Worldwide Beekeeping
Beekeeping => Pests and Diseases => Topic started by: Wandering Man on August 30, 2016, 05:02:24 pm
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I've overcome my PTSD from my first attempt at OAV treatment.
Lessons I learned:
Never treat at night.
Never force all of your bees into a single deep when the outside temperature is above 100
Make sure you have a good battery
Make sure you have all of your zippers closed.
So, with those lessons in mind, I started again 9 days ago. I treated my two hives in the morning, so I know I missed all of my foraging bees. My 24 hour mite count in both hives was 17. This count was done about a week earlier, while I was still building my courage. I was counting mites in the oil in my Freeman bottom board.
24 hours after the treatment, I found 91 mites under the BeeThinking cedar hive, and 4 mites in the Dadant pine hive. The cedar hive gets about 1 hour of son more than the pine hive each day.
Seven days later, I applied the second OAV. The next day (today), I counted 94 mites under the cedar hive and 6 mites under the pine hive.
I find it interesting that there is such a big difference. The cedar hive has been the stronger of the two. The pine hive is from the nuc that left Navasota with many of its foragers out in the field, because they forgot to close off the entrance the morning I showed up. That was in April, and the hive is stronger, but it has never caught up with the other hive, and it is the child that I worry over.
So, even though it seems like the small population of mites is a good thing, I can't help but worry that it is a sign that something is wrong.
I'll treat next Monday, and post the final mite count next Tuesday.
-WM
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It can be deceiving, some of the biggest hives in the fall can crash the hardest. More brood, more opportunity for mites.
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I treated some at dusk and did not have to close them up they stayed in the hive no problem. I thought that was strange.
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Each hive is it very own universe, chemistry, planet.. if you will.
I can have the same scenario you are having, and then the hives do a flip flop in the summer, and then I'll have a hive that I think is under control with mites and I'll find bees with deformed wing virus running around on the ground in front of that hive.
I'm jazzed that you killed 91 mites that are not sucking the life out of your bees, that's 91 too many! and the mites will keep dying for a while.
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Is it considered necessary to to treat when all the bees are in the hive? I thought the crystals did the work over a few days.
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That's what I've read, too. And that's how I rationalized just going in during the day.
The girls really didn't like my disturbing their beauty rest.
But I don't really know for sure.
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Okay so... I asked the same question a handfull of years ago. Scott aka:LazyBkpr, said that the crystals, or fog/vapor that land on the bees during the treatment get rubbed of onto the other bees.
My problem is that I'm not an early riser, so my hives already have many foragers out. So during the bee shuffle in the hive all day long, the vapor/crystals get distributed through out all the bees over the next few days.
I don't have a source of information or a site to prove that, but it makes sense to me. And, so far over the last 5 years that I've been using OA, I have not lost a hive to mites.
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So, even though it seems like the small population of mites is a good thing, I can't help but worry that it is a sign that something is wrong.
This statement made me think of a couple of things. 1. It's good that you treat all the hives in the same bee yard regardless of how many mites you found when testing. It's fall. Colony numbers, even on huge hives, will drop while mite counts will increase. 2. Testing isn't always 100% accurate. 3. The OA gets absorbed into the beeswax and provides long term results.
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Good one Baker, and Apis described that the bees that float from hive to hive will keep carrying the mites to and from. So, I just got all my nucs situated with the correct bottom board so that I can now treat my two hives and the 5 nucs all at the same time on the same days.
Baker is right.. It's Fall! time to think seriously about mite treatment
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WM ....... Will you explain the good battery comment please. I have 5 hives to do and I am going to buy a battery tomorrow and was going to buy a smallish one so that it would be easy to carry around.
How much could each treatment possibly drain a battery?
Thanks
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J-Grow,
I had an old 12-Volt Marine Deep Cycle battery (the size of a standard car battery) that had been living (dying?) in my workshop for several years. I had charged it over night a few days before my first OAV (disaster) attempt. The next day I hooked up the OAV and timed how long the battery took to evaporate 2 TSP of OA. It took the battery 7 minutes, much longer than the 2 1/2 minutes folks say you should leave it in the hive.
