Varroa Mite Problems,… Swinging Another Hammer 🔨

a Canadian Beekeeper’s Blog

[@krzysztofmieszok484]

Dear colleagues. I didn't read all the comments or watched the entire movie with understanding. I can see that you are dealing with a problem that is digesting the world of bees. But I want to share with you some information, confirmed by research. Smoking Amitraz gives almost nothing if the brood is covered. Waroa is like in a trench. After smoking with Amitraz or oxalic acid in the system 4 times every 4 days, 4x6, 4x8, you kill about 50% of the mites. Consecutive treatments in the same system result in another 50%. So after 8 blows you only kill 75% of the mites. You have to smoke when there is no brood covered. So you have to isolate the queens so that they cannot lay eggs and then one treatment with Amitraz kills 97% of the mites. I know you have to have insulators and catch all the queens. I manage over 1000 hives, my queens lay eggs to the third quarter of nectarizing rapeseed, which is our first commodity crop. The mother is isolated down to the last crops. We have no problem with Warro and no problem with swarm. There is a lot of honey because the larvae do not eat honey, and the bees live very long if they have never fed the larvae and have not produced milk for the larvae. In age these bees are old but physiologically they are young, not tired because they did not feed the larvae. So far, this is the only way to have honey and bees. Last year, we had a decline of 5 colonies per 1029 hives. 33 hives were connected in spring. Good luck I translated via google, hope it is understandable. Mariusz, Jizera Mountains, Poland

[@bobbinnie9872]

Thanks for a very honest look at things. Very helpful.

[@paulrkrueger]

Thank you for being so honest and transparent on your channel.

[@CastleHives]

Transparency is the only way to be when it comes to Beekeeping.

[@437AlBig]

Thanks for being honest with how things are going for you. Sure hope treating with OAV knocks them down for you.

[@Bulldogges12]

I almost hate giving this a thumbs up if you know what I mean. It's a hard year for mites. Thank you so much for sharing. It's going to be a long winter of waiting.....⏰️

[@dcsblessedbees]

Swirling works better then shaking, makes less bubbles. 😂"holy shit"🤣That is one of the best things about you Ian🤠you are REAL.👍

[@jmom5735]

Apivar failed me this year. Sept 3, Put more than enough strips in each hive (if two brood boxes, did 4-5 strips) for their 42 days, hives looked bad like you said, so did OA and had 400+ mite drop over one week - yes, I counted - I am a backyard beekeeper with 12 hives so can do that. Will now be going the extra mile and do full treatment regimen with OA every 5-7 days as my work schedule allows. I feel I should have just did OA all along. Also keeping my fingers crossed for winter…. Good luck and thx for the vids. ❤️🐝🐝 in northern IL.

[@lukemoore6325]

We had the same problem in southeastern Saskatchewan, all the hives were given apvar in the spring, and 42 days later I was SEEING mites on bees while I was pulling the strips. we were shocked since our bees hadn't been treated with apvar for over 2 years. It was a very stressful and heart-breaking june and july trying rescue what we could. And while its a simple product to use I don't think I will ever be able to trust in it again, let alone ever buy it again.

[@themaverickbeekeeper]

I have experienced the same with my colonies and that Apivar, although the initial drop was good it didn't alleviate all, and i am now on a treatment regime of OAV to smash the rest. No signs of DWV and crawlers, they do look in good shape other than that.

[@jonathanswoboda]

Yeah I have some that still have large mite drops with apivar after 42 days, sucks. Pulling strips soon than OAV. You cant just do OAV in fall it doesnt work with brood, need something else too. Not sure what I will do next year. Probably formic in August not sure. Not sure about using Apivar again.

[@carlsledge3868]

I don't think it's the apivar, I think the mites are building immunities to it and you need to do a rotation of treatments so they don't, they can't build immunity to oxalic acid because it works by drying out the sticky pads on their legs or what we'd call feet, no feet and they can't hold on so they drop and die because they can't feed, that's the beauty of OA.

[@jonathanswoboda]

@@carlsledge3868 Ian does oav every year so do I. I am switching to formic in the spring next year at least.

[@bryanbetournay5557]

I ordered Apivar last year. When it came in it had passed the expiry date by one month. I called their customer service and was told that it’s fine and their beekeepers will be using it in their hives. Thanks for your time on all of your videos Ian.

