[YBCute]

With all the packages of bees being sent this year or shipped has anyone ever tried using the acid while they are still in the shipping boxes rather than sending bees that are already with Varroa? With all the resistant strains now showing up wouldn't it be better to just wipe them out at the sorce or before they are put into the hives??

 

[Curry]

Any varroa-free hive will get varroa mites within a couple of months... can't help it. Mites get transferred by a bunch of different methods (robbing, feeding on soda cans, etc.)

 

[Michael Bush]

You can dust with powdered suger very easily while they are still in the package. That will get rid of a bunch of them. But in the end there will always be more.

 

[dcross]

I treated all my packages(3) with OA last year before they had any capped brood, about 5 days after installing them. I'm not sure how much good it did, but they all made some honey and got split in summer. All had low mite counts in late summer, so I only had to treat the one time.

 

[Antero]

I just saw about 10 varroa mites on the bees in my observation hive. What is the safest way to get rid of them, especially since they are in my house!

Terry

 

[Axtmann]

Antero

you can kill the Varroa really easy in your observation hive.
Make a 3,5 % OS – 50% sugar solution and trickle 3,5 ml per comb over the bees.

How to make it? 1 liter warm water = 1000 ml and stir first 35 grams OA in till the acid is totally gone, than stir 500gr icy sugar in the mixture.
If this is too much go by 10% --- 100 ml water…….3.5 grams OA…….50grams sugar.

I wouldn’t recommend this for your colonies because the liquid acid is hard on bees but for your observation hive and inside the house this would be ok.

I hope you can work with liter and ml because I have no idea what it is in gallon and ounces.

 

[Antero]

Axtmann-Thank you I will try this method.
Canada has been using the metric system for a few years.

Terry