Pinetree against varoa

[surjourner]

Interesting idea.
I wonder if cedar pollen would work also? Cedar shavings are what we use for dags to run off fleas. Cedar trees are almost done pollinating, perhaps should gather some and try.

Scadsobees pine needles aren't poison. I drink pine needle and cedar tea often for vitamin c and minerals. Just be sure you know difference between cedar and juniper which is a non native plant and supposed to be poison.

[Bee Happy]

Any fine powder will work.  Flour and powdered sugar are easier to get.  :)  I know a guy who uses powdered sugar and garlic powder mixed.  He's been doing it as his only Varroa treatment for years.  Maybe the garlic powder makes them want to get it off more.

Don't varroa suck blood?

[luvin honey]

The advantage of this powder is that it is natural and harmless.

I'm all for natural and all for harmless, but natural does not necessarily equal harmless...

[KeyBeeper]

In Georgia - if you have land with a lot of pine tree's you have a lot more ticks than if you have land with lots of hardwoods.  I'm not sure there is a logical relationship, but if bugs in the tick family hate pine so much, then why do they inhabit pine forests at a greater rate than hardwoods?

[Acebird]

I don't know if this is the reason or not but ticks need a place to hide that will brush against animals where they can jump on.  Tall grass is a good candidate.  But a pine tree would be better than a hard wood because pine branches go right to the ground where as hardwood branches die off because of the lack of light.