saw these mite away quick strips in the most recent brushy mt. catalog.i realize it has just been labeled but i was wondering if anyone has had any experience with this product? the folks at brushy mt. say it is also effective against tracheal mites.
Mite away quick strips?
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We know folks who have used it in Hawaii, during the trials. We talked to them first-hand and they liked it. I don't have access to any hard data or more specifics.
Mite-Away II has been the best treatment for (both) mites around, IMO. MAQS is just a more convenient way to apply, without the need for spacers.
We will carry it when more 18 approvals exist.
Mite-Away II has been the best treatment for (both) mites around, IMO. MAQS is just a more convenient way to apply, without the need for spacers.
We will carry it when more 18 approvals exist.
Another big advantage I see with the quick strip is it can be used during a honey flow, no more taking the hive out of production while treating. They have posted some of the results on their website and I believe it can be found elswhere on this forum.
Perry
Perry
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They're not available yet on the "mainland". Got this email from the NODS recently...
Thank you for inquiring about the status of Mite-Away Quick Strips™ (MAQS) availability in 2010.
Currently, a Section 18 pesticide registration application is being processed in California. California is acting as the lead state in the US registration process. Upon approval of this lead Section 18 application, other states may submit their own Section 18 applications. The Section 18 approval process takes 50 days. It is anticipated that those States submitting a Section 18 application quickly will receive approval in time for spring treatment, late April to early May.
In Canada, we are hoping to have distribution in place in time for spring treatment, through our usual distribution network. Please visit www.miteaway.com and click on the distributor link under Mite-Away II tab.
Mite-Away Quick Strips™ Treatment for Varroa Mites
Active ingredient is formic acid
Treatment period is only 7 days
2 strips are placed between the brood chambers
No extra equipment is required
Can be used between 50 and 92 degrees F.
Can be used mid summer, with honey supers on the hive
Mites are killed both on the bees and under the cap with 95% efficacy
Bees dispose of the pads
Commercial beekeepers planning to use MAQS in California may place pre-orders from Mann Lake or Dadant.
I will be in touch as more information on pricing and packaging becomes available. Please note that you are on a MAQS mailing list, so I can keep you up to date on the progress of Mite-Away Quick Strips!
Yours in beekeeping,
Liz Corbett
Business Manager
NOD Apiary Products
Toll free: 866-483-2929
Thank you for inquiring about the status of Mite-Away Quick Strips™ (MAQS) availability in 2010.
Currently, a Section 18 pesticide registration application is being processed in California. California is acting as the lead state in the US registration process. Upon approval of this lead Section 18 application, other states may submit their own Section 18 applications. The Section 18 approval process takes 50 days. It is anticipated that those States submitting a Section 18 application quickly will receive approval in time for spring treatment, late April to early May.
In Canada, we are hoping to have distribution in place in time for spring treatment, through our usual distribution network. Please visit www.miteaway.com and click on the distributor link under Mite-Away II tab.
Mite-Away Quick Strips™ Treatment for Varroa Mites
Active ingredient is formic acid
Treatment period is only 7 days
2 strips are placed between the brood chambers
No extra equipment is required
Can be used between 50 and 92 degrees F.
Can be used mid summer, with honey supers on the hive
Mites are killed both on the bees and under the cap with 95% efficacy
Bees dispose of the pads
Commercial beekeepers planning to use MAQS in California may place pre-orders from Mann Lake or Dadant.
I will be in touch as more information on pricing and packaging becomes available. Please note that you are on a MAQS mailing list, so I can keep you up to date on the progress of Mite-Away Quick Strips!
Yours in beekeeping,
Liz Corbett
Business Manager
NOD Apiary Products
Toll free: 866-483-2929
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looking at the price of the quick strips compared to the mite-awayII, the quick strips are $2.80 for a pack compared to $4.00 for a pad, assuming one pack treats one hive like one pad does, and they should weigh alot less for shipping.
