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Thread: Api Life Var vs Apiguard vs (insert favourite non Pyrethoid Varroa Treatment)

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    Default Api Life Var vs Apiguard vs (insert favourite non Pyrethoid Varroa Treatment)

    I've used Apiguard for the past couple of years because that was pretty much what i was told to use when I started but was starting to dig around a little bit more in terms of whether it was necessary the best and/or most effective treatment to use. So just interested in what people use as their Varroa treatment of choice.

    This is the first year that we're starting to see colonies with DWV in the apiaries. My suspicion is that this is probably more a result of not treating with OA over winter on the basis of pre-winter mite counts looking low so I'm starting to rethink my strategy a bit and as part of that figured I'd ask around a little mre with regards to what people are currently using as an autumn/spring treatment and how they feel it compares to what they might have used before..

    In terms of efficacy I'm satisfied with Apiguard but never one to sit on my backside when I could be questioning something and after 3 years use I'm open to the idea that maybe there's something else out there that might deliver similar (or better) results.
    Last edited by Neils; 15-06-2011 at 07:49 PM.

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    I make those thymol oil soaked pieces of oasis (like one of the super beeks recommends) in Autumn. Cheap. Not too difficult if you get a accurate balance and a syringe to measure the liquid.

    I put thymol in the Autumn feed too.

    I treat with OA in dec/jan

    I do brood culling sometimes too.

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    I've got a full IPM programme which I keep promising to write up and stick up here for people to pull apart, in the context of the thread I was interested specifically in what people currently use as their autumn (and spring?) treatment.

    Is the thymol you add to the pads "home cooked" or do you buy it premixed? And what strength do you use in the autumn feed?

    I haven't fed mine for autumn since I switched to 14x12s, part of the rationale was that they'd have enough honey after I'd taken the supers not to need feeding.

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    After taking off the supers. I do this early Sept which is later than most people as we tend to get late flows from Balsam etc. In fact I have taken off honey at the start of Sept and put the supers on again to get cleaned to find the bees fill them again on good years. This means for varroa control we start late. I usually use apistan as we do not have resistant varroa at the moment although we will be checking for resistance this year. I tried Apiguard last year on colonies in August that did not have supers but found it was not used up due to lower temperatures we have up here. I always use oxalic acid later in the year when there is no brood regardless to what I use in the Autumn. In our association we all treat with oxalic acid within a two week period.

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    Apiguard in september and Oxalic in December is my routine. I uncap some drone brood as well but rarely see more than one or two mites.
    I put in the trays below the open mesh floors every now and again and monitor the mite drop but rarely see much until late summer.
    I keep an eye out for bees with deformed wings and bees crawling about but it is better not to let a varroa infestation get that far.
    One big variable to keep an eye out for is robbing of a varroa riddled colony. You can have your varroa levels under control and then your strong colony robs out a dying colony with 3000 mites in it and takes them all back home.

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    I add 5 ml of emulsified thymol mix below to a gallon of syrup in Autumn

    Here is how you make the emulsified thymol (Worth emulsifying it because otherwise it is not evenly disributed in the syrup, but floats on top.)

    Mix this outside as the thymol vapours take of the linings off your lungs. Thymol crystals must be handled with caution.

    Heat 30g thymol in 5ml of isopropyl alcohol in an old pan/tin you never want to use again until it dissolves


    Separately, in a honey jar resting in a pan of water heat 140ml of boiling water with 1 teaspoon of lecithin. Stir for 10 mins. sieve to remove any lumps. Add it to the thymol that has dissolved in the alcohol above. Shake. Done.

    (NB this is not the same as what you put on the oasis)
    Last edited by Karin; 15-06-2011 at 11:02 PM. Reason: sp

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    PS: Forgot to say....
    as far as what I have read, this thymolised syrup is more effective than Fumidil B in preventing Nosema, but the benefits of it for reducing varroa on its own are less impressive. You need thymol vapour through Apiguard or the oasis patties or similar to deliver the big drop of varroa in the Autumn, not syrup.

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    Pete L/Hivemaker should be along in a minute with chapter and verse.

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    Hi Nellie
    Alan Teale very kindly gave me a recipe for thymol treatment some time ago. I modified it so apologies to Alan if he doesn't agree
    1) buy 500g of thymol put it in a large plastic feeder add 1 ltr that's 2x 500ml bottles of surgical spirit and stir.
    2) decant the solution back into the bottles you will need an extra empty bottle because the amount of solution will be around 1.3 ltr
    3) go to Lidl buy packs of 5 thin flat washing up sponges and cut each one into 4 pieces
    4) put 2 pieces of sponge under the crown board at the back of the hive and using a syringe add 20ml of solution to each sponge.
    5) wait around 3 days check varroa drop. If it is high then continue checks till daily drop is slowing at around 2 weeks repeat with another 20ml
    6) the bees buzz a bit but are unharmed don't wait too late before application some bees wont come up to be fed while the treatment is on.
    7) hopefully this will get you nice healthy winter bees and if you follow up with evaporated oxalic treatment in the winter no more deformed wings

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    Thanks DR, very useful.

    Have you tried using this method yourself and how do you feel it compares to buying the ready mixed treatments?

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