Does Oxalic Acid Vapor Kill Varroa Mites??

[@wmdjohnson]

Yes it does. Just canr proteide through capped brood. So fall and followup winter treatments are best.

[@MikeBarryBees]

Yes, answered all those questions in the video for sure. Been using it for most all my beekeeping journey. Thanks for watching!

[@yukselgunes4763]

Thanks for shating the result of your practice. Can you share also the formula applied? Those type of information are very usefull for the new started beekepers. Thanks a lot.

[@MikeBarryBees]

It’s simply oxalis crystals vaporized. 4 grams per hive. Thanks for watching!

[@DuckRiverHoney]

OA is a great tool, like most tools some can get more out of it than others.

[@windyacrebees]

Hi Mike. I had similar issues here this year we are a couple of my colonies went from two or three mites to 21 to 24 mites in 2 weeks. Because of the heat many treatments were out of the question. But OA is great for an emergency knockdown but not a long-term treatment. OA only works for the first 36 to 48 hours. Though the FDA recommended dose is 2 g that dose does absolutely nothing. This is why people say that OA doesn't do anything. Most most experienced vapor treatment beekeepers know that you need three grams per brood box. When we hit them with six grams obviously no supers on the might drop was incredible as opposed to only 2 g for both boxes. Glad you have some success but again it is only a very short-term treatment and as you know this time of year in 2 weeks we can be back in the same position. Once this heat leaves this weekend mite away quick strips is our go-to in eliminating our mites before winter

[@MikeBarryBees]

Totally understand and have been using OAV for about 8 years now with great results. I do use a higher dose and with the knock down done, the mites will begin to multiply again, and that we know. But this knockdown will carry through as far as the next dose in the winter. I give it more than 2 weeks for them to multiply that much, but yes, agreed, they will multiply once again. I was thinking of using my thymol in the fall, but I don't want to hinder the queen and slow her down as it will slow her laying if not shut it down completely during treatment. So I am leaning more toward my normal 2 OAV treatments this winter and then going in with thymol in March. We shall see. Appreciate the comment and the knowledge sharing. So good when we share these nuggets and we all get to read and learn from each other. Thanks for watching!!

[@mikesbeesllc]

Nice knock down on the mites Mike. I have never had that high of a mite load thank God. I have only used OAV on my bees the past three years. There are all kinds of oxalic acids out there. Beekeepers should think , How old is it? What kind of impurities are in it? Where has it been? Can you get a Certificate of Analysis on it if you ask? Most oxalic acids are sold as wood cleaner or rust removers, the questions above really don't matter. If you are using it on your bees it does. Be cautious when selecting your OA.

[@MikeBarryBees]

I got some 99% pure as well as well as these funny tablets some guy sent me😁😉

[@thehiveandthehoneybee9547]

hey mr mike i watch a guy David Burns sometimes and he did talk about this and said it diesnt work and people over inflate their success with oav hes a master beekeeper and teaches schools about beekeeping. you can pay for his class and learn more about why it isnt good as mite controller b cool dude!

[@georgetaylor9154]

Lmao, good luck following that goober david burns advice. OA is very effective , its a physical attack on the mites and wont build up resistances in any way. Its by far the best treatment option for a broodless colonie and does not hurt the bees in anyway shape or form. But keep it going with your logic if thats what helps you feel good about your bees.

[@mikesbeesllc]

In David Burns defense, he goes by the legal dose of 1 gram per deep. That doesn't work as he says. Use 3 and it will.

[@thehiveandthehoneybee9547]

hd did a sit down live with a dr at a convention and laughed at people thinking it works. i think he has more credentla than most. @@georgetaylor9154

[@MikeBarryBees]

I know David and was watching him 12 years ago with his first ever videos. I like David, but as shake and bake said, he’s going off a 1 gram dose. Read up some on the lasted research from Randy Oliver and Jennifer Berry and you’ll see different results. And just look at this knock down. This wasn’t over-inflated in the least bit and This hive went from almost 10% infestation to 2%. I respect David Burns, but a title doesn’t mean a lot to me. In my 11 years of experience, 8 years of that has been using OAV and I’ve found it effective enough for my little yard. But I hear ya and David is a reputable fella to an extent, and he might very well be using different methods of administration and intervals, as well as the doses. Thanks for the comment.

[@thehiveandthehoneybee9547]

thanks for response it makes it hard to figure out whats the truth on here he has over 20 years but u might be right on that dose i just rember him laghing at people sayin it works when id doesnt you make sense though so thanks @@MikeBarryBees

[@andrewk1191]

How many grams per double deep are you treating?