On the day before my attempted OAV treatment, I put the battery on the charger, and then carried it out to the hives after dark. At the time I thought dark would be best because all the bees would be inside. After 7 minutes, I unplugged the vaporizer. 15 minutes later, I pulled the vaporizer out of the hive and let the bees out. The vaporizer still had a lot of OA sitting in the cup, so I knew my battery had died totally.
I drove my riding lawnmower out to the hive and hooked up to the battery. It's a smaller battery, but still 12 volts. I did the same time frame (7 minutes on, 15 minutes wait). During the 15 minute wait, I hooked the battery to the charger, and then repeated the process with my second hive.
After the second treatment, my lawnmower wouldn't start without another charge.
I was able to drive the lawnmower back into the workshop the next morning, but the three year old battery was never the same.
I bought a new car battery from Interstate battery, and haven't had any problems. I was able to treat both hives without a recharge, and 3 TSP of OA vaporizes in less than three minutes.
I've read from others that the vaporizer drains batteries pretty quickly, and so it is not advisable to count on using your car or tractor, as you may get stranded.
On Edit: I used a 1/4 teaspoon measure, not a 1 teaspoon measure. So, it was 1/2 teaspoon that was used when I had two boxes, and it was 3/4 teaspoon when I had three boxes.
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WM, one of us is WAY off. It was my understanding that you used 1/4 tsp. per deep hive body. What dosage were you using. Am I totally off my rocker with my thoughts?
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Ooops! You're right. I was using the 1/4 tsp to measure out the amount. So it was 1/2 tsp the first time (two boxes) and 3/4 tsp the second time (three boxes).
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J-Grow, I use a EverStart Plus, 12 volt that I bought at walmart. It burns the OA crystals out of the metal cup in 2 1/2 minutes. That's what my instructions that came with the OA applicator said to expect. Each year I do a trial run too. just fill the metal cup with the two spoonsful (spoons come with the applicator) then connect the battery up and watch to see if the crystals evaporate within 2 - 2 1/2 minutes. Then I proceed with the hives.
Wandering Man - "I bought a new car battery from Interstate battery, and haven't had any problems. I was able to treat both hives without a recharge, and 3 TSP of OA vaporizes in less than three minutes."
Jen - The small white plastic spoon that came with my Heilyser vaporizer is 1/4 teaspoon. On the spoon it's marked 2 scoops, that would be per hive application. May I ask where you learned about 3 TSP for applications? maybe this is something that I haven't been informed of yet...
UPDATE - Okay, that makes sense now. I thought that maybe there was some new info out there that we needed to update. Thanks Iddee for keeping us on the same page ;) 8)
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Jen,
I had to buy my own set of spoons. Wife wouldn't let me steal out of her drawer. I can't imagine why ....
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Hahaha! I'm siding with the wife, especially when my men at home are working on their trucks, jeeps, chainsaws, and they wander into my kitchen... Yeeah, they pull back a bloody stump :D
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Yes glow plugs draw allot of power and up to 10 amps or more depending on which one I'm told (while being used) so that is a good bit of power at 2 to 4 minutes continued use at a time.
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Nugget - True! the first battery I bought, think it was a motorcycle battery was not enough power. My 12 volt works perfectly
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Hahaha! I'm siding with the wife, especially when my men at home are working on their trucks, jeeps, chainsaws, and they wander into my kitchen... Yeeah, they pull back a bloody stump :D
I will stay out of YOUR kitchen!!!
:o
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OA is generally 1 gram by weight per deep hive body. It was tested at 4 times that amount so there is wiggle room. I use a 1/2 inch copper pipe cap soldered on a strip of copper for a handle. That is 1 gram by weight not packed. The mites do not have a protective waxy coating around where their legs attach and the vapor enters the body and kills them or something close to that.
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Yes, there is wiggle room, but MORE is not always better.
Yes, the crystals transfer... it is how they kill mites when it is cold and the bees are clustered, the OA Vapor cannot get to the center of the cluster, but as the bees move into that cluster, the crystals transfer.
