have any means of measuring 2g accurately. Can anyone suggest a volume that would represent 2g? The sublimater made using a 22mm copper end stop if that helps. I.e full, half full?

cheap jeweller's scale off fleabay under a fiver, then also buy these little pots used for cosmetics etc - cost pennies but again fleabay http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/25-x-5ml-...metic-Cream-/161990527049?hash=item25b7634849

You can then weigh them out in the comfort of your own home so no faffing around trying to weigh it out at the apiary. Simples

 

[Swarm]

Pop round yer local dealer, he'll cut it and bag it.

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

Pop round yer local dealer, he'll cut it and bag it.

Many years ago I had a cupboard full in the office of them little scales to chose from

 

[mjt68]

While you wait, pop inspection boards in or count mites on a sample of bees (sugar, alcohol, freeze) to be sure you are correct in diagnosis.

 

[Plenty of honey]

Thanks erica. The trouble is I don't really have any means of measuring 2g accurately. Can anyone suggest a volume that would represent 2g? The sublimater made using a 22mm copper end stop if that helps. I.e full, half full?

I have seen the 2 gram tablets on flea bay, so if you want you could buy them ready measured out as a single tablet. I think this came up on a recent thread, but cant remember.

 

[chrisb]

Pop round yer local dealer, he'll cut it and bag it.

£5 for a set of 0.01g dis scales is good for infrequent use

the accuracy of these cheap scales can drift off with no warning. when new weigh something like a penny and make a note of its weight, save that penny in a bag with the note of the weight, before you weigh anything important weigh the penny if the scales have gone off calibration you can see. !

an alternative is to buy a calibration weight you only need a 1g M1 grade but that alone would cost you about £6

never take for granted what a scale tells you without being sure it is telling the truth first !

 

[Teebeeaitch]

You had varroa in September so you treated. You had varroa in January so you treated. You think you still have high levels of varroa in April and you are thinking of treating again. Maybe the lesson is that treatments are not the answer.

 

[EKBee]

You had varroa in September so you treated. You had varroa in January so you treated. You think you still have high levels of varroa in April and you are thinking of treating again. Maybe the lesson is that treatments are not the answer.

I wouldn't take that lesson from this

No treatment gives a 100% mortality therefore no matter what you use you won't get them all, for me it's about minimising mite numbers to limit their effect as vectors for viral diseases.

Perhaps the ambient temp wasn't sufficient in Sept for the Apiguard to have maximum effect? The 2 colonies that were not treated in Dec will now also be having an effect.

The lesson for me is a reminder to ensure that all colonies are dosed effectively & efficiently

Beebase have a good guide to IPM for Varroa.

 

[Gilberdyke John]

You had varroa in September so you treated. You had varroa in January so you treated. You think you still have high levels of varroa in April and you are thinking of treating again. Maybe the lesson is that treatments are not the answer.

Dangerous assumption.

 

[mjt68]

The lesson I'd take is that maybe something else is wrong. Varroa is a btard for sure, but there are lots of other things to consider and the leap from 'somethings wrong' to 'Varroa!! Kill it!!' can be made too quickly. Do a quick mite count to see if that's what's really wrong before gassing your bees (and yourself - proper PPE is essential, OA isn't the friendliest chemical) again.

 

[domino]

The lesson I'd take is that maybe something else is wrong. Varroa is a btard for sure, but there are lots of other things to consider and the leap from 'somethings wrong' to 'Varroa!! Kill it!!' can be made too quickly. Do a quick mite count to see if that's what's really wrong before gassing your bees (and yourself - proper PPE is essential, OA isn't the friendliest chemical) again.

Since I started doing alcohol washes I treat my bees far less. It took me a while to actually get comfortable with it but now at least I know I'm treating when they need it and not to a calender .

 

[Vramin]

At the BBKA convention I was talking to one of the researchers from LASI who recommend OA vaporisation.
He warned me that some people are being rather casual about safety when handling OA.
You should wear safety goggles, gloves and an approved respirator even when handling and weighing it out, and especially when vaping it. Turning your head and hoping the wind doesn't change direction is not enough!
It's very toxic.
I bought some from the WBKA convention. It was sealed and wrapped in a carrier bag. I could still taste it on my lips as I wrapped it in a second carrier bag.