Kill Varroa Mites - Mites Away Quick Strips - How to Apply MAQS

[@kevinperree7764]

Hi Lawrence, couldn’t we call them Fred’s [insert correct name] bees. Somehow seems a bit soulless to call them “the deceased beekeepers bees” you are clearly dedicated to keeping his legacy alive and well. Great vid as always. Keep up the great work 👍

[@BlackMountainHoney]

Fair point! They shall now been known as Kens bees. Heres a mini twitter update on them. Follow up video of the varroa infested colony. Ill do a full video update but here is a snapshot of the brood and the 2018 queen who survived the treatment. t.co/Ftcxa17l6T

[@Swarmstead]

So they've survived for possibly two years without treatments. "Let's treat them!"

[@BlackMountainHoney]

Er no. Its an unknown how long they have been treated for. I can tell when a colony is dying. Whats good about dead bees??

[@BlackMountainHoney]

what would you have done with this colony? let it die? or gambled on it? kzbin.info/www/bejne/eajZn6qHj5KXeKs

[@Swarmstead]

@@BlackMountainHoney I know not everyone has many colonies, but I (and I assume you) have more than enough to worry about one individual. If the majority of your colonies look this way, that says alot about this whole philosophy of "save every colony with treatments". The question "What's good about dead bees?" is a loaded one (c'mon man), but I'll answer it anyway. A dead, unfit colony will not pass it's unfit genetics into the local gene pool of fit colonies in the future. We all have different goals though, so sometimes what's best for the species as a whole takes a backseat to other things.

[@Swarmstead]

I've had colonies like the one in that video that survived winter and were split several ways in the spring. You can almost never just "know" that a colony will surely die when you always treat them. What happens when you treat them and they still die? Then what's the reason?

[@BlackMountainHoney]

@@Swarmstead I fully appreciate that and massive respect to anyone who is willing to let their bees die in order to find a natural equilibrium whereby the bees can cope with the pathogenic load created by living with varroa. Thats not my end goal but I appreciate for some people it is. These 3 colonies were left for 24 months lets say and they would have all certainly died. What happens if i extrapolate that to 100 colonies. Maybe 5% will survive? I cant afford that loss in colonies or honey production, so I choose to treat blindy without monitoring for varroa load. These 3 colonies were left as a marker of respect for the deceased beekeeper who i inherited them from, but I will stop short of letting them perish in the name of science as there death would have no impact on my colony management - ill still continue to blindly treat.

[@bluelab5019]

How do I use this on a long hive? Put it straight on the frames?

[@eoinirish]

Good video not many short videos about how to just do it. But as expected a video about treating bees has divided option. As you said these are not your original stock of bees, new site, so just trying to get them in line with your other colonies as it would seem having three hives of bees, die or infect any new colonies to the site would be just harder to manage within your system were you have a system that includes treating mites. I keep a small number of hives a handful of miles from this video and I don't have an issue with treatment but I don't have a perfect system so miss many windows for treatment and many of the products come in too large a quantity for a few hives or not available at the moment you need it. Which just means that I buy it and then miss the window. Keep the videos up I enjoy your to the point style of what you do.

[@BlackMountainHoney]

Cheers Eoin. Glad you enjoy the videos. Yes treatment was always going to be a controversial one! Id say the most important treatment is the late summer treatment. You need something to bump down the numbers for when the bees are rearing their winter bees to put them in a good position going into winter

[@joeadams8706]

Did you/ can you use the MAQS with underfloor entrance? Just thinking about the airflow aspect?

[@BlackMountainHoney]

The UFE has a nice big mesh floor so its fine to use with MAQS

[@davidgarner3171]

Great video, I am a fan of Maqs if summer treatment is needed. It's a short treatment, we don't often have to worry about temps being above 25 degrees. And it works. Think all the stories about queen failure were with the original formulation, could be wrong but I think they changed it after getting feedback on queen failures.

[@BlackMountainHoney]

Yes. You hear some horror stories. Some people really hate the treatment with a passion. I find it an effective treatment and so useful when treating an infested colony whilst there is a flow on. There isnt much else on the market that can do that!

[@jangould704]

Hi Lawrence, firstly, love your videos, extremely informative and helpful. Can I just ask some questions? Does using MAQS also completely get rid of the DWV or does the virus hang around in the frames? One of my colonies has recovered from DWV but the queen is now missing and there are charged emergency queen cells. Ideally, rather than wait for her to emerge, mate, return etc, I’d like to requeen with one of your Jolanta queens, so is it ok to introduce one into the current frames or will they still have traces of DWV? Also this colony has a huge number of drones snd drone cells - should I get rid of frames that have a lot of drone cells? Hope you don’t mind so many questions! Many thanks, Jan Gould.