[@bbnelsonbeekeepingbees60]

I also bought apivar that was 2 months away from expiration and used it on some of my colonies before noticing the date. I was later told that the company that makes it was clearing out all its stock before selling the new stock . I put aside the old apivar and bought from a different source with proper dates and finished the yard with the new stock. The area with the old apivar was riddled with mites, and the colonies with the new is doing fine.

[@hootervillehoneybees8664]

Date is when it's made not expired

[@bbnelsonbeekeepingbees60]

Mine was dated November 2020

[@hootervillehoneybees8664]

@@bbnelsonbeekeepingbees60 still good till December

[@sporkintheeye]

Weird instinct: I realized I was holding my breath when you zoomed in close to a cloud of vapor.

[@ThatBeeMan]

Sorry to hear that, boss! OAV will get them. Stay on it!

[@stevet3818]

Very thorough run thru of what you are seeing in some of your problem hives. Great to hear its only a few! Well done, awesome video!

[@RonnelVP]

Véto-pharma should be having a few board meetings asap🤔. You might have just nudged a few people standing on the fence about the cause of the high winter loss last season. Thanks for the honest vid Ian. Great reminder to check mites pre and post treatment.

[@Hive5Bees]

My thoughts go out to you - nothing makes a heart drop quicker than seeing that

[@zaherham1763]

Thank you. I can see how you keep things balanced with your bees. Only use chemicals in extreme cases. Give the colony the chance to build up some immunity against mites and diseases.

[@tonyjenkins272]

Got me nervous now… gonna recheck today!

[@krzysztofmieszok484]

Let me just add that the most important thing is treatment before the bees lay their eggs for the winter bees. This generation shouldn't be pricked by Warro anymore, lest they receive viruses as a gift. These generations should be very healthy. Mites have evolved over the last dozen or so years. It no longer sits on bees for 6 days - as it used to be. Now it comes out of the bee cell and returns to another cell after 2 hours. That's why it's hard to destroy it.

[@svenzethelius140]

The good news is that as long as you keep track of which hives need dosing, you can continue to OAV them in the winter shed.

[@86offroad]

Thats wild.. Has me questioning my apivar treatments now.

[@masonh2260]

Stopped using apivar last season it basically didn't kill the mites, I switched to formic prp and had pretty good results this year. Mite treatments are stupid expensive and for them not to work is really disappointing.

[@abeillesmerveilles73]

hi ian I would like to give you a method that I have been practicing for 2 years against moths ..... after the honey harvest .... I scrape the brood with a wide fork ... I completely destroy the brood and I treat against varroa mites the day after ..... the bees will clean the cells and the queen will start laying again .... I repeat a treatment 21 days later .... that is to say that I retreat against the new varroa mites that could be born .. the efficiency rate is really extraordinary because I eliminate 99% of varroa mites ..... you should try brood scraping .. it's my best solution I can give you hive 1 without nailing 10varroa for 300 bees hives 2 ...4 varroa for 300 bees hive 3 with scratching 0 varroa for 300 bees beehive 4 with dogging 0 varroa for 300 bees here is what I can bring you as support and solution

[@charleskyler1928]

I just treated with OA today as well. I pulled out a frame 2weeks ago to remove the Formica Pro patty’s. I was greeted with a newly hatched bee crawling on top of the frame with deformed wings and 3 mite on her back. Highly troublesome.

[@keithspillman]

My results this year with Aoivar were mixed. Not the good results I've had in the past. I started my OA treatments yesterday..the every 5-7 day routine. Seems Apivar issues have now spread to us all. Dang it. Thanks for a great channel. See you soon in Tennessee!!

[@hocinebelkhiri2737]

tres joli video je te souhaite une tres bonne saisons 2023 a plus canadian.

[@spicyflyhoneybees1478]

I know y’all have been doing the hygienic testing with liquid nitrogen but I highly recommend integrating VSH assays into your selection criteria. I started with liquid nitrogen testing 4 years ago and and was surprised to find that some of my colonies that tested very well with the liquid nitrogen had very low expression of VSH. VSH>hygiene in my opinion. Either way, I’d keep hammering them with the OA until you’re below threshold.

[@melaniejenkins109]

Apivar not recommended in the UK as the general opinion over here is that it doesn't work and that varroa have build up a resistance against it!! Used apiguard and oxalic for the last three years, very effective

[@apisincognito8173]

Almost all the biggest bee farmers in the UK use apivar.

