Apiguard and SBB and Heat

[Patrick]

Hi,
I had to treat for mites using Apiguard. The treatment last 30 days. The web site states that you should close up the screened floor as the thymol is heavier than air and will not be as effective. It is 90 degrees and at this time of year tends to get even hotter as we move into September.  My screened bottom does not vent to the ground but sits on a stand and vents to the front. Should I just block up the SBB as Apiguard states despite the coming heat?
Any thoughts?
Cheers,
Patrick

[Kathyp]

it won't be as effective if you don't close up.  i am not sure how to advise you, but as someone else pointed out, wild hive often have only a very small hole as the only access to the hive.  they seem to manage the heat without the ventilation that we provide for our hives.  the bees can hang outside if it gets to hot.

do you have to treat now?  how bad are your mites?  could you knock them back with powdered sugar treatments until it cools a bit?

the main idea for treating in fall or late summer is to get the mites at the last of the major brood rearing.  that way the bees go into winter without the added burden of mites.

[pdmattox]

I would say you could close up the sbb. I however would check to see what temps apriguard says the you get the best results in.  If is to hot for the apriguard aplication then I would wait anyway.

[steve]

Patrick,
          As kathyp stated closing up the sbb is the most effective use of this product. I've used Apiguard for the last serveral season and have found it to be fairly effective even at high temps.and open screened bottom boards.I would however, recommend monitoring mite drops through Sept./Oct.just to make sure you got a good knock down......
                                                         Steve

[Patrick]

Thanks everyone. I am treating now because I waited last year and lost a hive. The treatment last year seemed to discombobulate my queen a bit so I thought if I did it a bit yearly she would still have some time to recover? All the old timers out here seem to treat in August/ September anyway and this year with our -15 inches of rain below normal the mites seem to be coming on earlier. But I don't know much about it as I was living in a mite free flowery dream up until a few years ago.
Cheers,
Patrick

[DayValleyDahlias]

How do we close up an SBB?

[Kathyp]

mine came with a board that slides into the bottom.  if yours did not, look and see if they left a grove for one.  you can make your for yourself.  if there is no place to slide one in, you should be able to take some strips of wood and make a place, then make a board to slide in.  put a strip of wood on the end as a handle.  if you do not, it will get stuck in place and when spring comes, you will have trouble getting it loose.

[Michael Bush]

>How do we close up an SBB?

Mine has some twine in a "Z" pattern on the bottom and a plastic cardboard tray that slides into it.  Depending on what the SBB is setting on, any old cardboard that is cut to fit might work or might need something like the twine to hold it up.

[DayValleyDahlias]

Oh good, I will just put the sticky boardback on if I use the stuff...

thank you all... :)

[Fish]

The Apiguard instructions say its good up to 105 F.  You should be good to go.  I have Apiguard on three hives in Nashville in spite of the heat (two with SBB).  The SBBs are closed up.  The girls move to the outside if they get to hot. 

[Cindi]

OK, I must jump in and put in my two cents about closing up the screened bottom  board.  When I took another seminar last fall about getting our girls ready for winter, this is what we were taught.

We were taught to use formic acid pads.  Very similar in many respects to Apiguard, in that the fumes are heavier than air, sink to the bottom of the hive and the bees fan like crazy to get rid of this awful stench!!!!!  (both products stink like the dickens).  THis moves the power of these fumes throughout the hive and kills the mites.

What our instructor taught us to do was:

Between the screened bottom board and the hive body, he placed a piece of 5 mm plastic and stapled it onto the outside of the hive to ensure that this plastic tray, we shall call it, was in place so the fumes could not escape and slip out the bottom.  Then the formic acid pad was stapled to the inside sidewall of the bottom hive body (or if wintering in two boxes, stapled to the inside sidewall of the top box).  The  bees of course during this time when the pads were in the hive used the top entrance.  Of course, there must be a top entrance for the bees to come and go.

After an appropriate amount of time, depending on what was required 21 days, 40 days, etc.  The plastic and pad(s) were removed.  Then during the broodless period, around December 1, oxalic acid sugar syrup trickle is applied, no more than 35 ml per hive.  Mites basically taken care of for the winter time.

Another method that could be used also would be:

If one had extra solid bottom boards, the solid bottom boards could be put in place instead of screened bottom boards for the treatment period.  An entrance reducer on the solid bottom board could be used to retain most of the fumes in the hives.  But this is not a very easy method, in that most people probably do not have screend bottom boards and solid bottom boards, both.  What we were taught.  Have a wonderful day, greatest of life.  Cindi