I did an alcohol wash and I need to treat now for mites. I still have supers on a few of my hives so I decided to try out Mite away quick strips. I have been waiting on the weather to get cool enough *85 degrees to treat but this is the south and it isn't going to happen. The next few days the high is going to be 85 86 and 87 with periods of rain. Are these conditions good enough to use the strips or am I going to burn up the brood?
Mite away question
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My conditions are even hotter right now. High in 90s for a few weeks. I had to go to Apiguard for that reason. Had 8 mites in a alcohol wash so it was time. Formic is pretty tough on the hives. You might want to consider getting some Apiguard. I use formic at the end of August/beginning of September.
Early in the season I used MAQS for the first time. I had to wait for a temperature window and started the treatment on June 6. The first day was a high of 73 and forecast temps for the end of the treatment period were going to be mid to high 80's. I used the 2-strip treatment and offset the top box about 1/2 inch for ventilation.
I removed the strips 6/13 and found the following...
Zero eggs or exposed brood. A very small amount of capped brood was remaining.
Where there had been capped brood was now nectar and pollen bound. (I moved some frames around to adjust)
Bees were extremely aggressive and at the time did not know if this was due to the formic acid treatment or if the treatment had created a queenless situation.
A week after the strips were removed I did another inspection and, to my relief, there were eggs and larvae visible so I knew the queen was there. The colony was thriving.
After my experience and now knowing how hard the formic acid is on the colony, I personally wouldn't push the temperature limit especially during those first few days. I think it is too risky. I will use the MAQS again but only when the temps are below the 85 degree threshold. I am currently using Oxalic Acid vapor with a wand.
IF you go forward with the MAQS treatment just realize it is harsh and you will set the colony back a bit and possibly lose your queen. I have not tried the alternative one-strip method so cannot discuss how that affects the colony but if you are going to use the strips now you may want to consider that method.
I removed the strips 6/13 and found the following...
Zero eggs or exposed brood. A very small amount of capped brood was remaining.
Where there had been capped brood was now nectar and pollen bound. (I moved some frames around to adjust)
Bees were extremely aggressive and at the time did not know if this was due to the formic acid treatment or if the treatment had created a queenless situation.
A week after the strips were removed I did another inspection and, to my relief, there were eggs and larvae visible so I knew the queen was there. The colony was thriving.
After my experience and now knowing how hard the formic acid is on the colony, I personally wouldn't push the temperature limit especially during those first few days. I think it is too risky. I will use the MAQS again but only when the temps are below the 85 degree threshold. I am currently using Oxalic Acid vapor with a wand.
IF you go forward with the MAQS treatment just realize it is harsh and you will set the colony back a bit and possibly lose your queen. I have not tried the alternative one-strip method so cannot discuss how that affects the colony but if you are going to use the strips now you may want to consider that method.
I use formic and agree with Kelly that it can be hard on the colony and that is mitigated by applying at temps as low as you can get for the first 3 days, and never exceeding 85f. I shoot for low 80s and am going to apply on a late afternoon to take advantage of lower night time temps for the initial 18 hrs or so. I do believe applying it frozen moderates the initial "shock". J
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they do have the single pad method, that's what most of us use up here, no queen loses, most all treatments affect some brood
Same temp restrictions. Instead of 7 days there is a 21 day treatment period. Below is cut and paste from instructions.
Option 2: 21-day treatment
On Day+0: Lay one strip across the frames in the center of the
brood chamber. Follow the Application Options pictogram.
Add a honey super with frames at time of application if necessary to provide adequate space for strong colonies to expand,
or if a honey flow is expected. It is acceptable to have queen
excluders in place.
On Day+14: Apply a second single strip as described above.
The application of the second strip may be delayed if weather
conditions at day +14 do not allow for treatment. The second
strip must be applied as soon as weather conditions permit to
complete treatment.
Post Application: Do not disturb the colony during the treatment period (exception: removing and replacing strip at day
This is how I treat with it to cause less stress but still don't do it higher than the recommended 85 degrees.