[@BlackMountainHoney]

Hi Jan. I've not seen any studies on this. My assumption is there is zero impact on viruses spread by mites and just kills the mite and reduces the spread. The DWV should clear up quickly though. Sounds like the MAQS killed the queen if there are emergency cells. You will now have the extra effect of a brood break. If you plan to requeen. Remove all queen cells before they emerge or you will be chasing virgins which is a pain! Good luck 👍

[@BlackMountainHoney]

Oh. Yes remove drone frames if there is an imbalance in the hive.

[@darrylclements814]

What treatments do you recommend for autumn time, which is your preferred? What month normally do you treat them?

[@BlackMountainHoney]

This year I am using ApiVar. I then use Oxalic Acid sublimate around Christmas time to align with a broodless period (bit of guesswork involved)

[@johnshearsmith1011]

Hi Lawrence, I've just used MAQS. I've got Abelo 12 frame ploy hive which was full of bees and occupied all 12 frames. I added my supers a couple of weeks ago. But I've had mite issues and DWV. I followed the instructions to the letter and watched countless videos on this subject. It appears to be Good and bad with this product and I suppose I knew the risks However, after placing two strips into my hive and literally over night it has decimated my bees I have hundreds and hundreds of dead bees at the front and bottom of the hive and I can't find the queen. Its totally devastating seeing all those dead bees. Not sure what I did wrong. The only thing I can thing of it was too strong for the bees. They had plenty of ventilation a nice flow through the hive. Talk about learning experiences such a difficult lesson when your not sure what I've done wrong 🥺

[@BlackMountainHoney]

John. I'm sorry to hear this! I've heard of many people with issues from using MAQS. Few questions. How many frames of brood did you have? How many frames of bees? What was the temperature for application? Where they flying when you applied?

[@johnshearsmith1011]

@Black Mountain Honey Hi Lawrence, Thank you for your reply. I started the treatment at 2pm on Thursday it was between 13 and 16c yes they where flying in and out of the hive Roughly around 7 frames of brood and the rest stores however bees did cover all 12 frames ( I think that's the issue I've place two strips on instead of one ) I think I've miss read the instructions and the guidance on the videos Makes it more difficult knowing that I'm responsible for the death of these Bees Gutted!!

[@BlackMountainHoney]

@@johnshearsmith1011 :( Yeah. Would have overdosed. Should have been 1 strip.

[@bengibbon9229]

Is there a minimum temperature for using MAQS?

[@BlackMountainHoney]

Not too sure on the minimum but there is definitely a max. Anything over 25c and it can do real.damage.

[@rickwarner9142]

Is this product available in the USA?

[@BlackMountainHoney]

Not 100% sure. Its formic acid so im sure there will be something similar if not the same

[@martprice7726]

Yes it's called Formic pro it is the exact same product as MAQS it has exactly the same advert. Watch (Peaceful Mind) look back to 2019 September he does not like it.

[@ThoseCrazyrivers]

Could you have used Oxalic Acid sublimation, three treatments with a five day gap in between?....granted this is a lot more time consuming, especially when you have a lot of hives and a full-time job...

[@BlackMountainHoney]

Not with Supers on the colonies you cant. I use OA vaping as a part of our strategy but not mid season with supers on. We also work on a 7 day cycle to 5 day cycles for vaping gets very messy for us.

[@ThoseCrazyrivers]

Yes, of course you have honey supers on.

[@mattbravery5518]

My over wintered nuc needs some varroa treatment.. I’ve got some Apivar strips and am considering using them instead of MAQS. Im not after a honey crop from this colony this year, If I can manage a split from them this year and over winter both for 2022, I’d be happy - what do you reckon? Seen a few DWV bees being air lifted out by workers as well as the DWV bees walking out on their own. Additionally seen varroa on worker bees working the comb so something certainly needs to be done...

[@BlackMountainHoney]

Apivar is a surprisingly effective spring treatment. Also a blast of OA to get the numbers down first. Defo not MAQS in the UK. Too cold atm. Overwintered nucs shouldnt have issues varroa levels though,. What where your autumn treatments?

[@mattbravery5518]

Thanks for your response! Nuc was purchased at the back end of March this year (2021), so no Autumn treatments from me. I may email the seller and ask what, if anything was done in the Autumn. Thanks again for the response, love the videos!

[@pottyplotter2462]

Hi, great video as usual. Would you put a strip on a nuc?🐝

[@jesshowe4591]

Do not treat nucs it will kill them.

[@BlackMountainHoney]

@@jesshowe4591 Not sure how you are experiencing this? What temps are you using to treat? Anything over 25c can have an impact on brood and can kill the queen. Under 25c its a very effective mite killer. Saying that, its certainly not my treatment of choice. We use Apivar as an autumn treatment and oxalic over winter and thats a great combo. For a nuc, unless it was heavily infested, I would recommend oxalic sublimation. 3 treatments over 15 days.