Using VarroMed

[Gadgetman]

Has anyone experience of using VarroMed from BeeVital? The instructions claim "WITHDRAWAL PERIOD: Honey: Zero days" I assume that doesn't mean you can treat when supers are on, but what does it mean? Remove supers, treat, return supers?? When though? Next day?
Thanks.

 

[Ian123]

It just means you can eat any honey straight away…..but for any affect you’d need to use several times. What are you trying to achieve. When did you last treat?

 

[Gadgetman]

It just means you can eat any honey straight away…..but for any affect you’d need to use several times. What are you trying to achieve. When did you last treat?

How do you mean eat honey straight away?
I didn't treat one particular hive in Dec (as I did my others) as it had a very low drop rate - almost non existent. I've just done an alcohol wash and found a very high varroa load so need to do a quick treatment. I've got some unopened VarroMed so wanted to give it a try...

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

sounds like Oxalic Acid with added snakeoil.
Remove supers
apply snakeoil
replace supers.

Unless it's done during a broodless period (in which case you wouldn't have supers on anyway) I can't see it having any lasting effect.

 

[Ian123]

If there is zero withdrawal period you can use 1 day and it’ll have zero contamination on honey in the hive….ie if you wish you could extract the next day.
It used to be called hive clean I’m sure!!!!…or at least it’s similar.
A lesson for next year forget drop rates and treat them all. 1 dead mite in December is hundreds by the end of the season! What was your autumn treatment?

It’s oxalic so will only kill mites on bees not in cells. A single treatment if you have a high mite count will not be enough. Like vaping you’ll need several to cover a whole sealed brood cycle for it to be effective.

 

[Gadgetman]

If there is zero withdrawal period you can use 1 day and it’ll have zero contamination on honey in the hive….ie if you wish you could extract the next day.
It used to be called hive clean I’m sure!!!!…or at least it’s similar.
A lesson for next year forget drop rates and treat them all. 1 dead mite in December is hundreds by the end of the season! What was your autumn treatment?

It’s oxalic so will only kill mites on bees not in cells. A single treatment if you have a high mite count will not be enough. Like vaping you’ll need several to cover a whole sealed brood cycle for it to be effective.

I used apivar in the autumn. VarroMed say to do a second treatment in 6 days if you see 6 or more dead mites. And another treatment 6 days after that.

 

[bpmurray]

Has anyone experience of using VarroMed from BeeVital? The instructions claim "WITHDRAWAL PERIOD: Honey: Zero days" I assume that doesn't mean you can treat when supers are on, but what does it mean? Remove supers, treat, return supers?? When though? Next day?
Thanks.

Varromed is using both oxalic and formic acids. I haven't used it but it seems to be slightly better than dribbling OA alone. The "zero day withdrawal" means that you cannot have the supers on when using it, but you can put supers back on once the treatment is complete, i.e. once you have finished the dribbling.

One comment I've heard about it is that the bees will need a source of water after treatment.

 

[Gadgetman]

Varromed is using both oxalic and formic acids. I haven't used it but it seems to be slightly better than dribbling OA alone. The "zero day withdrawal" means that you cannot have the supers on when using it, but you can put supers back on once the treatment is complete, i.e. once you have finished the dribbling.

One comment I've heard about it is that the bees will need a source of water after treatment.

That's really helpful thank you. Returning the supers straight away feels too soon (although I'm sure that's what the instructions imply) as surely bees still covered in the liquid will go straight up and carry it onto the uncapped honey? Or is it the point that oxalic and formic are natural substances anyway and at that low level it doesn't matter?

 

[Erichalfbee]

I have had to emergency vape in a few colonies in the past while they have had supers. Remove supers. Vape brood from the top so that you can do it while the bees are flying, replace supers straight away.
There is research to show OAV doesn't increase oxalic in honey

 

[Lizbee]

I used apiguard in the autumn, but have tried varromed this spring - so far so good. I did make sure water was available and did record just a few bodies on the landing board, but not excessive. I left a few days between varromed treatment and putting a super on.

 

[PeaBee]

Looking at thier Web site it looks like it is oxalic acid and formic acid trickle and Spring treatment needs 3+ applications. Multiple applications would get around the issue with not being effective with sealed brood, but I am sure I gave read that OA trickle damages open brood. So potentially could do some significant harm I would assume.

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

I have read that OA trickle damages open brood. So potentially could do some significant harm

Not just open brood, but adult bees as well - not so important for workers maybe but for the queen definitely