[toady374]

hi there.
I've currently had bees almost a year and as I didn't want to treat, didn't do enough research. lesson learned I lost a hive.
I'm hitting a brick wall in California as all miticides seem to be illegal. Does anyone else have this problem and what is a good solution? nothing illegal of course.

 

[JoshuaW]

Hi! Welcome to BeeSource.

Have you read Randy Oliver's website? http://scientificbeekeeping.com

He's in California, too...
There are others on this forum in California that can give you better info about treating this time of year than I can..

Good luck!

 

[psm1212]

Single best, most concise, universal guide to varroa management: https://honeybeehealthcoalition.org...de_Varroa_Interactive_7thEdition_June2018.pdf

From there, I would seek advice of what other CA beekeepers in your area are doing. What I do in the Southeast may not work for you.

All miticides are not illegal in California. You have options. Hopefully some CA beeks will chime in and tell you which of those options are best for your area.

Good luck.

 

[toady374]

Thank you. I will definitely look at his site.
I'm not looking to use oxalic acid myself personally. but I have found that Api Life Var, HopGuard® II and Apiguard are also unattainable. you cant have them shipped to ca.
hopgard 2 is now available but only with a pesticide license.

 

[gcolbert]

Apivar followed later in the year by Formic Pro.

 

[Tennessee's Bees LLC]

Oxalic can be used in California right? If so that works well but keep in mind with every treatment that you may have to treat multiple times a year in a long season. If you have a dearth period a little bit of pollen patties can really help a first year colony

 

[Rader Sidetrack]

I'm hitting a brick wall in California as all miticides seem to be illegal.

MAQS is legal in in California, at least according to Mann Lake. Here is their product page:
https://www.mannlakeltd.com/mite-away-quick-stripstm

 

[Charlie B]

I'm hitting a brick wall in California as all miticides seem to be illegal. Does anyone else have this problem and what is a good solution? nothing illegal of course.

You can only buy miticides in small amounts in California. To buy more volume, you have to have a pesticide certification.

 

[Jadeguppy]

The loss of one hive isn't a big thing imho. The problem is if you don't have enough hives to handle winter losses. I know many people in my area that choose to treat and they still have losses. Treatment is not a magic bullet. I choose not to treat and have had losses, learned, and only had one loss this winter from a bad queen. I did a lot of splitting, which hedged my bets on losses. I am in the group that thinks what is best for bees and beekeeping in the long run is to let mother nature help bees develop resistance. To do that you want to be selective in your queens. Breeding practices are part of animal husbandry. But resistant queens, get queens from long lived ferral hives, let highly susceptible hives die. It has not been an easy road for me and I have been tempted to fully give up. I even tried OA once. So far, I'm still willing to risk it for the greater good.

Do you know what caused the loss of your hive?

 

[JRG13]

Shipping seems to be an issue in CA, but you can go to Mann Lake and buy whatever you want. Apivar, Thymol, Maqs....