At the end of July, I treated both of my hives with Formic Pro. Since I only had 2 patties available then, I took the 1 patty for 10 days applied twice route.
Treatment finished this past Thursday. When I opened the hive to remove the patty, an alcohol wash revealed there were more mites at the end of treatment than at the beginning.
Since this is a very critical time for getting mite as low as possible, what action should I take?
Thanks!
Ben
Treatment finished this past Thursday. When I opened the hive to remove the patty, an alcohol wash revealed there were more mites at the end of treatment than at the beginning.
Since this is a very critical time for getting mite as low as possible, what action should I take?
- Should immediately treat using a different product?
- Should I isolate the queen to break the brood cycle -- and while broodless -- treat with a product like oxalic acid to remove the phoretic mites? Or would I risk going into winter with too few bees? (The hive occupies 18 deep frames total. The brood nest occupies about 8 frames.)
- Should I perform a split?
- Or, is it too late to accomplish anything?
Thanks!
Ben