Apiver feedback please

[Lauri]

I see mann lake has Apivar on sale. I did a search, but there in not much posted already about it.Any comments would be appreciated.
I have used hopguard and like it, but having to get into the larger hives three times is difficult. A one time application is appealing, especially in the very large hives that tend to crash after the main flo./late summer I'd also like to become familier with other mite treatments so I can rotate types and aviod resistance

[wildbranch2007]

Its legal in Canada so if you want information on it thats probably the best place to go. here is one link

http://www.agriculture.gov.sk.ca/Def...2-d862eb2978fe

you can also search on amitraz, It has only been approve as far as I know in S. dakota and one of the southern states.

its a synthetic chemical not one of the "soft chemicals"

from randy olivers site
http://scientificbeekeeping.com/the-...mical-weapons/

he has a newer write up with some more info
http://scientificbeekeeping.com/miticides-2011/

[Lauri]

Thanks Mike. I saw after I posted, it is not approved in my state, but left the post to gather info anyway.

[jkola404]

Looks like it has been approved for 9 states. Also it looks a little pricey- 2 strips per brood box. $11.6/ per treatment for a double?

[JD's Bees]

I used Apivar fall 2011 and 2012. Mite samples in Oct. 2011 and spring 2012 showed 0 mites/sample.
This was quite a change from using Mite Away II pads fall of 2010. After treatment samples averaged 4.75 mites/sample and in March 2011 avg. was 24.75 mites/sample (one sample had 63 mites/ , that hive was dead by the next week.).
I agree with ease of use for single application and also for fall I don't need to worry about temperature extremes as I do when using formic acid.

[irwin harlton]

Apivar is amazing....greatest invention since sliced bread

[mgolden]

Is Apivar mainly a fall treatment and brood isn't as important. There will however be a slow build up of winter bees.

My understanding is that it kills brood for the 42 day treatment period, but am not positive. It seeemed to kill the brood in my hives.

42 days of spring brood loss will set the hive back considerably.

[JD's Bees]

mgolden,what did you observe regarding brood loss?
I haven't heard about problems with Apivar affecting brood. I did not notice any worker larvae or pupae at the entrances, although I didn't inspect the brood chambers during treatment.
Dr. Medhat Nasr recommended placing strips in hives at first inspection in march to get more bang for the buck.

[mgolden]

JD, I appreciate your patient response. Because I was on the combine, I didn't get to the bees until Oct 1. Was advised to put strips on for 21 days. When I removed them, open brood was dead.

So this may have been die off because of cold, clustering and bees no longer able to cover brood.

Appreciate your response because I will likely need to treat in March. Do you routinely treat early spring and fall? And no impact to brood.

[JD's Bees]

I treat every fall, late August, but in spring only if samples show a need.
If there was brood kill I would have expected to see some sign of it at the entrances or in front of the hives. I also did a quick google search after your first post but didn't find anything.
The strips are meant to be placed in the center of the cluster on brood so if there was a problem I would imagine some info would be available somewhere.
I will keep searching.

[mgolden]

Was totally out to lunch about concern of Apivar harming the open brood. Contacted University of Alberta Agriculture.

Apivar is a contact miticide. Bees walk over the strips and brush against the strips. Miticide gets mixed into their wax/oily body covering. But not of sufficient quantity to harm the bee.

All insects have a wax/oily covering to reduce loss of body moisture. This includes mites. The miticide gets transferrred to and mixed withe the wax/oily covering of the mite. The mites body mass is small compared to its outer wax covering and dose of miticide is sufficient to kill the mite.

Just as an aside, fly strips work the same way. Flies get stuck on the fly strip and insecticide makes its way to the wax covering of the fly.

[bison]

A local commercial beekeeper swears by amitraz, a treatment he delivers using Taktic and shop towels. I'm trying this on one of my hives that has a DWV problem, just treated yesterday.

[Keth Comollo]

A local commercial beekeeper swears by amitraz, a treatment he delivers using Taktic and shop towels. I'm trying this on one of my hives that has a DWV problem, just treated yesterday.

Where did you get the Taktic?

[Lauri]

http://www.pbsanimalhealth.com/detai...c/207-500.html

Dosage? Observations? comments?

[mgolden]

Pulled my Apivar package out of the fridge and Guarntee is 3.33% Amitraz. Noted that Taktic is 12.5% Amitraz. Suggest there may be some risk to the bees at this concentration, but is likely hard on the mites?????

[Lauri]

Dilute Amitraz with thyme or tea tree oil? Whoa. Now to figure the dosage and delivery system the bees won't eat. Any chemists care to throw up a warning?

Treatment free folks are shuddering about now

[mgolden]

Another challenge is to keep the mixture liquid so it controls mites over the full period, Apivar is a strip product that hangs between between the frames in the brood area for 42 days.

The oil dilutant makes some sense to me in that it will not evaporate, however I'm no chemist.

[sammyjay]

It worked good when I used it. It was nice and simple to use, not like formic acid.


Nathan

[swarm_trapper]

To you Canadian beekeepers how long has apivar been available to you? is there any resistance showing yet because of the long slow dosage?

[mgolden]

Sammyjay, how did you apply the Taktic? Also, where did you buy it at? Local vet supply or ???internet?
Did you dilute it at all?