Don't disagree with you but equally I can see the reasoning behind it. Of the few I've spoken to about it so far I admit that I haven't got a full sense of what they're doing at the moment but I didn't get the impression that they were fully reliant on a winter OA treatment and nothing else.
There seem to be quite a number of posts from people who treated with a thymol product for 4 weeks and then found they still had a masive number of mites dropping when apistan or bayvarol was used. there are a couple of posts on the bbka site which mentioned thousands of mites.
Oxalic Acid.
I think the weather has definitely played its part this year.in reducing the effectiveness of thymol treatments. I've also seen a lot more claims of queens going off lay when being treated this year and wonder whether there's something in that it it's a consequence of the generally poor year and forage as much as the thymol.
Like you Jon I'm going to obtain hive numbers from our membership at this months meetng. I'm doing a small presentation for the less well informed membership at our December meeting - with a "mock" demonstration for our beginners to show them how simple the technique realy is. We purchased O.A in bulk and will distribute ie amongst our members. Do you find it is better to make up the solution rather than distribute the powder ?. Personally I favour the liquid but am open to suggestion.
Hi John
I mix up the solution on the morning of the meeting and the members bring in containers to take the stuff home.
A half litre coke bottle is a decent size for most.
You need something to measure out the liquid.
Last year we had about 3 or 4 litres to distribute and it will likely be more this year.
I got 120 colonies on the list last night and others are sending in colony numbers by e-mail.
I would guess we will be mixing for over 200 colonies.
I think pre mixing is important as someone is likely to mix the stuff up wrongly if left to their own devices.
Thanks Jon,will have to suggest that members save their wee bottles for next month. WE've bought one of Thornes auto-dispense gadgets which fits into a bulk supply-(modified 4 pint plastic milk bottle).This dispenses 5 ml per pull of the trigger - much easier to use than a syringe and much more accurate per seam of bees. I plan to pass this around local members and bottle up some for more remote people.
What that man said. First time I've used that phrase, not sure if I like it or not!Originally Posted by Jon
Make sure that people know this is a treatment for healthy bees in the spring and summer to come. If the colony had a mite problem in September this isn't a way to escape the inevitable weak or dead colony in the spring, that needed action in August preferably.
Do you mean small bottles or wee bottles?! These wee bottles hold up to 60ml and some of them even have volume graduation marks on the label, great for doling out the oxalic solution!
Those sort of bottles are made for the wrong acid - could be an alternative treatment perhaps ?.
I noticed that phrase a few times recently or you can do it as 'What he said'
I presume it comes from an American sitcom.
Young Mr Nellie has his finger on the zeitgeist so we need an explanation.
Speaking of which...Others could be trying to go cold turkey to see what happens.
There is a thread here and some good pics of mites and mite drop when treatment is late.
My overwintering colonies never have big enough clusters to get the full monthy of 50ml Oxalic. On average they take 30-35 ml and the nucs about 20-25ml.
This year I suspect the clusters will be smaller than usual as queens stopped laying very early.
When measuring out the Oxalic I would give a 10 hive beekeeper about 400ml which they can then measure accurately via syringe on a hive by hive basis according to the number of seams.
When I am treating an apiary I bring along a flask of hot water. I stand the plastic bottle with the Oxalic in a flora tub and fill it up with hot water to keep the Oxalic at about 25-30c.
Treatment usually takes place on a day where the temperature is near zero and the bees are in a cluster so you don't want to be tipping 40ml of freezing cold liquid into the cluster.
Last edited by Jon; 14-11-2012 at 06:41 PM.
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