[@hootervillehoneybees8664]

Those strips look clean in spots .. wonder if it's more effective hanging them on nails so both sides are exposed.. I normally open up spot hang with nails seems to always work.. are those the new style strips I noticed last batch is different... Thinner rips apart easy and says apivar right on it .. they definitely changed it

[@LaraLovesBees]

Apivar resulted in DWV early this season. I immediately put on the OAExtended strips and cleared it right up. Bees looked great all summer. Just did my OAV on all hives. About to do washes but they still look very healthy. I am curious about Formic but can't afford to treat everyone so am on nothing but oxalic since pulling the Apivar in May. I think we have to really concentrate on breeding for mite resistance. It may hurt because it will take us awhile to get the numbers of hives back up but how long can we afford to pay for treatments that don't work? And we will certainly feel it if we have another CCD because we run out of treatments. Have you been keeping track of your queens that have been tested by the Tech Transfer? How do your nucs look that you bred off of those queens?

[@apisincognito8173]

The 1st colony at 30 secs looks drone layer (& withered wing on drone). Large scale beekeeper here. Seeing large mite drop from oxalic on around 20% of colonies post apivar treatment.

[@graemediesel2936]

Man, that feels like a punch in the gut. Now I’m wondering about the strips in my own hives. Time to double down on trying alternative treatments.

[@sidelinerbeekeeper]

At the expense of sounding like a broken record mentioned in your video "why i don't talk about treatments", i said year after year of Apivar and OAV isn't much of an IPM. Putting 2 strips in a box with 10 frames of bees and another box of bees bearding on the outside in September when you strip the honey is a weak treatment of Apivar. Formic acid is going to be needed right after the honey pull.

[@carlsledge3868]

I did 75g of OA and 75g of vegetable glycerin heated to 155f til clear then poured into swedish sponges cut in halves let soak 24 hours then lay 2 halves per colony on the top bars over the brood nest, In my 4 double deeps quater pads in my 5 frame nuks for 60 days and they were fine, lost no queens and they still working the goldenrod bloom and flow, but I'm in the southern part of Georgia about 120 miles south of Atlanta. but I have no damn mites. small hive beetles yes, but no varroa mites.

[@10peteo]

Just maybe the soap is more effective at killing and removing the mites from the bees than the alcohol was. Might be a good test to use alcohol for for a wash and then do a soap wash on the same hive and see if the results are vastly different or similar.

[@lippardr]

I think the in-hive time suggest by manufacture may be too short, since the strip are a slow release material. I don't think a double or triple time of strips in hive would hurt since there are no honey supers on your hives. I think the manufacturer should do a study and change the label

[@apiproductapiproduct2492]

We also had a similar problem last year with apivar strips. after 10 days, there was no varroa on the adhesive base, so we threw out those strips and put CM+, the varroa fell like mowed down. Treatment with oxalic acid will further weaken your hives because all the bees that had varroa on them will die immediately. The efficacy of the drug should be checked within the first 7 days of application.

[@zarkobojanic2141]

To je druže mit i to samo u Srbiji, nakapavanje oksalnom kiselinom je vrlo efikasno.

[@apiproductapiproduct2492]

@@zarkobojanic2141 Druže o sublimaciji pricamo ne o nakapavanju...skroz druga stvar

[@zarkobojanic2141]

@@apiproductapiproduct2492 ni sublimacija ne smeta pčelama, neznam odakle je krenula ta priča o štetnosti oksalne kiseline ali nije realna, to ti pričam jer koristim oba načina.verovatno od proizvođača "skupih"preparata.

[@apiproductapiproduct2492]

@@zarkobojanic2141 krenula je od znanstvenih istrazivanja i zdravog razuma. Otopina za nakapavnje je koje koncentracije ? Sublimacija koje koncentracije ? Ima ljudi koji koriste varikinu i domestos na pcelama i isto je ucinkovito...ovde se prica o komercijalnom a ne balkanskom pcelarenju,da na balkanu znaju pcelariti ne bi se med uvozio nego izvozio...

[@zarkobojanic2141]

@@apiproductapiproduct2492 pa zašto onda ovi zapadnjaci koriste oksalnu ako ne valja i šta ti preporučuješ?

[@seeyouonthemountainbeekeeping]

Man Ian that hurts!!! I started my oa a little late and took some losses! It hurts!!! Oa drizzle and sublimation 4 times to kill them evil mites!!! They make me sick!!! I am working at keeping the rest of my hives strong but think I will have more loss!!! Praying it won’t bee to bad!!!

[@judy7481]

Welcome to the world of beekeeping with mites. I’ve treated 5 times this year to keep them in check..

[@shrevesoule3567]

I would agree that the dawn dish soap wash works great. OAV for my girls this weekend. I would like to bee keep in the 70's again. It was much easier.