[@MikeBarryBees]

4 grams .

[@michaelhall7921]

I'm smiling cuz my bees have got no mites to kill them. I am a dangler & don't just drop a strip onto the frames. I use both yellow dish cloths and longer lastin capillary mat. The bees don't chew the Capillary mat so much but I can't for the life of me tell which ones last longer (bees that is) if they chew a yellow cloth (celulose) or if they croak it sooner when they've chewed on the capillary mat part celulose part inorganic fibre...... One things for sure it killed all the mites over two years and the bees are happy and thriving Jan 20th

[@Red_Scarf_Apiary]

Grateful for your videos. Checked my hives yesterday. Apivar treatment already seems pretty effective with about 3-wks remaining. Eleven of the 12 hives are pretty strong with good stores. One hive is okay but I think it is a queen issue. Remarkably, and thankfully, SHB hasn’t been an issue this year though I remain watchful. God Bless - Proverbs 16:3

[@MikeBarryBees]

Same here with SHB. Haven’t seen them as bad as normal. Think for us it’s the drought. That apivar is good stuff and it’ll have your mite loads down very well, even to nothing in most.

[@donbearden1953]

Mike, I’m playing catchup on videos. OA definitely helps. I’m glad it’s working for you. I hope you have a great Labor Day!

[@MikeBarryBees]

Thanks, Don!! Hope you had a great Labor Day!

[@AnArkansasTrapper]

Thanks for sharing your results. I have used OA the last few years but haven't checked results. It good to see actual results.

[@MikeBarryBees]

It’s gratifying to see the results. I’ve seen results through survival rates, but good to see more precise results.

[@redfish440]

I thought at first I had caught Mike Barry live , I hope to meet you at the expo Mike, love your videos, God Bless you and yours.

[@MikeBarryBees]

Nope, not this time. Lord willing, I’ll be there. Looking forward to meeting you as well. Long time supporter. But you’ll have to introduce yourself as the redfish and or I won’t know😁😁

[@KodiakFarmBeesLee]

Nice video Mike. I hit my bees with OAV every 5 days for 25 days. 5 treatments. Seems to work pretty good for me.

[@MikeBarryBees]

You got them good then Lee. It works well as far as my experience.

[@andrewk1191]

Be careful of doing too many treatments of OAV. You may develop chalk brood. I would wait until you have no brood to do OAV once or twice. But not more. In the mean time knock down with something else. Talking from experience here. Best of luck.

[@MikeBarryBees]

Well, no such thing as no brood here in SE Louisana Andrew. We have brood year round and if there is ever a time, it would be late December to r if we have a very cold winter which is only now and again. I do it every four days and that does a great job at this point. I’ve never seen it cause chalk brood with the four and five day intervals, but that’s about as close together as I do them. When I first started using PAV eight years ago, I did 7 days, but I get better results at 4 and 5. That’s interesting about the chalkbrood. I haven’t seen that happen before with the beekeepers around here. Did it happen to a bunch or just one. Could’ve already been happening before the treatment.

[@andrewk1191]

1 hive out of 20. I’m not sure what else could cause it. A friend from Moldova also mentioned chalkbrood from too much OA sublimation. Not sure if it is the dose or frequency.

[@jamestownsendjrtbees3226]

Hi Mike, glad the oav is working for you. Works great for me too. Hopefully you guys get some rain soon so fall nectar will flo. Goldenrod going strong up here. Tilted a few coloies yesterday and they are getting heavy. Good luck this fall.

[@MikeBarryBees]

We finally got some rain. About 5 inches in a couple days. We need more, but grateful for what we got. Hoping we see some fall nectar, but I’ll still plan to open feed a little. Probably 1:1 with hive alive to boost them since they’re already heavy.

[@lindaellin559]

Thanks Mike - I need to be learning all of this. Here in Australia we don’t know too much about varroa but unfortunately it looks like it will be spreading all over soon so we will need to know what to do. Thanks for sharing

[@MikeBarryBees]

Well, we all hated seeing them make it to you guys. Randy Oliver’s page at scientificbeekeeping.com has some great research on all kinds of control methods and treatments. Just monitoring for now seems like what I would do. Random mite washes. Hope you steer clear of them for many days to come and thanks so much for watching and for your support!!

[@lindaellin559]

@@MikeBarryBees thanks Mike I’ll check that out!

