Looking Good

Varroa Treatment now completed until December when hope for a day or two of warm (15°C or so) weather when I can do the final treatment for this year with lactic or oxalic acid. This involves either spraying or covering the bees themselves with a weak solution. For this one doesn't want freezing conditions!

Yesterday added a further 2.5kg block of Apifonda in each colony. With a good weather week forecast hope I can soon add at least another block. It is essential they get as much food (honey) as possible stored before it gets cold. Need to ensure the number of bees is big enough to produce the 30°C temperature needed throughout the winter to keep the brood cells, needed to kick off operations in the spring, safe until it gets warmer.

Feeling a lot more confident now. Hasn't listened my guilt at making the girls suffer so much this year and then subject them to 3 doses of formic acid but it is very clear that they are an awful lot fitter now. I had fed them a block of Apifonda before the treatment and after a week they hadn't reworked it. After treatment, the block was gone within 2 days.

Formic Acid treatment is not liked by many. I found it verý easy and straighforward. There were some small losses of dead bees (larvae stage) but it is the larvae stage which gets attacked by the mites first and maybe not a bad thing. They only came from one hive so it is possible I might have overdosed a bit. On balance rather a handful of dead bees which were certainly anyway suffering from the mites, than a sick or at worst dead colony. Bees weakened by the mites are more susceptible to other diseases.

Need to make sure the weather is good so that the bees can get out & about during the day and also that the acid can vapourise. Different theories but I made sure maximum hive openings to ventilate as best as possible.

However an important word of caution. Please take great care when working with the acid and take all safety precautions: gloves, eye protection, no bare skin and a bucket of water to dilute any splashes. AND lots of smoke first to make sure the queen isn't close to the sponge when applying the acid.

PS I use German "Standard" size frames (35 x 20cm inside frame area) and the rule of thumb is 2ml per full frame. MrB normally goes for two autumn treatments about one week apart. Bavaria State Bee keeping "School" reckons 3 to 4 treatments, 3 to 4 days apart. Given my heavy infestation I went for a mixture of the two. 3 treatments 3 days then 7 days apart.