[@rrussellco1176]

Don't forget they were robbing out the dwindling ones after the strips were in. The dwindling ones never get the treatment spread out well before it oxidizes, so they act as a vector that strong hives pick up mites from. The oav will clean them up.

[@aCanadianBeekeepersBlog]

Definitely a concern

[@rrussellco1176]

You ran apivar strips in both spring and fall, right? May be time to adjust the program a bit. Either rotate to another treatment or raise the dosage. I think most people have raised the dosage of Apivar now to 1.5 strips per 5 frames of bees (3 strips per deep).

[@dronebee5212]

Fogging mineral oil kills 100% of mites on bees only, grooming the bees of mites and stops build up of resistance mites ,which is great stuff

[@daveowens2075]

Been using Dawn ultra for a while now and saw from Randy Oliver that shaking is not needed, just swirl them gently and all mites just fall thru the dishwater

[@wrfarms9741]

Sorry to see you are encountering such problems Ian. Sent you an email from Tennessee.

[@hildebrandtrius]

That’s awful Ian! I think all research was done using alcohol mite washes to set thresholds. Could it be that Dawn releases more mites and we need to set higher thresholds? I think Randy tested Dawn followed by alcohol. I’m not sure if he tested the other way.

[@waynewatson-cedarbranchhiv8491]

I had same problem last yr, I've sworn off apivar for older colonies, seems to work ok for splits you made in spring, everything else I used apigaurd, an bees really look good this fall , will double dose em with o/a in December 3x for insurance . Best of luck an will see you at conference in January !!

[@ericmanteuffel6403]

Problem is, the damage might already be done. The winter bees might only live half their lifespan because of disease and that is a huge problem when January-February rolls around. Plus, the infected winter bees pass the viruses on to the new larva. Varroa really is an awful pest/parasite.

[@waynewatson-cedarbranchhiv8491]

@@ericmanteuffel6403 that's why I use terra pro, to treat for the virus ! You can't ever let them get ahead of you! Been there done that!!!

[@jayr7034]

Am seeing the same thing here in western Canada. Just did a fall checkup mite wash Oct 13 and my best hives are loaded. Anywhere from 0 to 29 mites after a formic round. They must have been robbing the mites out of the neighbors yard. And of course apivar doesn't work with high mite loads

[@solivaguswayfarer]

Uff! Damn mites! Try to swirl versus shake to minimize foam. If you let bees soak for about a minute, mites drop out quickly with just a few swirls.

[@eranorion]

I've been using the Varomorus oxalic fogger (support Ukraine!) for 3 years now, and they've been my best years since the mite inception. 3 times a year, Spring, mid-Summer and Fall and it takes me less than 20 minutes each time, to do my entire apiary of 19 hives. The application duration times for strips, gels and pads is just too long to miss those golden opps for Nectar collecting, seasonally, and temps dependent. Pounds of oxalic crystals available on ebay for SOO cheap!

[@windyacrebees]

The mite counts here in the northeastern US have been the worst we have ever seen. The only way we were able to knock them down was miteaway quick strips, followed by three weeks of OA. We can only attribute the high load to the drought this year. But apivar, etc. is no longer an option for us now since it just wont work anymore

[@johnvisco3931]

I have concerns about Apavar not working. Amatraz resistance studies were being conducted here in NJ. Last month. I'm not sure of their findings at this time.

[@ETsBees]

That’s really sucks getting that high of mite counts. I had a a couple yards almost as high, I had to take extreme measures. There is not enough amitraz in the strips. They talk about building resistance to amitraz, but yet they don’t put enough in the strips to do a good job of wiping out the mites in the hive. Especially if it’s infested to start with. Maybe it would help to double the strips in there but wow $12 a hive is a bit ridiculous.

[@youn9567]

드뎌 월동시기가 돌아왔나 봅니다 옥산살훈증으로 꿀벌들의 건강을 챙기시는것을 보니 말이죠 늘~~~행복하세요!

[@patrickwalsh6873]

5:51, and some comments here also about 42 days etc - Apivar is kept in for 6 weeks IF 'brood is not present or at its lowest level' when it's applied. If you have brood present when you put the strips in, then the strips should stay in for TEN weeks, not six. In early December I also do x5 vaporisation, five days apart. However, I'm in Ireland and I'm only running ~30 colonies. Your conditions will be spectacularly different. Thanks for the video Ian, the 'warts and all' honesty is appreciated.