[@Vladviking]

Yes, you encouraged me to go out and do my treatments. All this heat and no rain has caused me to wait, less bees staying in the hive at night since I treat after dark. Just got most of a half inch rain today finally too.

[@MikeBarryBees]

Good deal. Glad I could encourage you to go kill some mites. Hope you get them knocked back

[@jamescarter7752]

Glad to see you got a good knock down on the mites. It's dry here too, no rain in 7 weeks, and not much chance for this next week.

[@MikeBarryBees]

Wow!! That’s brutal. We finally got a good couple of rains here, but we could still use more.

[@johniac7078]

I found out that 4 doses of 4 grams OA every 5 days really gets the mites down. Good vid. Thanks.

[@MikeBarryBees]

Indeed! I agree. That’s exactly what I did. Thanks for commenting and watching!!

[@windyridgeapiaries]

Woohoo!!! As a Klingon would say... Qapla'! (Success!) Glad to hear that OAV is working for you. I have Apiguard on right now, in a couple weeks I'll be starting OAV. Thanks Mike!

[@MikeBarryBees]

I am not sure when I will use the thymol myself. Leaning toward spring.

[@claudesully]

Mike after an apivar disaster, I am now exclusively OAV... I am in South Dakota , I get a long broodless period, so I do monthly treatments in the winter. We usually get at least one day, in each month, warm enough for cleansing flight and I hit them with the OAV. It seems to work, so until it doesn't, this is plan A.

[@woodlandharvesthoneycompanyllc]

No more Apivar for my bees after last winter!

[@MikeBarryBees]

Yep, I agree with what you said….until it doesn’t, I’m in. I wish we had broodless periods and really this and December is when we have the least brood, but rarely ever broodless. You’ll kill a ton for sure having those broodless periods.

[@RickeyMcDaniel]

Thanks, Mike for the the videos. Always enjoy them. You are a good bee man.

[@MikeBarryBees]

I appreciate that! Thanks so much!!

[@Chard-Bees]

Thanks for the video update on that Verroa hive.

[@MikeBarryBees]

You’re welcome. Thanks for watching!!

[@KajunHomestead]

That's great Mike, I'm gonna check mine soon , had hives with average of 14 to 17 mites , so I did a couple rounds of the OA and added Apivar strips to each hive, they at week 3 so gonna check a few see how's it working. God Bless

[@MikeBarryBees]

That apivar should knock them back for sure. The added OAV should really help clean them up.

[@jweaver7170]

Thanks for the info. I need to check mine again

[@MikeBarryBees]

You’re welcome and thanks for watching!!

[@russellaymond312]

Glad to see you knock them down ,thank you Mike

[@MikeBarryBees]

Thanks Russell!!

[@Lsmith-ly2cm]

Another great video thank you Mike.

[@MikeBarryBees]

You’re welcome and thanks for watching!

[@philipbutler6608]

That new 4x4 under the hive reminded me of Minnie Pearl still has the price tag on it.

[@MikeBarryBees]

😂😂. Yep, my newest stand…

[@drippingcombbeecompany3640]

Thanks Mike. Enjoyed the show

[@MikeBarryBees]

Glad you liked it and hope you are getting everything cleaned up ok over there.

[@rodneymiddleton9624]

I’ve always used OAV with good results. Thanks Mike!!

[@MikeBarryBees]

Thanks Rodney. I like the cost versus results.

[@StanGore-mk8ow]

Great Video Mike....thanks!

[@MikeBarryBees]

Thanks Stan!!

[@tommychew6544]

Thanks for the video, I'd like to think the bees are evolving and doing OAV is helping them along to fight against Varroa mites. Fall can't come soon enough, this has been a really hot summer.

[@MikeBarryBees]

Well Tommy, there are bees out there that do control the mites, but getting a good strain into the yard is hard and can take a long time, but I agree, we’re giving them a hand every time we knock the mites back.

[@richardpraeger6357]

Great stuff. Thanks for sharing.

[@MikeBarryBees]

You’re welcome Richard and Thanks for watching!

[@GaryManess]

Thank you Mike. I'm got a count of 18 mites today. Gonna try the OA.

[@MikeBarryBees]

Just hit them hard and often for four to five doses. Hope you get them knocked back good.