If the hive has 2 deeps, I place the strip in between the brood chambers. If it has 1, I place it on top of that deep. I would only add an additional super on top if the hive has a lot of bees. Haven't lost any queens to this yet. Also, I've moved to Formic Pro due to its longer shelf life.
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Kellyw gives you what the label says, we do one pad, 10 days later do the second pad, we have done it in the very low 90's this year, not seen any negative affects. Since we do it the day we pull honey supers, we do add supers back on. Not real sure if doing the single pad method will kill the mites under the caps further away from the pad, but we are only using it to knock down the mites and treat again after the final pull of honey. I've never figured out why they go the 14 day's between treatments. with the number of days from egg layed until capped subtracted from the total to hatch, you get better coverage with the 10 days considering the first 3 days have the most formic. And most of my hives are 3 deeps, but I do treat in the spring so my mite counts are never usually to high in July any way.
I would not advise using formic pro or mqs at temps 85 or above, wait for a cooler rainy period. You need cooler temps for the first 3 days. Apply the frozen strips late in the day or early evening for more gradual release of the fumigant. Use an empty box above your top super for a little extra ventilation. Don't forget to do a mite check at the end of your treatment to see how it worked. If you still have mites be prepared for another treatment (Apivar ideally) in Sept or Oct after the honey supers are off. Treatment at this time of the year should knock back mites to give the bees a good chance to build winter bees, but you want to get to 0 mites by late fall.
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interesting have gotten into some discussions about this, when does everybody test after the formic?
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Formic acid goes DOWN in the hive. Place the strips as high as you can, so it will get ALL the mites.
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Mite Away is notorious for killing the queen. Some beekeepers us 1/4 of a strip with good luck.
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I remove the queen (and 8 attendants each) for 2 days when using F.A., placing them in a queen bank hive. They get checked thoroughly before going home, and they get put back into their own home, guaranteed.
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Temperature is critical for MAQS safety. The lower the temp, the safer for queen and colony. By the time it's cool enough for MAQS you very well could pull your last 2 honey supers, at which point OAV is a fine candidate.
If you still have mite away you should check expiration date. It was discontinued some time ago. Haven't had it available near me for two years.
Formic pads should be placed between brood boxes as instructed. If it worked as well on the top one ,I am sure the company would say so as it would be easier for the consumer. Pads should never be cut and I can't imagine a quarter pad doing much. I wouldn't consider that to be a treatment at all. J
Formic pads should be placed between brood boxes as instructed. If it worked as well on the top one ,I am sure the company would say so as it would be easier for the consumer. Pads should never be cut and I can't imagine a quarter pad doing much. I wouldn't consider that to be a treatment at all. J
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Perhaps there is a difference between MAQS and the home made formic treatment we use. We have seen live mites above the treatment in a hive that had formic acid towels placed in the middle between two brood boxes. None below.
We took that as a sign that the treatment goes as high as possible in the hive. By mid-August, the only time of year we use F.A. as a severe I.P.M. treatment, we have already taken the honey supers off, except for the one box for the bee's Winter supply. It stays and gets treated along with the brood. The queen and some attendants get put into a queen bank colony for 2 or 3 days while the treatment is in and a day or two after, and then they go back to their respective hives.
This coming week has a prediction for our area of 98 degrees tomorrow (Thursday, 13 August, 2020), 103, 96, 105, 107, 109, 107, 105, 100, and 96 degrees peak temp's on the following days, so formic is out of the question here, unless I can move the bees some place cooler.
We took that as a sign that the treatment goes as high as possible in the hive. By mid-August, the only time of year we use F.A. as a severe I.P.M. treatment, we have already taken the honey supers off, except for the one box for the bee's Winter supply. It stays and gets treated along with the brood. The queen and some attendants get put into a queen bank colony for 2 or 3 days while the treatment is in and a day or two after, and then they go back to their respective hives.
This coming week has a prediction for our area of 98 degrees tomorrow (Thursday, 13 August, 2020), 103, 96, 105, 107, 109, 107, 105, 100, and 96 degrees peak temp's on the following days, so formic is out of the question here, unless I can move the bees some place cooler.
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