[@aCanadianBeekeepersBlog]

I am counting 7 plus weeks, so I’m about 50ish days

[@lukemoore6325]

I think the issue has become that we ARE leaving them in for so long in the first place. This long exposure chemical treatment is exactly how we (as beekeepers) have been breeding resistance. While convenient at the moment it's clear even from the responses from this video that this is happening world wide, I won't even get started with crop varieties emerging like trueflex canola... Convenience is rarely the right path long term in any part of agriculture.

[@Vladimir_m9snik]

Привет йен . В Алтайском крае тоже клещ лютует. Одну пасеку съел. Ещё не зимовали, а 60 % потеряли.

[@keithdiaz8166]

I’ve been using apivar for several years. Sometimes I wonder if there is a quality control issue with the strips. Sometimes they work, sometimes they don’t. Too bad someone can’t make a long-release oxalic treatment to knock down a few generations of mites.

[@luellapeters9158]

Our winters here in mb are way to damn long to think about if apivar has failed us in our hives. Thanks for showing us the good, bad and ugly. I used apivar (longsigh)😢 bees look good but ……

[@TylerJSpry]

Did you see the slow release OA pads that Randy did? That looks like a promising treatment.

[@aCanadianBeekeepersBlog]

My next plan

[@stefanwyss5495]

@@aCanadianBeekeepersBlog I would be careful with that. They don't always work everywhere. Maybe you should take a look at how Bob Binnie does with apiguard. I personally think this is the better choice. For now, maybe two rounds of OA would be a good choice, if possible.

[@researcherAmateur]

I was thinking to write this on yesterday's video. To do an experiment with some kind of cloth or sponge on the bottom board. I think it would work great in combination with your feeding and brood lees colony's. Right under the cluster.. by now it would be inactive.. you wouldn't have to remove it, or pull out apivar strips, or OAVing them.. imagine the savings on money and work. It works great for me.. with brood breaks. It's my only treatment.. l didn't use OAV last 3-4 years

[@johnmorgan9435]

Thanks for the vlog Ian, 'treatments' thymol or OA based will never give 100% kill on the mites. We have to live with a percentage of colonies that for genetic reasons or some reason that may be even our fault, are more susceptible to been overcome with an infestation. I do admire you for your constant vigilance and your honest assessment of your processes in dealing with this problem.

[@donotcare330]

Genetics has nothing to do with the Mite issues. Mites are like ticks, its not a humans fault we cant control ticks in the wild that get on us and that bite us, same for bees. Mites were introduced into North America by imported produce and goods. Best thing we can do is come up with better ways to eradicate MITES and put an end to the parasite itself. VSH itself is a pseudo science. Essentially a person should not write off genetics because something can't adapt to its environment easily when the parasite itself has evolved over a millenia and then suddenly is introduced into a new eco system. Maybe Russian honeybees had time to evolve around these stocks, but most EURO bees have not. Now I will attest to the fact that genetics were ruined by California and Texas breeders making batches of bees from Australian import stocks, those that try to "tame" AHB stocks from South America, and causing the "old world" genetics to dilute and make the newer breeds of bees suck for cold winters.

[@johnmorgan9435]

@@donotcare330 not true, we and other European breeders and Organisations have been selecting for resistant strains. Just speaking from the breeding my small group are doing, we have seen a marked improvements, like better Winter survival, lower Spring infestation levels, an better Spring build-up, reduction in annual treatments, to mention but a few benefits

[@svthorasailing4868]

I’m just about to have my hive killed off in Newcastle Australia due to quarantine breech with varroa mite next week.Was told they use petrol to euthanise the bees.Not happy to say the least.Cheers for the video.

[@vwbusguy]

Im up in qld. I am not too confident with the handling of this situation. Bee flies out of hive with 1 mite, flies for 5 km to a flowering tree, bee dies, mite jumps onto another bee that lands on the same flower( which is proven to happen) then that bee flies 5 km in another direction back to a colony in a tree 30mts up in the air in the bush.thats 10km a mite has travelled in 1 day before lunch. Already mite has crossed quarantine area set up by dpi, This should have been a larger area of euthanasia

[@ETsBees]

The problem is there. Quarantine won’t stop it.

[@svthorasailing4868]

@@ETsBees I agree,the bees swarm up to twice a season so it’s out of the bag now.I guess the DPI here have to be seen to do something visually for the general public.The money would have been better spent educating bee keepers on pest management and eradication methods.