No it is not absorbed into the wax, it deposits on bees, frames, wax etc as minute crystals, and the bees pick those up on their legs and bodies and carry them about, mites come into contact with those crystals and are killed. Tests have shown that the wax, and honey have no higher concentration of OA in them a week after treatment than they had the week before treatment. It is the crystals that kill the mites, the natural Oxalic Acid IN the honey and pollen have no effect. It is "believed" that the crystals penetrate the SOFT parts of the mites, around their mouth, legs etc. and that once contact is made the mite dies.. no chance for a build up of immunity... ALL subject to change as is just about everything bee related!
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Something else to consider is the type bottom board you use.... If solid wood the vaporizer (if the metal plate type) will work faster than the same unit on a metal #8 wire screen bottom. Why? The metal screen will act as a sort of heat sink and as a result it will slow the vaporizer some as it draws heat away and will also use a bit more power.
I lessened my time by almost a minute and a half by doing this insulation trick since I indeed use closed screen bottoms in my hives.
(https://worldwidebeekeeping.com/forum/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi225.photobucket.com%2Falbums%2Fdd219%2Fsoutherndesert%2FBees%2FIMG_20160901_175411135_zps3gqqm4ta.jpg&hash=3389c7aee47755463aec5490e312cc41f8c2f611)
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I like that insulation board a lot Nugget Shooter. I have been using a lawn mower / motorcycle battery, and at full charge it will do one full melt on crystals in 2.5 to 3 minutes, then it is dead as a doornail, so I was doing one hive a night, not thinking about bees moving around from hive to hive. I was doing at dusk. my big hives no big issue to close but I had a little hot one (with a drone laying queen) last fall that I tried to nurse through the winter just to have something to put a queen in, and that one was ferocious, good thing I had zippers closed.
I am probably due for a new battery. will charge this one and see how it does, it's not old And I am probably going down to just one hive here with the rest remote, which might cause some need bigger battery issues. if I do one in the morning early and one at dusk I can charge in between..
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When doing OAV treatments, I normally just pull the truck up close, leave it running, pop the hood and go to work. I treat several hives at a time. As long as you keep the vehicle running, the alternator should keep the battery charged.
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That's a good idea rrog. I would probably have to splice the electrical cord and add more length tho. I use a large yard wagon, put every thing in it and pull it along as I need.
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With summer winding down I decided to do a mite count and was all geared up for treatment. Counts on my three hives worked out to 4 per hundred, 2 per hundred , and 0 per hundred. Very encouraging, but at least 2/3s of the brood comb is in capped and open brood. So, I really can't be too thrilled until this bunch emerges. I'll give them another month but in the meantime these are much better numbers than I had at this time last year! :)
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How do you make your count Neil?
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How do you make your count Neil?
I was afraid someone would ask me that question. :) I use natural drop over 2 or three days, in this case two days. Then i count mites, divide by the number of days and get a daily drop. Then I multiply each by 400. This is a number I got from a British beekeepers site. Then I estimate how many bees I have based on how many frames they can cover-in this case because it's a warre comb about 2000. Then I work out the per 100 number to get an idea of the varroa population in the hive.
As a general metric if my daily is drop is less than 10 I don't get too concerned . If 20 or higher treatment is definitely called for. In the late summer/early fall when the hive is broodless it becomes much more critical. After this bunch emerges if my counts are over 5 I will probably treat to keep those winter bees as strong as possible.
Now that I've written all of this and probably because I'm loopy with fatigue, I'm now convinced my math is all wrong. :) I will check it tomorrow and include a addy for the site to which I was referring.
Bottom line- I had 2 mites on one board , 4 on another and 0 on the third. This was after 48 hours under the SBB.
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I see. I use screen bottom board with sticky boards as well. I keep the sticky boards on at all times then take a peek at them every couple weeks. If I see 10 mites, I treat.
That's how I do my math LOL :D
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Keep in mind after the hive has reached its peak for the year and starts cutting back in the fall the mites don't and you can easily get caught with 3 times the mites per 100 bees. That can put your hive real trouble.
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Keep in mind after the hive has reached its peak for the year and starts cutting back in the fall the mites don't and you can easily get caught with 3 times the mites per 100 bees. That can put your hive real trouble.
Absolutely, this time of year is critical. I don't want my winter bees going into the season weakened. But a treatment right now would be wasted as I have twice as many bees under cappings as in the hive and likely twice as many mites. I will continue to monitor and when inspection shows the brood rearing has slowed or population is booming, I'll hit with a couple of timed treatments.
