varroa mites

Blacksheep · October 11, 2015, 06:04:06 PM

Hi : Not long till winter so I am trying to get ready for it been feeding and treating the bees for a while!
I am using the Fat Bee Man's method for the mites and sure hope it works. I am spraying the bees with the smoke from heated mineral oil using a insect sprayer which is heated with propane cylinders.I have only done that one time and prior time I did the sugar shake method with powdered sugar.
Have any of you guys tried this method and had any good results.

iddee · October 11, 2015, 07:53:41 PM

If you are fogging with mineral oil only, you will see very little, if any, results. I mixed thymol with the FGMO and had decent results.

GSF · October 11, 2015, 10:25:37 PM

I've only used the oxalic acid vaporizer with tremendous results.

Michael Bush · October 12, 2015, 09:17:37 AM

I don't treat with anything anymore. But I've tried most everything including fogged FGMO and even FGMO painted on the top bars. I've also tried fogging FGMO with wintergreen in it. I didn't try the thymol, but might have if I hadn't already given up treatments.

FGMO is a moderately effective treatment. By that I mean you need to treat every week all through the bee season to make a noticeable difference. It does not have near the knockdown power of oxalic acid or many other treatments. With the thymol added I would think it would be pretty effective.

Once I let the fog back up onto the flame and it blew the lid off of the hive in a fireball... although I'm sure I could have been more careful and avoided it happening again that's about when I quit using it...

brolib · October 12, 2015, 07:42:53 PM

Dang, MB. You're about to make a convert here. I've seen your inspection sheets and they are hard to argue with. This is my second year. Started with 2 packages and came out of the first winter with 1 strong colony. After a swarm capture and some splits, I now have 5 queen-right colonies. I need to expand and buy more frames (I make my boxes.) 8-frame, medium, foundationless appears to be the way to go. However, I've seen what those crazy bugs can do to empty spaces. I still need to inspect the brood occasionally and am pondering how to handle that. Alternating my old brood comb with foundationless frames seems best, according to what I gather from this forum. Correct? Comments appreciated.

Michael Bush · October 13, 2015, 06:19:47 PM

> I still need to inspect the brood occasionally and am pondering how to handle that. Alternating my old brood comb with foundationless frames seems best, according to what I gather from this forum. Correct? Comments appreciated.

http://www.bushfarms.com/beesfoursimplesteps.htm
http://www.bushfarms.com/beesnaturalcell.htm
http://www.bushfarms.com/beessctheories.htm
http://www.bushfarms.com/beesfoundationless.htm
http://www.bushfarms.com/beesframewidth.htm

Linda M. · October 13, 2015, 10:23:27 PM

I've heard of using peppermint extract to keep the varroa mites down - not sure how you would apply it. I haven't seen any mites in my boxes....I know if you put the peppermint extract in a spray bottle with water and spray around your house and garage you can help keep the mice and spiders away - maybe the same with the varroa mites as well.

MikeyN.C. · October 13, 2015, 11:08:54 PM

LM
good point,never thought about mint, and I have about to much mint,if. ya don't contain it

OldMech · October 14, 2015, 12:47:08 AM

I believe in OAV. Treatment free WOULD be the way to go if you can manage it, but it can be a tuff row to hoe depending on your bees, your location etc...
Do some research about what your select method of treatment does to your bees. Are you sterilizing your drones? Causing your queen to stop laying, even if temporarily? Do your bees all hang off the front porch when you put your treatments on?
I have seen Don's video of using mineral oil, and i did ask a lot of questions and dig for some scientific backing... I didnt find anything encouraging, but that was also without the thymol. i have not attempted to look up any conclusive evidence that thymol would make a difference. I do know that mineral oil alone wont do the trick...
What i do know, and have quite a bit of experience with, is Oxalic Acid Vapor. i was using it well before it was approved, because its quick, easy, and does not harm the bees, and from everything I have studied, and then experienced, the mites cannot become resistant to it. Those that come into contact with it die. As I understand it, its hard to build up an immunity when your dead.
As my number of hives increases, there have been times that I did not get to do more than ONE treatment with OAV in a season, and found mite levels were still acceptable by the end of the season. Thats no excuse to do only one treatment, but it has shown me that it is an effective method of controlling the mites.
USE OAV while you work toward treatment free!

Michael Bush · October 14, 2015, 08:07:13 AM

>I've heard of using peppermint extract to keep the varroa mites down - not sure how you would apply it.

My first problem with that is disrupting the microbes. My second problem with that is disrupting the communication of the hive by pheromones and other smells. The way it is usually used is in syrup. Which brings me to my third problem. Any smell in syrup tends to set off robbing.

>I haven't seen any mites in my boxes....

You are in North America. There are mites. To be accurate, if you haven't killed them off by some means there are likely 40 or 50 different kinds of mites... but the one everyone is most concerned with is Varroa and you have those.

>I know if you put the peppermint extract in a spray bottle with water and spray around your house and garage you can help keep the mice and spiders away - maybe the same with the varroa mites as well.

Many essential oils have been tested for killing Varroa by feeding it in syrup.

Blacksheep · October 14, 2015, 08:52:50 PM

Hi Guys: Well I di the fogging with Mineral oil only and guess it is to late now to do further treatments.I guess I could get some peppermint oil and mix it with sugar water and spray that around.
I have been feeding my bees since july and they are really growing!I think they have slowed now due to a cold spell we had a few days ago.I don't see any pollen going in.
I expcect a frost any night now here in Southern Tennessee.
We had a very bad honey season this year much rain in the spring and then a dearth!Nothing blooming at all so they needed feeding for sure!
I saw where the Fat Bee man treats his bees with the mineral oil and thought I would try that guess i WASTED MY MONEY!

OldMech · October 14, 2015, 11:10:42 PM

The good thing about OAV is that it works best when there is less brood, meaning less sealed cells for mites to hide in. That is usually when its cold.. I dont treat when its cold because like the bees I am clustered with the little lady for warmth during the winter, but less brood usually means the treatments with OAV are more effective.
I doubt you wasted your money on the mineral oil fogger... Wont it spray mosquito repellents etc?

Give it some time, I am sure someone will come up with scientific backing on what to add to the mineral oil to kill the mites!

Blacksheep · October 15, 2015, 12:37:03 PM

Thanks Guys!I will be checking about the different things I should use.I am still in the nubee stage although I have had bees for 3 years!Ha Thanks again for all the help! Bill

capt44 · October 21, 2015, 09:30:19 PM

I treat with Oxylic Acid Vapor and have had very good results.
I still have 12 hives to re-treat around the 1st of November.
I treated in the spring and had excellent results.
And what amazes me is the bees never get upset.