I read this on John Seaborn's site, wolfcreekbees.com and this is what he recommended for Varroa. Has anyone tried any of the following, should I try them all or is there one that is the most effective? Also, I don't know what he means by "double SS" in the first bullet point.
• Put 5-8 drops of Thyme Oil in 16 ounces of mineral oil, shake it up and squirt it on a paper towel making a double SS. Then put it in the hive on top of the frames up till 3 weeks before the honey flow and anytime after the honey flow.
• Mix 1 Tablespoon of garlic powder with 1 cup of water in a blender on low speed for 2-3 minutes. Add the cup of blended mixture to a gallon of sugar water, mix by shaking, and feed it to the bees in early spring up till 3 weeks before the honey flow. Can be used again in the fall after the honey flow.
• Put 4 ounces of granulated sugar per deep hive box into a blender on low speed in order to make your own powdered sugar. The powdered sugar that you buy in the stores contains corn starch which the bees cannot digest. Place the 4 ounces of home made powdered sugar into a ziplock. Use one 4 oz. ziplock to a deep box and 3 ounces per medium box. The next time that you are in your bee yard, dump the sugar onto the top of the frames. Use a new paint brush ( must be a foam type ) to brush the powder off of the frames onto the bees early in the morning or late in the evening once every ten days for a total of four treatments starting in late August and continuing into September. It's best to have screen bottom boards for this. If using a solid bottom board, place cardboard in the bottom before dusting and then afterward remove it.
• Use 20-25 drops of Thyme oil in 16 ounces of mineral oil if you use a fogger for mite control. Walk by the landing board and put the fogger into each hive for 8 to 10 seconds and then move on to the next hive.
• A very effective treatment for Varroa mites on artificially sized 5.4 bees and the natural 4.9 bees is the Wintergreen Oil Study found at www.wvu.edu/~agexten/varroa/varroa2.asp
• Put 5-8 drops of Thyme Oil in 16 ounces of mineral oil, shake it up and squirt it on a paper towel making a double SS. Then put it in the hive on top of the frames up till 3 weeks before the honey flow and anytime after the honey flow.
• Mix 1 Tablespoon of garlic powder with 1 cup of water in a blender on low speed for 2-3 minutes. Add the cup of blended mixture to a gallon of sugar water, mix by shaking, and feed it to the bees in early spring up till 3 weeks before the honey flow. Can be used again in the fall after the honey flow.
• Put 4 ounces of granulated sugar per deep hive box into a blender on low speed in order to make your own powdered sugar. The powdered sugar that you buy in the stores contains corn starch which the bees cannot digest. Place the 4 ounces of home made powdered sugar into a ziplock. Use one 4 oz. ziplock to a deep box and 3 ounces per medium box. The next time that you are in your bee yard, dump the sugar onto the top of the frames. Use a new paint brush ( must be a foam type ) to brush the powder off of the frames onto the bees early in the morning or late in the evening once every ten days for a total of four treatments starting in late August and continuing into September. It's best to have screen bottom boards for this. If using a solid bottom board, place cardboard in the bottom before dusting and then afterward remove it.
• Use 20-25 drops of Thyme oil in 16 ounces of mineral oil if you use a fogger for mite control. Walk by the landing board and put the fogger into each hive for 8 to 10 seconds and then move on to the next hive.
• A very effective treatment for Varroa mites on artificially sized 5.4 bees and the natural 4.9 bees is the Wintergreen Oil Study found at www.wvu.edu/~agexten/varroa/varroa2.asp