These Russians I keep will rear brood in sync with nectar flow and this spring/summer has been very poor. Best I can figure is all the rainy days or maybe the very mild previous winter.
Right now they have found something and are filling comb rapidly, I'll have to add room today. I'm guessing either basswood or early goldenrod.
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CBT ~ Been There! Life takes the beekeeper off course some times. But there were times when I have checked my hives during the brood cut back, and all seems well. Then two weeks later all hades breaks loose and I'm finding my poor bees wandering on the ground with deformed wing virus. It's so sad to watch them wabbling around like that :sad:
I've been checking my sticky boards the last two weeks and the mites were building up. I like to do my OA on Sunday mornings, so I proceeded yesterday. Pulled my sticky boards out to clean it off so I have a clean slate to count the mite kill in a week. Sure enough there is a bee with no wings, but none on the ground. Think I caught it in time. This 4 time treatment will clean up the mites and then the bees can make healthy winter bees.
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This 4 time treatment will clean up the mites and then the bees can make healthy winter bees.
Jen,
Do you treat four weeks in a row? I thought 3 was the recommended dosing.
-WM
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If you skip a week before the last treatment three works, if you dont skip four will get you to the 21 day mark so all emerging bees have their mites eradicated.
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Wman, funny you ask that. Now, for the last 4 years I have been treating on Sundays, 3 Sundays in a row. I "thought" I had the 21 day hatching cycle. But just a couple weeks ago Apis and Iddee explained differently in that 4 Sundays in a row would treat the 21 day cycle. I got my calendar down and counted it out (I Am Not A Mathematician) and by golly I see it now.
However, these last 4 years, I have been doing the 3 Suns in a row... and it seems to be working just fine.. shrug.. meaning I haven't lost a hive to mites yet. knocking on head knocking on head
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Well, if the cell isn't capped until day 10, and they emerge at day 21, isn't that just 11 or 12 days?
Or are they under the wax for 21 days?
Or does the OA vapor not penetrate an uncapped cell?
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Cell is capped at day nine or ten, correct.. There is some controversy about the effectiveness of OAV on mites in cells with Larvae of five days or older.. I know the vapor gets into those cells, it gets into EVERYTHING as easily as smoke... Do the young mites move OUT from under the larvae? Are the crystals still present when the mites are old enough to move about more?
We still have a lot to learn... The very basics of it is, that OAV does not affect the bees, the honey, the wax etc, EVEN when tested by treating once a week for an entire winter.. the bees came out of winter strong and healthy and the hive was booming in no time.
In effect, you could treat at day 0 which could be considered day nine, and then treat again on day 12, which would be day 21 to the larvae that were capped the first time you treated, and catch the mites emerging from those cells.
I know beeks that treat ONLY ONCE in the spring, and only once in the fall, and i am keeping close tabs on two of them, just to monitor their mite levels and see how their treatment schedule works..
I only treat once in the spring, usually as early as possible, so there is less brood... Possible to me = when i dont have to worry about shivering any more....
BUT, in the fall, I want to make SURE the bees that will be my OVERWINTERED BEES are well treated and as healthy as possible...
Take care of the bees, that take care of the bees that will be going into winter. Larry Connor catch phrase.
In effect, you treat the bees that you want to be as healthy as possible, so that they can make sure the next generation of bees is as healthy or healthier than they were, so that those bees will then insure the bees that will live all winter in your hives are as healthy, mite, and disease free as they can be... his philosophy is, that a sick bee will not care for another new bee as well as a good healthy bee can or will.
So I treat three times, to KILL as many mites as I can. Day 0, Day 7, SKIP, and day 21. I may not NEED to do that, but I can say it works VERY VERY well, so until I have been shown a better way I will stick to doing that.
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If one treatment one time kills 90% a treatment like that in June, Aug,Oct and just before your winter starts should work well. In between there would not be enough mites to cause a problem. Long time ago I treated as you discribe three or more in a row but haven't found the need for multiples in a month. Food for thought.