[@billchriswell2925]

👍 it works....I do Apivar right after my early August harvest... pull the strips and do 4 oav treatments 6 days apart...gets me to October and ready to insulate for winter😊

[@MikeBarryBees]

Sounds like a solid plan. I’m going with the thymol in the spring and next summer I’ll use it even in the high temps and follow up with the OAV. Also planning to do some OAE as well.

[@rustyshan8477]

I'm a newbie and doing a ton of research on managing mites, and your statement here is the most useful thing I've read in 3 days ... Aug harvest, then strips, then a few OAs, then winter wrap. Now I have a plan A, and it doves with all other research ... thanks

[@loislangley2975]

Nice, am pleased to see it works. Being from Australia I have a treatment question. Will you only use that or do you use other treat,ents as well. You probably said it but I was thinking and missed it. We’re I am we get daytime winter temps down to 3 or 4 deg C and up to 17 deg C.

[@MikeBarryBees]

I used to only use OAV, but last season I tried hopguard and it was awful. I used apiguard as well and liked it a lot.

[@alanwiebelhaus8750]

In Australia if it’s available I would use Formic pro because it kills mites under the capping Along with mites attached to the bees I think it would be a big help there for control you can use it with honey supers on but it is temperature sensitive

[@kathyhathaway8823]

WOW Mike that is great . I mostly have an will use OAV but this time I am trying Apivar an it is on now but I will go back an hit them with OA a week after these treatments an then in mid December I always give two more OAV treatments an that has worked great for me . I just want to try the Apivar this year . Last September I tryed Apiguard an for me I will not be using it again. If this Apivar doesn’t work I will just stick to my OAV from here on out . Our rain has changed later this season because we are getting storms so we have to take the good with the bad that is just how it always works out. Thanks for the update. THANKS

[@MikeBarryBees]

Thanks! I think you’ll be pleased with the results from apivar. While it’s more expensive, it is easier and very effective.

[@rtxhoneybees]

How long after your last treatment did you test? Also, maybe i haven't been paying attention but i think this is the first time ive seen you without gloves.

[@MikeBarryBees]

I use gloves most of the time when I’m going thru a lot of hives and working fast and rough. When I have a hive or two or just a NUC if something, I don’t always use them. This wash was a week after completing the last treatment.

[@HenrikLarssonArt]

Wait, so you use oxalic acid with brood still in the hive? At this time of year (August) I have learned that formic acid should be used, and wait until November with the oxalic acid as it will not reach the larvs in the capped cells, for better results.

[@MikeBarryBees]

Yes, I do and always have. It does not get behind the cappings but I do a treatment every 4 to 5 days for times in a row. I get them as they come out. This is a normal practice. I also do a couple treatments in the winter. Here in the south, we will never go broodless. Books and KZbin tell everyone that you can’t do this with brood, but Europe has been doing this very method for the last 15 to 20 years with great success. I’ve been doing it for 8 years with great success.

[@tarheelbeekeeper3971]

Glad the oav is working for you praying you get some rain , keep up the battle

[@MikeBarryBees]

Thanks!! Finally did get some rain. So grateful!!

[@tarheelbeekeeper3971]

@@MikeBarryBees glad to hear it. Look forward to your live Saturday

[@iwantadc3]

mike, how can you tell if a cell has ben recapped?

[@MikeBarryBees]

You can see the cells as they’re being re-capped. They kind of look like a drone capping as they’re going back on.

[@Elioha-gt8pu]

You can also powder with powdersugar over them, now and then, they dont like it so they start to eork to get free of it and ehen they do they get rid of the varroamites as well. They will fall down to the bottom then. The sugar isnt harmful, quite the opposite. We take half of a dischswamp and plaxe 8mg for each frame on that each time.

[@MikeBarryBees]

I haven’t done the powdered sugar in a long time. I agree with that method as well, just haven’t done it in a while.

[@vytbbb7146]

Just to be clear, thats after 4 treatments?

[@MikeBarryBees]

Yes, 4 treatments at 4 and 5 days apart.

[@Elioha-gt8pu]

It doesnt hurt them and it doesnt hurt the queen either. They feel better with less mites

[@badassbees3680]

Agreed..I did virgins for yrs some made it 4 seaons..

[@MikeBarryBees]

Yes indeed, I agree!