[@lecombapiaries8971]

Hi Ian you mentioned that your hitting them with 4 g of AO, is that in one application or two. I have done 2 rounds of 1.5 g ( single brood chamber and 5 fame nucs) and will do another this weekend.

[@aCanadianBeekeepersBlog]

My application assumes waste, so I assume I’m getting in at least 2 grams

[@naturessweetbees3033]

Gosh, do I know that feeling with the bad language. I sent you an email about it last year and with your guidance about hitting them hard with OA paid off. I ended up doing six rounds of OA treatments before I got under 2%. I came out of winter with only 4% loss. I don’t know if six rounds is practical for you but with everything you’ve given to the beekeeping community, if I lived a little closer to you I’d be first in line with my 2 pro vap 110 volunteering to help you get the work done.

[@lindaloo26]

Hi Ian, I truly know that feeling. I find cool autumn weather and a small brood activity has a negative affect on Apivar performance. Works nice in a warm active spring nest. Your spring treatment must have worked well considering, if not results be worse. Your threshold is low,

[@aCanadianBeekeepersBlog]

Low threshold considering our area , need low counts to make long winter

[@Swampsquash]

I now prefer the Dawn also. My only complaint is the suds. I just agitate it and then let it sit and put the hive back together so the foam can subside. R.O. Says use 2 tablespoons per gallon

[@kevinvasquez1843]

Ian, I noticed this in my colonies last year. Went with apiguard this year followed by OA. Little buggers are terrible. I also used bad words when assessing numbers :/

[@tpenzabene]

How did your hives hold up? I statrted apiguard in mid august this year and tested today because of this video. The 3 hives I tested had mite counts of 16-18. Its like the apiguard did nothing. I'm heading out with the oxalic acid right now but I think they're screwed.

[@kevinvasquez1843]

@@tpenzabene the Apiguard helped but didn't knocked the mites down far enough. I treated with OA just after completing the apiguard treatment and will be using OA again this weekend.

[@jaysederraugh5954]

Well you may be breeding mites resistant to Apivar. If I am not mistaken you used Apivar twice this year and twice last year? I don't think that would fall under best practice. I would recommend getting friendly with formic acid and find a method of applying it that works for you. You need more tools in your tool belt. You need two different primary treatments spring and fall, then still do the oxalic mop up in the end.

[@aCanadianBeekeepersBlog]

You mean, the industry needs more tools on our tool belt. We have very few options at our disposal. One primary tool, then a bunch of hardware

[@TheFarmacySeedsNetwork]

Shit Ian, I'm sorry to see that! Any chance the Apivar is less effective due to temperature? I thought I remember seeing a temp requirement. Well, vape em down I guess.

[@sourwoodbranchbeefarm6515]

Its very hard to knock them down at that level in my experience. There are so many varroa in the capped brood. Check out our video on trapping varroa and see how many varroa were coming out of the brood. Those little buggers are so frustrating to say the least I agree. Mark

[@DraganDjordjevic81]

It's time for different tactic next year. Stop using amitraz. It doesn't work anymore. Maybe, just maybe, Mr Randy Oliver has found solution for long time mite treatment during summer. Good luck and I wish to all beekeepers successful wintering.

[@wskonij]

At which temerature did you do the oxalic treatment?

[@rodolflinner4201]

Great work but why u dont the formic acid and amitrazz

[@matthewmccormick2417]

i would do the OA on all of them at 4 to 5 days apart 3 times so hit 3 time in 12 to 15 days then again before shed

[@whatsthebuzz1]

I feel your frustration. Been a long year battling the f$&@&@! mites down in the states. Every time you think you did enough to knock them out, they somehow manage to survive!!! Worries me to think what’s going to happen if amitraz becomes ineffective.

[@brucesbees]

Always a challenge. I am eager to see how the OAV works out for you.

[@soulfate2]

Interesting, I wonder with those "falling apart" hives.. do you feed your bees a nutrient (seaweed mix full of goodness or pollen patty small) to boost their nutrients in their systems .. kind of towards winter time (replacing some good nutrients maintaining good health) to compete against the virus's and awful cut marks on the bees bodies from the damned mites? ... once a kind of infection of virus gets going .. can it pass on to the whole colony causing it to "fall over" .. im sure some of us Beekeepers do a natural kind of feed like this in New Zealand ... great vid though too !

[@soulfate2]

are you getting your strips in early enough? to totally smash that mite load down from summer time.. yep its pain i know ..

[@dudeskirt4005]

Oh man. I can feel my stomach tightening up with those results. Hopefully the oxalox acid does the trick. I'm having flashbacks of losing my own hives last year. Unsettling to say the least.