Both products use formic acid as the main ingredient to kill mites on the bees and in the hive. MA strips do the job in a much shorter time- why?- are they a higher concentration of formic acid? Do the strips then kill more brood than the pads? And most importantly, why are the strips supposedly safe with honey production at the same time, while the pads are not?? I wish these very odd things were explained. Guess I'm the skeptical type.
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Omie,
I share the same skepticism. I dont want to dis credit their claims, but actually, I haven't seen much of any study on their claims.
With all the credits listed for the product, I wish they would provide better explanation on the product and actually how it works.
Like you suggest, a flash treatment is not what we what,
but even so, a flash treatment cant be credited with these claims,
>>Can be used between 50 and 92 degrees F.
Can be used mid summer, with honey supers on the hive
Mites are killed both on the bees and under the cap with 95% efficacy
They state the use of different formulation,
so many questions,
But if they are honest with their claims, I sure am interested.
Seems to be too good to be true
I share the same skepticism. I dont want to dis credit their claims, but actually, I haven't seen much of any study on their claims.
With all the credits listed for the product, I wish they would provide better explanation on the product and actually how it works.
Like you suggest, a flash treatment is not what we what,
but even so, a flash treatment cant be credited with these claims,
>>Can be used between 50 and 92 degrees F.
Can be used mid summer, with honey supers on the hive
Mites are killed both on the bees and under the cap with 95% efficacy
They state the use of different formulation,
so many questions,
But if they are honest with their claims, I sure am interested.
Seems to be too good to be true
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706 Posts
This is were Goverment needs to step a side and let people get moving. If its proven in Hawaii then let it go in the the rest of the 49 states. But if we have to wait on California a state that is flat broke and about to lose its bond rating in the next 90 days. I can't see how it will ever move thru a section 18 any time soon.
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578 Posts
Speaking of governments and getting them out of the way, here in Canada, beekeepers are currently able to buy formic and prepare their treatments in whatever approved way that seems appropriate for the hive/nuc, the season and expected temperatures.
This freedom is opposed and I am told it is constantly under attack by a commercial interest which would love to corner the market and change the regulations to where only specific manufactured products were permitted.
Canadian beekeepers are aware of this and have so far we have managed to defend our freedom, but constant vigilence is necessary.
Formic is an extremely cheap product and easy to purchase. Preparation of applications is not difficult either. manufacturing and regulation vastly increase the costs and reduce the flexibility of treatments.
This freedom is opposed and I am told it is constantly under attack by a commercial interest which would love to corner the market and change the regulations to where only specific manufactured products were permitted.
Canadian beekeepers are aware of this and have so far we have managed to defend our freedom, but constant vigilence is necessary.
Formic is an extremely cheap product and easy to purchase. Preparation of applications is not difficult either. manufacturing and regulation vastly increase the costs and reduce the flexibility of treatments.
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ya a agree Allen,
but also consider adulteration and tolerances due to unregulated treatments,
There is a place for government regulation, which benifets producers by establishing and maintaining trade relations,
"my neighbour uses it, he has been beekeeping for quite a while, now Im using it, seems to work fine. As for my honey? I didnt realize it left that residue!!"
but also consider adulteration and tolerances due to unregulated treatments,
There is a place for government regulation, which benifets producers by establishing and maintaining trade relations,
"my neighbour uses it, he has been beekeeping for quite a while, now Im using it, seems to work fine. As for my honey? I didnt realize it left that residue!!"
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I'm talking about formic acid. It is a relatibvely benign substance from a food point of view, and a natural constituent of honey.
As for most other substances, including some feeds and some popualr oils, I agreee.
As for most other substances, including some feeds and some popualr oils, I agreee.
Omie you’re right, there are an amount of formic necessary to kill mites. The fumes must have a certain concentration in the hive to be deadly to mites. Where ever they are coming from, from 60% formic or 85% formic. If somebody tells me the old formic did not penetrate wax and could not kill mites in closed cells but the new formic in pads is different and will penetrate and kill…….. what should I believe? Is it this a joke or a good advertising?
