Author Topic: winter losses so far  (Read 1445 times)

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Offline rober

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winter losses so far
« on: March 16, 2020, 02:43:43 pm »
hope i'm not putting a whammy on myself here. as of 2 weeks ago I've lost 3 of 38 hives so far. the corpses have been sent to the USDA lab in Beltsville.

Offline Bakersdozen

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Re: winter losses so far
« Reply #1 on: March 17, 2020, 08:29:59 am »
What do you think the lab will tell you?

Offline Jen

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Re: winter losses so far
« Reply #2 on: March 17, 2020, 12:01:11 pm »
Good question Baker. The top three questions I always ask first are... Mite, Starvation, Freezing.
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Offline rober

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Re: winter losses so far
« Reply #3 on: March 17, 2020, 01:19:03 pm »
mites. starvation is easy to spot. every cell has a bee butt sticking out. ALL my hives have candy that is checked throughout the winter as weather permits.
I may be repeating myself but...1st I HATE using chemical treatments in my hives, yard, garden, or orchard. I use them it's a last resort. ex.-my wife gets poison ivy if she looks at the plant. I cut down the vine to where I can coil it up, spray it, & then cover the sprayed plants with an overturned 5 gallon bucket. this minimizes environmental exposure.
 I originally would put mite drop boards on hives & the infested hives were treated & non-infested were not. then when the untreated hives died that winter the usda tests usually showed high mite counts in those hives. so MY take is that things can change within days or weeks so now I only test AFTER I treat ALL hives. the last 3 years I've been having 9-10% losses in the winter. my regimen has been to use oxalic acid drizzle in late march, apiguard in mid-late august, & oxalic acid vapor in October & November ( if it's warm enough ). I also did a test this January & vaporized 2 hives during a warm spell.

Offline Wandering Man

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Re: winter losses so far
« Reply #4 on: March 18, 2020, 09:55:43 am »
keep us posted.
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Offline Bakersdozen

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Re: winter losses so far
« Reply #5 on: March 18, 2020, 11:38:53 am »

Offline rober

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Re: winter losses so far
« Reply #6 on: March 18, 2020, 11:54:47 am »
it can take 2-3 weeks to hear from the usda lab.