That last group advises NY state on beekeeping issues. According to Earl, it sounds pretty official—the NYS inspection program has been de-funded for this year. I guess I won't have to put my apiary number under my hive cover after all (I was going to wait till the inspector actually came, then slip it in when he wasn't looking.
Earl talked about how he uses formic acid.
The advantages:
It's inexpensive, around $1/hive
It's quick, 24 hours and it's done
Thorough, killing mites outside cells and up to 90% of mites inside cells.
Formic acid occurs naturally in colonies.
Disadvantages:
You have to buy wholesale quantities of formic acid
It's not approved in NYS
It's corrosive and dangerous in the wrong hands
Several club members expressed an interest in buying formic acid and distributing it to others. If you are one of them, here are two links you should check:
http://www.wvu.edu/~agexten/varroa/FAFumigat.pdf
This site provides results from a test using an applicator that is more complicated than Earl described at the last meeting but the other numbers and quantities look the same.
youtube video lecture on pros and cons of formic acid and different application methods.
I'm going to continue not treating bees with anything. Earl commented on non-treatment, saying that some people do that and after several years, appear to have colonies that tolerate mites. He didn't feel he could afford that. On the other hand, I couldn't afford the time to treat and monitor mite levels (lazy and cheap might be a better description), so I did lose bees for a few years. I'm waiting for the colony loss numbers to appear so I'll know if I'm still above average.
it is really amazing...thanks for sharing....provide more useful information.
ReplyDeleteFerrous Sulphate