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When you treat, there WILL be some capped cells, os unless you treat when there is no brood, your not going to knock the mites down enough. Yes, you will knock their numbers down, but those that emerge from those cells will quickly rebuild... if you also knock THEM down, then it takes even longer for the population to rebound... When it comes to wintering, i am all about healthy bees.. as healthy as i can get them.
I have heard, that if I keep the mite levels TOO low, the bees will never build any resistance....
Yeah, i guess i can see that. What remains, is that I really do like having live bees in the spring. late August early Sept treatments of OAV in the manner described raised my winter survival by 40%.. Of 50 hives I lost an average of four, while most of the rest of the state posted losses of 40% to 70%...
You may VERY WELL be right! But, like I said, this works, I know it works, have seen it work, can prove it works... So.... if it aint broke..... I will really really TRY not to fix it.
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I treated for the third time yesterday.
Today I had 154 mites in one hive, and 10 mites in the other.
I promised the girls this would be the last time until Spring.
Now I'm thinking I'll have to go back on my word. Wife is worried they won't trust me anymore.
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Nice explanation LzyBkpr :) In my climate here in upper northern California, I can still keep a look for mites thru winter with my sticky boards. And there have been times in the dead of winter when the count was getting to high. Then I wait and cross my fingers until I get a 45 degree day, then I bolt out the door and do 1 treatment to the hive that needs it. It's a plus in our climate.
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I am also currently treating and just finished the second round Sunday so have been following this thread with interest... Thanks All. I don't really go into a Winter here and learning as I go, still have eggs to brood in all stages in all 4 hives and they are still going about business as usual. We will not see any temps below freezing until January (if then) so there is some forage through the same time frame. Spring flow will begin in March and last through June for us with intensity depending on winter season rains.... So if I intend to treat without capped brood it would have to be after December correct?
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Okay,
Got some rest and looked up all my assumptions and I was pretty far off.
The website I use is:http://www.nationalbeeunit.com/public/BeeDiseases/varroaCalculator.cfm
Also a Warre comb covered with bees both sides is about 1500 bees, maybe little more as I have small cell bees.
I still feel pretty good about this drop. One hive is my queen from last year that never had a varroa problem, another is a split with her daughter, and the third is a pure russian I bought this spring for a split. The russian hive is the one with a drop of zero. Assuming I can winter these hives over, I ought to be able to do some growth next year. :)
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Neil, interesting about the russians. I have read over and over that there is no mite problem with russians. Hmmm,. Why is that?
And, I've also heard that russians are assertive bees, aggressive even. Do you have to suit up completely to deal with your russians?
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Jen,
Russians are the opposite of varroa tolerant. They have no tolerance for them. I have seen video of house bees reaching back and pulling them off, then working them around and chewing their legs off. They don't tolerate SHB or their larva in the hive either.
Compared to Italians they are hot but with a little smoke they are not difficult to work. They are at their most irritable when storing up honey. This time of the year I wear a jacket-no gloves. I know when they are getting upset as they will start head butting my hands and veil.
Interestingly, the hybrids tend to be more defensive to the keeper than the purebreds. That seems counter intuitive to me.
Russian queens will stop brood-rearing during a dearth and that can be kind of irritating and my limited experience is that they will not be fooled with syrup. These brood breaks are very helpful in controlling the varroa population.
They will winter with a cluster so small you will swear they have died out, but soon as spring flow start they will explode with growth.
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I did one more OAV treatment yesterday, based on what I read here, just to make sure I had 21 days covered.
As predicted, the bees were unhappy that I broke my promise to them.
After some conversation with them, they forgave me and offered to give me some free cosmetic surgery, but only to the left side of my face.
The bags under my left eye are gone, and I now have a prominent cheek bone. Their bit of handiwork also has erased all of the wrinkles on that side of my face.
They said the swelling from the procedure should go down in a couple of days, and I'm to just ignore that bit of itching which they said might be a residual effect of their procedure.
They refused to do the other side of my face, however.
Anyone got any suggestions on how I can talk them into it? The results on the left side are spectacular!
-WM
P.S. A respirator is NOT the same thing as a veil, no matter how safe you feel behind the mask.
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I'll speak for Perry...
NO PICTURE, DID NOT HAPPEN, NO PIE!!