You can call it pad; strip or whatever, formic is the product who kills mites.
Check the internet, formic acid is a cheap product and you can make a lot of money with it. If beekeepers think with a quick pad they solve the mite problem for the whole year ……… I don’t believe it. Our bee institutes working with all kind of formic application forms for more than 30 years and we still have lots of mites every year.
What I believe, in the first place the pads will fill the pocked of the producer, and beekeepers have the same cheap active ingredient in a different packing.
You can call it pad; strip or whatever, formic is the product who kills mites.
Check the internet, formic acid is a cheap product and you can make a lot of money with it. If beekeepers think with a quick pad they solve the mite problem for the whole year ……… I don’t believe it. Our bee institutes working with all kind of formic application forms for more than 30 years and we still have lots of mites every year.
What I believe, in the first place the pads will fill the pocked of the producer, and beekeepers have the same cheap active ingredient in a different packing.
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Its all about $$$$ and bayer and others care about one thing....$$$$. THeir profits are huge, I realize it takes money to research and develop products, but if I made their margins I would retire in 5 years! Big money has put this country (and others) a mess. A friend just returned from a trip around the world...gas in some countries just pennies a gallon!
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Actually, I don't care how much money Bayer makes. If it bothers me too much, I'll either buy their stock or go work for them. (Actually, I did work for them as a pollinator and they treated us really well, BTW).
I also do not begrudge the various companies which produce strips for hive treatments, provided they do not, by getting approved, eliminate access to the base chemical if it is very cheap, then charge excessively high prices for their product.
In the case of dangerous pesticides like fluvalinate and coumaphos, strong arguments can be made for having the chemicals impregnated into plastics with known and tested release rates, however it seems that commercial beekeepers have learned how to acquire and apply these chemicals successfully and much more cheaply -- and many do. The fines, should anyone decide to notice and charge them are just a cost of doing business and may well be cheaper than using the approved commercial product for a year.
The problem is that by adopting off-label application rather than using the approved product, they become outlaws and fall outside the system. They are then unable to level with regulators and even one another at times.
The inspectors and others who should be regulating, find themselves in difficult position and the easiest thing is to look the other way unless forced to confront a specific case. Not only are many inspectors beekeepers themselves, but for the career government employee, good jobs are hard to find, and their job, often performed at isolated locations in the country is much more secure, easier, safer and more pleasant if everyone is friends.
So, what I am saying very simply is that if a company a.) manages to get a monopoly on the legal use of an important and reasonably safe chemical, and b.) abuses that position to squeeze out excess profits, then we have reason to complain.
I also do not begrudge the various companies which produce strips for hive treatments, provided they do not, by getting approved, eliminate access to the base chemical if it is very cheap, then charge excessively high prices for their product.
In the case of dangerous pesticides like fluvalinate and coumaphos, strong arguments can be made for having the chemicals impregnated into plastics with known and tested release rates, however it seems that commercial beekeepers have learned how to acquire and apply these chemicals successfully and much more cheaply -- and many do. The fines, should anyone decide to notice and charge them are just a cost of doing business and may well be cheaper than using the approved commercial product for a year.
The problem is that by adopting off-label application rather than using the approved product, they become outlaws and fall outside the system. They are then unable to level with regulators and even one another at times.
The inspectors and others who should be regulating, find themselves in difficult position and the easiest thing is to look the other way unless forced to confront a specific case. Not only are many inspectors beekeepers themselves, but for the career government employee, good jobs are hard to find, and their job, often performed at isolated locations in the country is much more secure, easier, safer and more pleasant if everyone is friends.
So, what I am saying very simply is that if a company a.) manages to get a monopoly on the legal use of an important and reasonably safe chemical, and b.) abuses that position to squeeze out excess profits, then we have reason to complain.
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