using powdered sugar

[rmthurman]

a couple of days ago i posted about my dislike of the ballows type dusters. someone asked about using a flour sifter as an alternative. well, thats exactly what i did and it seemed to work very well. what i did was remove the honey suppers and with my wifes flour sifter (2$ at the discount store), sifted about half a cup of sugar down through the hive. i used a paint brush to brush the excess off of the frames and down into the hive.i use screened bottom boards and it looked like plenty of sugar made it through the hive. i just started doing this and i'm no expert but i believe it's something thats worth a try. also see this site for more good info .http://www.scientificbeekeeping.com/

[Ravenseye]

If you make a frame of any old scrap wood and staple some screening across it, you can plop it on top of the hive you're dusting...drop the sugar on the screen and shake...or brush. Less bees in the air and it's quicker.

[D Coates]

I've got exactly what Ravenseye is describing. Pour in a cup or or more of powdered sugar and spread it out via a bee brush. As you're moving the sugar around it's getting broken up like it's going through a sifter and falling through. Take the screen off and with the bee brush push the now sifted portions of powdered sugar off the frame tops into the gaps between. You'll hear a dull roar as the bees object and you'll sometimes even see a dusting of the powder coming up out of the hive. You'll also see "ghost" bees flying. What's also interesting is how you'll see ghost bees in hives that you haven't don't the treatment to yet. It takes me a minute or two to do it. It takes my son 4 or 5 minutes (9-year old) but it's something important he can easily handle and because of the screen they aren't flying though the top.

The only catch is if you're using 9 frame in your supers and 10 in your deeps you've got take off the supers to ensure the frames line up and the brood nest is getting the treatment.

[CSP]

I have a bellows-type duster that I hated at first, until I realized I was using it wrong.

Initially, I couldn't get enough powdered sugar out of the bellows, but then my wife pointed out that I should keep the cup that holds the powdered sugar horizontal so that the weight of the sugar was pressing it down into the bellows shifter.

Once I did this consistently, the bellows has worked great, putting out a large volume of very fine sugar dust.

[3.14r]

I've been using powdered sugar for two years now and have a lot of success using a quart mason jar with punched holes it the lid as a shaker. I do this in the spring when the populaitn is down and pull each frame and shake onto both sides. In the fall I just pour it on the top and brush it in with a bee brush. I also use screened bottom boards and have had minimal numbers of mites so far.

[K. Szegi]

The 'screen box' is a great idea ..... now why didn't I think of that?? Much easier than the flour sifter - which is what I'd been using before trying the bellows duster. After about 8 hives with the flour sifter though, my hand and wrist would be crying uncle ..... with the screen box there is no problem - and what a bonus to keep the bees from flying! :thumbsup:

[tonyp]

I also use the flour sifter but I use a stain brush instead of a paintbrush (softer bristles). I like to do it in the winter time when you get some of those freaky 70 degree days and the bees are flying. If your monitoring mite counts it makes you feel pretty good when the counts are low come late winter early spring.

[WayneW]

I use the window screen method, and my bee brush. I know that powdered sugar isnt the final answer for getting rid of VM, but it does knock down the numbers quite well. The treatment must be repeated often as 90% or more of the VM are in capped drone cells and dont get affected by the sugar. I dust mine 2-3 times a week for a 4 week period. It drops the counts nicely, but they remain, and come spring are back fairly quickly. This year i will be making an oxalic acid vaporizer and trying that route. If done correctly, it will nearly erradicate the VM, and i'd imagine a followup treatment in 2-3 weeks should pretty much end the trouble until the little buggers find their way back in.