[@snoopypeanut8938]

Me too!!!

[@edlpar]

Similar results with Apivar. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't. Tough to embrace this option when you don't know if it's going to work or not.

[@farmer998]

vap /dribble on a schedule to keep them knocked down

[@carlsledge3868]

I ain't telling what to do, but if I were you, I'd do the 50g OAE SPONGE method on the worst hive and 3 rounds of 5g of OAV on the rest, just to be on the safe side, you can't afford to take mite bombs inside the shed to overwinter.

[@blaineparker8733]

Ian, i have found that after the initial shakedown you should get even more mites if you shake the sample 2 more times 😢

[@hootervillehoneybees8664]

Dish soap really don't need much shake.. half fall off before shaking

[@MinnesotaBeekeeper]

Véto-pharma roulette. Sadly not surprised and possibly one of the major reasons of hive failures across Canada last year. Apivar manufacturing has been iffy over the last several years. It was just a matter of time Ian before a crap batch hit you.

[@andywhite9932]

I hope this isn’t one of those moments where in a few years i sat “I remember where i was when “! We seriously need a new mode of action miticide

[@abeillesmerveilles73]

I forgot to tell you that I treat with oxalic acid 40 gr / liter ... I spray all the bees with a spray card per frame

[@toddknecht2106]

After this video I decided to mite wash my colonies (6). 1/2 cup of bees I had 3 that were 8,7 and 6 per 300 bees! I treat with Formic pro, also ended up with 3 queen less which brings me to this point, I shook out the 3 queen less boxes and thinking that may have increased mite load. 2nd point I noticed you fed mostly open feeding this fall, correct me if I’m wrong but don’t you normally feed with buckets? Is it possible that your high mite counts have occurred due to feral bees at the feeder? Just a thought, thank you for all you do for the beekeeping family!

[@toddknecht2106]

One more point, I put apivar strips on September 17 as I pulled supers off just to pound the mites, first time using apivar, not sure it’s doing the job.

[@aCanadianBeekeepersBlog]

Open feeding increases the tendency to drift

[@billc3405]

Apivar seems to have this issue this year. I see many have commented the same thing.

[@jaibusby673]

The only thing goanna save or otherwise is formic, death or glory, BTW can I guess mite count after counting mite drop after oxilic acid vapping

[@ToddJDutt]

I had some issues with Apivar efficacy this year as well. Crappy indeed!

[@gepesan]

This problem is quite widespread. In Romania, a major infestation occurs every 4-5 years. From what I can see, all the treatments contain Amitraz, I think the difference is in the amount and the period when they are administered. This year is a disaster. I use Varostop or Taktic (contain Amitraz) and separately Varostop (contains Flumethrin /Flumetrin). I have noticed a greater efficiency if the treatment is changed every year. Aside from the topic, isn't the location of the hives dangerous? A flash of lightning, an uncontrolled fire.

[@laneunger6645]

I found apivar extremely ineffective this year. Very disappointing for an expensive product that we count on to save our bees.

[@claudesully]

Pulling apivar strips tomorrow... going to do some testing after seeing this video..😳😳😳😳

[@tjjastrem127]

Wow you got me worried now

[@hockinghillshoneyfarm9273]

Welcome to Apivar

[@extracrazyguy]

Can you grow Thyme around the farm ? After looking around I see that thymol the active essential oils repel mite species and might serve to clean up any areas of land that have exposure to the plant .. Im just thinking out loud here, but I can tell youre very flustered by this epidemic spurge of the varroa mites. But my thinking is that the environment around you is harboring these little buggers either in the soil or other animal species droppings around where your hives are mainly set. Anyway ill shut up now ... best of luck with all you do Ian. Hopefully this winter doesn't do any more damage to the hives.

[@apisincognito8173]

LOL. you're clearly not a farmer. Ridiculous suggestion

[@texasfriendlybeekeepers8210]

so i guess all the time i spent plugging up entrance for 10 min is really not necessary....great video!

[@apisincognito8173]

It's more effective if you do.

[@texasfriendlybeekeepers8210]

@@apisincognito8173 you sure see alot of folks that dont. Do you have any solid studies showing it matters? --thanks

[@apisincognito8173]

@@texasfriendlybeekeepers8210 Yes I believe a study was conducted at the University of common sense.

[@carriemartindale-wetherup5243]

We try to plug em up as much as possible to ensure they get treated thoroughly. Sometimes a couple sneak by if I run out of the right reducers.