[@woodlandharvesthoneycompanyllc]

You got a good knock down. I don't know if you said what your dose sizes was or maybe you don't want to. I know it is not legal but I use 4grams per single 10 frame deep every 4 days, 3 or 4 times, depending on the post treatment washes and it works. I started doing it this way because of the high temperatures. Formic and Apiguard shut the queens down when it is in the high 90s and OAV doesn't. This is when the bees need to be building up for winter. I used Apivar last year and lost 1/2 my colonies in the coldest part of winter. I don't think it killed the mites and the clusters were too small because queens didn't get enough numbers produced before it got cold and they went broodless in Nov. They had plenty of food and I was feeding them also when they ran low. They died anyway. I think the lack of enough bees to stay warm killed them.

[@mikesbeesllc]

A higher dose will be legal any day now. New OA products coming to market!

[@MikeBarryBees]

You’re right, I didn’t say. I’ll say what you did, I did😉. One in the same almost to the tee with dose and intervals. 4g is the deal, any size hive. Thanks for sharing your method and results!!

[@woodlandharvesthoneycompanyllc]

@@MikeBarryBees You are welcome and thank you for sharing. That is how we will beat this yet by working together. I know for sure that the legal size doses aren't enough.

[@johnshumate9713]

OAV works for me!!!!!!

[@MikeBarryBees]

Good deal, and cheaper too.

[@tjjastrem127]

I just did formic holy moly did it knock the mites down

[@MikeBarryBees]

Formic is great! Just too hot for me right now. Thinking of formic pro in the spring. Great stuff.

[@tjjastrem127]

@@MikeBarryBees I would definitely use it during your “cooler” weather really cleaned mine up

[@Elioha-gt8pu]

Formid acid even killes thru the locks of the larves that are capped. You can do this many times, first after they woke up. Then the varroamites that has lived threw the winter will be less numbered and therefor less kids of them. You can do that more times until some time before you take the honey., then again after the honey is taken and last into the winter first the same formid acid and after that the oxide acid. Make the bees having 8frames and 8frames of brood and honey straight over them and ifcourse a goodbox with both sugar and protein in it. Home made paste of that is also good.

[@MikeBarryBees]

I agree with the formic as I stated relied, but for now the heat is just too hot for the formic. I have to wait until we get some cooler weather.

[@Elioha-gt8pu]

@@MikeBarryBees you could powder them with powdersugar, they dont like it even tho its not da gerous to them but they will begun to clean it of each other and by that also the mites that will fall down in the botten for you to take away and the bees will have less mites.

[@alphaxanon]

Make a note to replace that queen instead of splitting from her next spring due to lack of hygienic workers. You don't want to propagate bees that can't handle mites by themselves.

[@MikeBarryBees]

Actually, they are hygienic. They were pulling out brood that was infested with mites and on this latest look, they were even recapping. I’ve not done an actual brood kill to see just how hygienic they are, but the fact that the brood pattern improved due to less mites and uncapping infested cells is a hygienic trait. This was a feral swarm and to find a strain that can handle them all by themselves is hard to find.

[@sonofthunder.]

e you using dawn dishsoap ,,, bee blessed

[@MikeBarryBees]

Yes. Dawn and water. Works very well and has shown to be a bit better than alcohol in Randy Oliver’s research.

[@Ittiz]

So I had a weird thing happen with my queen. I decided I wanted to move drawn comb all down into the bottom deep to prep for winter. So that the bottom deep had all drawn comb. I moved any foundation up into the top deep. I'm in a golden rod flow right now. But I was perplexed because I set the top box aside to just to look at the bottom but I found NO eggs in the bottom, at all... NONE!!! Just empty frames, no brood , no honey. but tons pollen. I thought my queen had died. So I searched the top box and eventually found frame and a half of eggs and... the Queen! But what I also noticed was the bees were pulling honey out and eating all the top deep frames. Yet there are tons of golden rod! I'm not sure what's wrong with the hive, I haven't seen robbing or anything. The nectar flow is good, the pollen flow is great, but that queen doesn't want to lay in the bottom box. I don't know, I'm confused! Queen won't lay in the bottom box, the bees are eating their honey as if there isn't enough nectar, but their is a ton! IDK!

[@MikeBarryBees]

Hmm, that is a bit confusing. Only thing I could think is they’d just not a big colony and she is content with the top box and space, although with nectar and pollen, you’d think she’d take off and lay like crazy in the space below. I do know in a good pollen flow of golden rod, they’ll pollen-bound the frames and it seems they did that in the bottom. So now she only has the top. How old is she. Maybe she’s going bad and inferior. Or their colony size, again, might be to blame. Could be a number of reasons. Hope you get them figured out and strong for winter. Then you could deal with them in the spring and get her corrected.