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I believe now a change in my treatment is soon coming. I bow to the 0 week 1 week skip week and finial treat week may be a better although much more time consuming and will give a better chance to overwinter with short cuts. My theory may have been sound, but the real world reality has shown me different. :\'(o
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Oh, I forgot to report the counts.
One day after the last treatment:
Pine hive had 6 mites
Cedar hive had 2016 mites!
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I'll speak for Perry...
NO PICTURE, DID NOT HAPPEN, NO PIE!!
:yes: :yes: :yes: :yes: :yes:
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(https://s17.postimg.cc/tj621lnff/20160913_205459.jpg) (https://postimg.cc/image/tj621lnff/)
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NICE! PIE TIME! :D Now all's you had to do was get a pair of tweezers, pick up a bee from the hive or bird bath, lift her up to your face and place the bottom of the bee on your skin, exactly where the sting was on the other side. AND WAH LAH! No More Bags!
I wish I could get a piece of pie! I don't swell anymore :( boooooo
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lol!
skip the pie........how bout some cherry chocolate cheesecake?..........
(https://worldwidebeekeeping.com/forum/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi1056.photobucket.com%2Falbums%2Ft373%2Friverbee1%2Fcheesecake%2Fcherrychocolatebrowniecheesecake_zpsbdcee99e.jpg&hash=649cb54eebdb5d0370d32c8836ec470300851a34)
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Yum. If it's cool, I may just smash it against my cheek. It's getting harder to see out of that eye.
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Wman! Never waste cheese cake on your face, get an ice pack :D
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Wman! Never waste cheese cake on your face, get an ice pack :D
Yes Ma'am!
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It has been 7 days since my last OAV treatment.
I emptied my Freeman Bottom board trays, and added fresh oil. I wanted to do another count tomorrow to see how things were going.
Being the impatient guy I am, I pulled the trays out after only 2 1/2 hours, just to see what was happening. One hive had no mites.
The second hive had accumulated ten mites in just two and a half hours. And I didn't even pull the tray all the way out!
I'll count again tomorrow afternoon, but can only assume there will be more, rather than less mites.
Advice, please:
Do I just assume that the OAV crystals are still active in the hive and doing their job, knocking down freshly emerging mites?
Or do I give the hive a fifth treatment?
Here is a run-down of what I've done so far:
7/21 - 24 hour Mite count under the hive is 16
Treated with OAV
7/22- 24 hour mite count is 17. I decide not to treat again.
8/22 - OAV treatment, replace oil with soapy water.
8/23 - 24 hour mite count is 91 and 1 SHB
8/29 - OAV treatment, replace soapy water.
8/30 - 24 hour mite count is 94 (no shb)
9/5 - OAV treatment, replace soapy water.
9/6 - 24 hour mite count is 154 (no shb)
9/12 - OAV treatment, replace soapy water.
9/13 - 24 hour mite count is 209 (no shb)
9/18 - Replace soapy water with cooking oil. 2 1/2 hours later, the mite count is 10 (no shb)
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I've overcome my PTSD from my first attempt at OAV treatment.
Lessons I learned:
Never treat at night.
Never force all of your bees into a single deep when the outside temperature is above 100
Make sure you have a good battery
Make sure you have all of your zippers closed.
So, with those lessons in mind, I started again 9 days ago. I treated my two hives in the morning, so I know I missed all of my foraging bees. My 24 hour mite count in both hives was 17. This count was done about a week earlier, while I was still building my courage. I was counting mites in the oil in my Freeman bottom board.
24 hours after the treatment, I found 91 mites under the BeeThinking cedar hive, and 4 mites in the Dadant pine hive. The cedar hive gets about 1 hour of son more than the pine hive each day.
Seven days later, I applied the second OAV. The next day (today), I counted 94 mites under the cedar hive and 6 mites under the pine hive.
I find it interesting that there is such a big difference. The cedar hive has been the stronger of the two. The pine hive is from the nuc that left Navasota with many of its foragers out in the field, because they forgot to close off the entrance the morning I showed up. That was in April, and the hive is stronger, but it has never caught up with the other hive, and it is the child that I worry over.
