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Neils
22-03-2013, 01:55 AM
I thought it might be useful to start a thread about Integrated Pest Management Schemes (IPM) generally.

To paraphrase, This is my IPM, there are many like it; but this one is mine.

I use single brood 14x12 hives with open mesh floors.

I have always used a thymol treatment after the honey harvest. I used to use Apiguard, I now use a "home brew" thymol treatment for economic reasons. buying 5 pack trays is too expensive, buying a bucket of the stuff is far more than I need.

Each of my hives has two, horizontally wired, foundationless frames for the purpose of raising drone brood.

I treat with Oxalic Acid in winter and any swarm is treated 24 hours after being hived with the same. I used to view this as an optional treatment, but I'm increasingly seeing a need to use it based on beekeepers around me.

At the first cycle of drone brood I uncap a few hundred of the first third laid to gain a count of varroa. I try to uncap at "purple eye stage" which I believe should be from 19 days onwards. if more than 10% of the sample contains varroa I remove the entire sealed comb and resample the second comb when it reaches 19 days. There is a balance element to this and I still wonder whether this 'encourages' varroa that breeds in worker comb but I'm more concerned with removing varroa while having enough drones.

for the rest of the season, while i might unfork a patch of drone, i mostly rely on watching the bees themselves. I'm looking for phoretic mites and, more likely, signs of deformed wing virus.

Pyrethroid treatments are considered ineffective round these parts. Much as I hate the idea of putting that **** in my hives I reserve the right to use it as an emergency treatment on a hive that I feel that, despite my best efforts, is in danger of collapse. The caveats to using them is that they will not be used in the same apiary within 3 years and the combs of the hive in question will be replaced at the earliest opportunity and not returned to the 'foundation pool' of wax.

I do keep my trays in and watch the mite drop because I feel that having the trays in tells you a lot about what's going on in the hive, just not necessarily about varroa, but i record it anyway.

All my hives are in out apiaries so im constrained by having a full time job.

EmsE
22-03-2013, 08:03 AM
Mine are on single brood at the moment, except 1, due to artificial swarms last year but my aim is to maintain them on doubles where the colonies are strong enough.

I used Apiguard in the autumn after the supers have been removed, however I'm not entirely convinced we have the optimum temperatures for the full 6 week and will therefore consider changing to Apivar this year.

Oxalic trickle in late December / earlyJanuary.

Drone brood removal throughout the season. I have (will have for the new colonies) a super frame in each brood box and remove the brood raised below the bottom bar. I'm still experimenting to get the right balance of removal / allow to hatch and use the varroa levels in the brood removed as the basis to this.

Most of my colonies are on an OMF, and those that aren't just yet will be one day.

I am considering using the MAQ in spring as a couple of hives do seem to have a bigger drop than the others. I've recently heard that there are 'untreated' colonies that are allowed to swarm freely not far from one of the hives which would explain part of the reason. I'm still not decided yet though.

Dark Bee
22-03-2013, 09:31 AM
Interesting posts - it is helpful to hear how different beekeepers in different areas deal with the varroa problem.
There is a book "Having Healthy Honeybees" - An integrated approach, by John McMullan which is worth reading for it's comprehensive information. I have no vested interests and the recommendation is made on merit alone. The author is both a beekeeper and an eminent biologist, there is further information on the FIBKA website.

The Drone Ranger
22-03-2013, 09:51 AM
After honey thymol 500grm dissolved in 1 Ltr surgical spirit
2 sponges 3" square on broodbox top bars
20ml solution on each sponge repeat after 2 weeks

Winter varrox vaporiser oxalic acid possible twice depends on mite drop

In 2008 /2009 season I made a stacked bar graph of the results of oxalic treatment
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1-y577u2BGL0i6zBwwnKxfLAHwT0sl3v29seJjfeVMCQ/edit?authkey=CP2F0pIK&authkey=CP2F0pIK
It says the second treatment was 8th Nov but it was 8th Dec

EmsE
22-03-2013, 05:16 PM
Having just gone through my mod 3 notes in preparation for tomorrow (yes, cutting it fine I know) one of the options that sounds good and not too much of a change to my current practise is to use the artificial swarm process to reduce the varroa. It's less harsh on the colonies than the Queen trapping and you have either 2 colonies or a new queen if required.

*move hive to a new site in the apiary and put a new hive with empty drawn combs and the queen on the new site.
*place a queen excluder beneath the brood box to stop the queen absconding then remove once there is brood in the colony
*flying bees return to the original site and nurse bees, which are apparently more attractive to varroa, stay with the brood.
*9 days later destroy all but 1 queen cell in the old box (personally I would check after 6 days so that I can ensure I choose an occupied one)
*after 3 weeks all the brood in the daughter colony should be hatched so move 2 combs of open brood from the mother colony into the daughter one. This will attract the phonetic mites in the colony.
*once the brood is sealed, remove the 2 combs from the colony and destroy.
*either continue as 2 separate colonies or kill one of the queens and unite.

Can't remember where I read this, I really should make more of an effort to take references, but it claims to be 90% efficient.

This could be used in May and negate the use of the MAQ before the supers go on?

Now to memorise the resistance test :(

The Drone Ranger
22-03-2013, 10:54 PM
Hi Emse,

Good plan
If you use a Snelgrove board you could do this with less equipment
The board needs to be made with a finer than standard mesh,
This stops varroa moving between the boxes
Plans for making one http://www.scottishbeekeepers.org.uk/Portals/0/Documents/TDS%20number%2013%20snelgrove%20board.pdf
JT wirecloth sell suitable mesh online.http://www.jtwirecloth.com/