[BonafideVermont]

Search Randy Oliver's Scientific Beekeeping site about using formic pro.

He's in California and simply covers the top of formic pad with the foil packet it came in. This limits off gassing to one side of pad. It evens out and extends the off gassing. Virtually eliminates that massive discharge on hot days when first installed and results in no queen loss.

 

[BonafideVermont]

Can we all agree that formic pro is not a great product? It is under the required dose to kill mites under cap. The advantage of formic acid is it CAN kill over 90% of mites under cappings but Formic Pro does not.

So, if you are going to use this product for an entire cycle of bees under cap then you do not want that large off gassing when first introduced to the hive. If you do want that then I suggest going off label and using formic acid in a flash treatment. If you are wanting to kill the mites as they emerge from cap then you want the product to be stable for the duration to do so. Full pad exposure is heavy off gassing for first few days then less and less gassing over the 12 day period of mites under cap opposed to a steady release that kills the mites the full duration. You should read Randy's study of this "off label" application with foil on one side and make your own determination.