[@texasfriendlybeekeepers8210]

@@carriemartindale-wetherup5243 the vapor does it thing very quickly ....the whole 10 min thing i was told by some commercial folks is unnecessary...just wait until all vapor is NOT coming out of entrance.

[@zarkobojanic2141]

I got similar situation few years ago,and lost 50%of my bee colonis,not good.

[@SlauterPFK]

Amitraz efficacy is very low, rough estimates say around 70%, depending on the researcher. 70% basically does nothing during August & September, it just keeps the same level of infestation, which is already high. Now, the way you guys use Amitraz on strips, arguably, it's way below 70% You create Amitraz-resistant mites. The way I see it, if you want to keep on doing that, you need to combine Amitraz with OA in a way that kills Amitraz-resistant ones. So, let's say 10 vapes during the whole run.

[@bbnelsonbeekeepingbees60]

It seems like whatever happens to your bees in Manitoba every year is mirrored by my bees in Rhode island. Unexplainable,after having done everything possible to control the mites. The majority of the colonies are huge and doing well, with intermittent total crashes, loaded with mites and wing viruses.

[@nemanjafilipovic6422]

While doing sublimation, does device keeps same temperature all the time, temperature of sublimation. And does acid turns in liquid form and than evaporate or it burns and evaporate, since natural state of oxalic acid is liquid? I'm thinking on switching to sublimation, I'm young beekeeper, been beekeeping for 5 years since I was 17yo. Thanks for great videos and response!

[@aCanadianBeekeepersBlog]

Best temp for sublimation is 180C, but the gun is heated to 230C, Once the acid is dropped into the bowl, it pulls down to 190C. I often wonder what the actual sublimation temp is . But too cold and it takes forever to cook off, too hot and it decomposes

[@melissokomialimnoy1242]

@@aCanadianBeekeepersBlog 250c

[@brendawydeven2934]

Apivar failed me last year. Had count of 28/300 bees roughly. I will never use it again. Now using apiguard the kaymon reynolds way, hopguard 3 the Randy Oliver way or Oa vape.

[@ThalApiFarm]

👍

[@floridacoder]

Weigh 10 wet bees. Take the total weight / 10 and you know about how much the average weight bee is. Then when you do your mite tests weigh all your wet bees along with the mite count. You can figure out more accurately your bee to mite percentage that way and not need to count each one or guess like you are doing.

[@georgegoertzen4723]

I'm not certain how accurate you could get trying to go by weight as a bee's weight is going to change depending on what kind of bee (nurse or worn nectar gatherer, or ... and how much they've got in their gut) you get in your test for weight and how big or old the mite(s) are. I don't think everyone has access to the kind of scales of an accuracy necessary to do this. It's an idea worth investigating...

[@floridacoder]

@@georgegoertzen4723 it would be closer than scooping up bees and guessing a number. The only exact way is to count every bee. But a count based on weight would almost certainly be more accurate than eyeballing it - unless you got very lucky. Digital jeweler scales are around $20 on Amazon.

[@dronebee5212]

Hi lan, oxalic acid, cage Queen on frame for 2 weeks ,treat with oxalic acid, first and second week ,release queen one week check for queen cells on other 9 frame ,cage again 2 weeks treat oxalic acid first and second week ,release Queen ,check for queen cells ,? oxalic acid,has to be use in bloodless Nest in hives,which means lots of extra work we don't have, ? On the other hand, I use a mineral oil fogger ,just a 4 seconds burst in the hives every fortnightly, using Bayvarol,April and may ,in Spring August September apivar in ,for 8 week treatment ,using the fogger as well,hives are exploding, I'm in town,, so have to put a empty box under the hives,to keep the mineral oil vaporizeing inside the hive,and helps from burning the bees as well,have sticky board on floor check that I have less than 9 mite drop a day ,keeps the hive at 1% infestation, which is great, 1 mite pre 100 bees,,haven't done any varroa shakes or sticky board counts for the last one and half years , I haven't seen hardly any deform wing virus, which is fantastic,

[@tomfuller9010]

Ian you may send Richard NOEL a N email he trapped queen after final honey flow and put her in a cage looking like excluder slotted front and back for 25 days or so they cut into center frame he never removed cage just let. Queen out with no brood OA was effective.time of dirth did not disrupt hive. Wonder if rocket fuel kept to much continual egg laying to clear all brood for OA

[@aCanadianBeekeepersBlog]

There isn’t any brood right now, pretty much zero