So, even though it seems like the small population of mites is a good thing, I can't help but worry that it is a sign that something is wrong.
I'll treat next Monday, and post the final mite count next Tuesday.
-WM
Add a lesson: make sure the hot end is on the floor of the hive, not up against the frames.
(https://worldwidebeekeeping.com/forum/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fuploads.tapatalk-cdn.com%2F20160918%2F933ac9a621680cb42f0629fad846d486.jpg&hash=d830dbae5cfe52f8c99d223e817d6769c8a4fc0e)
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OK, the official 24 hour count, one week after my last treatment is 48 mites swimming in cooking oil.
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I would do it again.
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That's what I'm thinking.
Tomorrow morning.
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Wman, when you say 'swimming in cooking oil', do you mean that they are dead and floating in cooking oil? or are they alive and wiggling in the cooking oil?
I could be reading more into how you phrased that... just curious to know :)
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They are deceased, Jen.
When I pull the tray out it is no longer level, and the liquid will flow to the lowest point bringing dead mites with it.
I've switched from soapy water to oil because we are going to be out of town for a few days, and the soapy water needs to be monitored pretty closely.
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Okay. My sticky boards will catch live wiggler mites as well. I take pleasure and comfort watching them die a slow death. I'm on my third OA treatment and I'm not finding any wigglers anymore.
I would say the first two treatments rendered approx 2,000 mite kill so far in each of 3 hives, and they are still dropping. Have one more treatment to go next weekend. It's a nice feeling when you know your bees will have a long mite free Fall season of foraging.
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It's a nice feeling when you know your bees will have a long mite free Fall season of foraging. Said Jen
May I say ditto to that. What a wonderful tool for our toolbox. Now where's that hive Beetle smoker killer.
Or something great like it.
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I dunno CBT, it took a while to discover the OA for mites. Will prob take some time for the Small Hive Beetle. But I'll tell ya what... If I ever get into one of my hives and it's full of slime.... I will just have to barf right then and there!
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I wonder if barf will kill SHB?
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omg.... LMAO
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Oxalic acid was around in the 50s and so cheap no one would pay to redo the application. They did not hive might issues then. I'm a little forgetful on how it was but when I first heard of the stuff did some research on and about. We have something that mounts on a shim with a sharp edge the Beatles can't get around that sounds promising.
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I know a few keeps lazy enough to apply OAV Once in the fall and once in the spring, and they seem to be getting away with it. I know keeps using it four times in a row...
My own personal experience is that if the correct amount is used, and fully vaporized using the three treatment skip method, I usually have a 0 mite count a month later.. So make sure of the amount, Make sure it is not vaporizing too fast, or that you are not dumping some of it out when you pull the pan.
Doing a treatment does not INSTANTLY kill all of the mites, it will kill them over the course of three or four days. More mites will emerge from capped cells and they need to be dealt with. If done at day o, seven, skip and 21 you will catch the vast majority of them and should not have a high count. if you do, something is wrong and needs to be fixed.
I have become so confident that I seldom check all the hives. Checking three or four of them to insure their counts are low to 0 is all I do any more.
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A little update on my little beeyard. I waited two weeks to allow capped brood to emerge, then placed sticky boards for three days. My counts were Hive 1-3 per day, Hive 2-1.6 per day, Hive 3- 3 per day. Still raising brood but only about 1/3 of brood chamber is capped. So, I waited 3 days and have placed sticky boards for a 7 day count. There is quite a bit of pollen coming in and considerable nectar. Looks like enough at this point to cover winter needs.
Weather is getting cooler but days are sunny and warm-bees working like trojans to bring in winter stores.
All and all I'm feeling pretty good. :)
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:bee: That makes me happy Neil!
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My hive had 23 mites yesterday, 7 days after my 5th OAV treatment.
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You may have brought down the mite load very low but think about the risk of all the pathogens and bad stuff they carry you have stopped. We think mites are bad. Maybe we should consider the bad baggage they carry.
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You may have brought down the mite load very low but think about the risk of all the pathogens and bad stuff they carry you have stopped. We think mites are bad. Maybe we should consider the bad baggage they carry.
I wasn't happy with the mite count.
I treated one more time today. I'll give it a week, then count again.