powdered sugar dusting technique

[heaflaw]

Someone on this forum suggested this technique for dusting with powdered sugar:

Fasten screen wire over an Imirie Shim or something similar.  Put it in place of the inner cover and pour powdered sugar on it.  Use your brush to make it fall into the hive.  Then, take it off and brush off the tops of the frames.

I tried this for the first time today.  It works great!!!!!  Much better than shaking it out of a jar with a screened lid.  The bees don't get nearly as upset and it is faster and more uniform.   

[Brian D. Bray]

Someone on this forum suggested this technique for dusting with powdered sugar:

Fasten screen wire over an Imirie Shim or something similar.  Put it in place of the inner cover and pour powdered sugar on it.  Use your brush to make it fall into the hive.  Then, take it off and brush off the tops of the frames.

I tried this for the first time today.  It works great!!!!!  Much better than shaking it out of a jar with a screened lid.  The bees don't get nearly as upset and it is faster and more uniform.   

I made a shim out of 1X2s and stretched door screen over it.  This is the method that Randy Oliver recommends and is now even becoming known as the Oliver sugar dust method.

[heaflaw]

Do any of the rest of you use this method?

[DennisB]

We started to use it this year for the first time. All is well. I was speaking with this beek about 15 miles away who overwintered 74 hives and only lost 6. He used this treatment every week during the summer and does not use anything else for mite treatments.

Dennis

[Kathyp]

i use an old window screen.  same thing.

[Michael Bush]

Or just put a screened bottom board on top of the hive...

[blckoakbees]

Randy Oliver convinced me that powder sugar dusting works.  I do it every two weeks on average during all but the coolest part of the winter and it is such an elegant solution. No chemicals, easy to do and it works. I do not have mite problem as a result.

[Cindi]

Remember, if you are using screened bottom boards to put newspaper or something to catch the extra sugar that spills right through onto the ground, can be very messy if you just leave it, hee, hee, beautiful and most wonderful day, lovin' our great lives.  Cindi

[HAB]

Started out year using powdered sugar 1 week and FGMO Fog the next (V-mites were on all the Bees we got from an Old BeeK that uses NOTHING on his Bees, but the price was right = Free plus learned a lot) for one month.  Proud to say we now see only an occasional V-mite.  Now plan to go on two week rotation.  Hive Beetles!  Now thats a different story.  But I think we're holding our ground with them.  Now 90% of those we see are dead and have yet to see a Larva. Knock on Wood!

[Romahawk]

When using this method of delivering powdered sugar do you just remove the honey supers and sift the sugar into the top deep or do you break the hive body down and powder the first deep then replace the second deep and powder it. Is this a treatment that is done anytime during the year or is it done only after the supers are off and the season is over?