mite number quiz

[justin]

see if you can follow this. using hopguard, which recommends treating once a week for 3 weeks, but we've since learned the strips dry out and are probably only effective for 3 days, would you kill more mites using 3 treatments once per week, or putting the second treatment on at day 4 and the 3rd at day 8? i am waiting until i pull honey either way. i treated twice in 2 weeks in the spring and saw big drops, but do have mites now. treating about 50 hives all in one location. thanks justin

[ken rice]

The reason it is spread out over 3 weeks is to get the mite that is in the capped cells that have not emerged.

[wildbranch2007]

what ken says, when the mites come out of the capped cells they hang around for 4-5 days b/4 going back into the cells, so you have to spread out the applications to get all the mites, especially the ones in the droan cells.

[HarryVanderpool]

The reason it is spread out over 3 weeks is to get the mite that is in the capped cells that have not emerged.

Why would that take 3 weeks?

[seyc]

Why would that take 3 weeks?

Okay, let's say you have a queen that only lays on Sundays, and drone brood require capping for 21 days. Let's say, you treat on Mondays for three weeks.

Week one - kill the mites in the just laid drones (Group A), does nothing to the capped drones that were laid a week ago (Group B), does nothing for the capped drones that were laid two weeks ago (Group C), and in a couple of days will kill the mites on the drones laid three weeks ago (Group D)

Week two - Group A is capped with no mites, Group B will be developing in their capped cells, Group C will be emerging and get their mites killed off

Week three - Group A is capped with no mites, and Group B will be emerging and getting their mites killed off

Week four (no treatment) - Group A will be emerging with no mites.

[justin]

so if the hopguard is not killing the emerging mites on day 5 and 6 and part of day 7 why wouldn't those mites (which have bred in the cells) not lay more eggs before the next treatment on day 7 or 8? do we know that they don't? if they did you would have a population of mites that would be surviving all the treatments. either way i guess you'd have that. i wish the stuff didn't dry out.

[Lburou]

The hopguard strips dry in a few days. The killing agent is spread in the hive by contact with the strips and then by contact from bee to bee, not fumes . Question: Does the fact that the strips dry out make the killing agent ineffective? Can the agent remain effective in dry form?

[HarryVanderpool]

Okay, let's say you have a queen that only lays on Sundays, and drone brood require capping for 21 days.

It does not matter when the queen lays.
The longest brood cycle of the mites occour in drone brood,
Drone brood is capped for 16 (not 21) days.
If a mite treatment works well, 16 days will have treated all of the mites to what ever degree of efficacy the treatment delivers.
If I was to treat with Hopguard in 3 consecutive applications it would be every 5 days.
OOOOPS!!! What did I say?
AHEM... "I would go by the label."

[ken rice]

That's a good solution if all else fails go by the directions on the package. Works for me

[seyc]

Drone brood is capped for 16 (not 21) days.

Oops, I read it wrong. I saw it as capped for 21 days, rather than from hatching to emerging.

[dnichols]

Any thoughts on using Hopguard with supers on? I understand it is "safe" to use in this manner...

[ky_mike]

You can use it with the supers on.