A splash of apple cider vinegar will work better than essential oils, of which you are adding WAY too much.
A few drops of essential oil in a pint of syrup plus emulsifier works for a stock solution, of which one then uses a teaspoon per gallon of 2:1 syrup.
A drop per gallon of pure oil may turn them off the syrup all together! Vinegar is easier, and believe me, they suck it down. My weak hive is taking almost a gallon a day at the moment of 1:1 with some vinegar added.
Peter, what is the apple cider vinegar for, a feed attractant? Or is it intended also to be medicinal?
They are sucking down the syrup like billy-ho, but I will stop putting in the essential oils, which were more of a IPM miticide. I will do a couple of sugar shakes before winter sets in instead.
It occurred to me that while the commercial beekeepers have to stay in business and so may need to use treatments to keep the bees and crops going, I am not a commercial beekeeper and I should treat the bees, natural remedies or not, as little as possible to try to contribute to the work of breeding up pest and disease resistant bees who can go feral and survive.
I will save the essential oils for queen acceptance in tough situations!
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