Greese patties for fall and winter protection...

[MrGreenThumb]

I had made some greese patties and was going to add them to the hives later this week. For I will add new patties once these are gone and continue to do so till at least next spring. The patties are a mix of crisco/sugar/wintergreen oil.

Any comments on this? Is it a good form of preventative treatment throughout fall and winter? Any reason(s) why I should not use the patties?

thx

[spunky]

I have been trying to research this also. Alberta beekeeping has some good info on their site.

The link I have is isnt any good now. Hmmmmm



I have been using wintergreen oil in my syrup for a few weeks now.


I cant understand if when removing the grease patties it covers the bees and then promotes hygenic behavior for removal of vmites or if the fumes of the menthol is toxic to the tmites or both ????

[danno1800]

try this one:

http://www.albertabeekeepers.org/

[Michael Bush]

>Any comments on this?

Treating for Tracheal mites is why we still have tracheal mites. Breeding for resistance is simple. If everyone quit treating the problem would be gone in two years.

>Is it a good form of preventative treatment throughout fall and winter?

For tracheal mites? Yes, if you don't care to have resistant bees instead. For Varroa? It might help. I don't know of any research on that.

I prefer not needing to treat at all.

[BjornBee]

MrGT,
I think the selection for t-mites has taken a back seat to other selection criteria for the past number of years, for many breeders. You can read the marketing information on many outfits, and you can read about selection for v-mites, overwintering, honey production, gentleness, etc. Not many mention t-mites. But then, who wants to mention their bees being t-mite resistant, when it can be so easily tested for?

Grease patties are helpful for t-mites by confusing the mites as to the actual age of the bees by the smell that the patty gives off. Use Crisco.

With that said, waiting till fall or winter to place a patty is missing the boat, and lacks in understanding the life cycle of not just the mites, but the bees also, and the associated damage that occurrs.. If your going to rely on, and hope to gain any benefit from patties, they should be on year round. Or at least as a minimum, before the fall brood cycle.

As to other side benefits, grease patties are sometimes made with essential oils added. The interference with smell that these oils cause, do promote hygienic behavior, and cleaning of the patties as the bees try to remove this foriegn smell. You can get this behavior by placing the essential oils on a rag or some other medium, but I think the added benefit of the crisco patty allows the bees to track the oil around throughout the hive. This furthers the grooming behavior of the bees.

I raise my own bees or am very selective in where my bought bees come from. But I also realize that 95% of beekeepers out there buy queens. And I don't believe all the marketing claims by all the sellers and producers, and neither should you! With everything that the bees need to overcome in todays world of beekeeping, I see no reason to NOT place a grease patty if you see the need, or think it will help. It is one of the simplest things to do, and helps in the one area that beekeepers are "blind" in seeing...that being t-mites. I doubt many have the means to test if a poll was conducted. Thats just reality.

Without sacificing all the bees possible, and I'm not sure who wants to do that, it has been shown that selection and breeding for resistant is possible. But I think instead of the approach MB takes in just having mass die off, that a more practical and proven process....say one like the Ontario group has ACHIEVED....may make a little more sense.

[spunky]

MRGTH :


Try this one

http://www.wvu.edu/~agexten/varroa/GresPates.pdf