Attention!
since we know about changes in the behavior of Varroa mites in recent years, the treatment effect with icing sugar: is questionable.
more info
and:
http://www.elgon.es/diary/?p=799
Years ago 33% of the Varroa mites were found on the bees and 66% in the brood. According to Manuel Izquierdo, biologist of Seville, this has gradually changed and now only 15% of the mites are found on the bees and 85% within the brood cells.
Conclusion:
Treatments with oxalic acid and chemicals in beehives against Varroa, with the presence of capped brood, is becoming less effective.
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Actually, you can avoid all chemicals, including acids and thymol, etc., if you only have a few hives. I mean only the problem of Varroa. And once again very clear – we do not use it. The only thing we suggest is, when the first autumn, after the switch to small cells, Varroa problems occur, because the bees have not yet learned to defend themselves, we can fall back on the sugar.
It goes like this: You have to make the sugar yourself, but this is quite simple. Purchased contains starch and is harmful to the bees.
You take an electric coffee grinder, and grind the normal sugar. But take cane sugar because the sugar produced from sugar beet, possibly or probably is burdened by nicotinamide. And these poisons are so toxic, that a teaspoon of this poison, that is dissolved in a tank of 1 million liters of water, for the bees is deadly. This means that the seeds of sugar beet are treated with the insecticide and then, in the sugar beet growing, the concentration is still so high, that it may be critical for the bees.
Is this published? Very few!
Then you prepare your hive. It really only needs a varroa mesh floor with a well-fitting drawers underneath, where the mites can fall on. No Vaseline, nothing. You open the hive and give for each box 200g powdered sugar, freshly ground, on the top of the frames, distribute with the broom and close again. Done.
After ten minutes, you open the drawer and pick out the fallen mites with the sugar. The drawer should close well, or bees could enter below, to get to the sugar and the mites could get back onto the bees.
1 / 3 of varroa mites are on the bee and 2 / 3 is in the brood, approximately.
With one treatment of powdered sugar, half of the Varroa, which sits on the bees, fall off. That means you can remove 1 / 6 of Varroa in the hive. If the infestation is not too big, you can manage keep the situation stable with one treatment per month.
Look at this, there it has been scientifically tested and I made it quite often. It works fine.
Some say that it has negative influence on open brood – I could not observe it. Most sugar falls down and the mites simply slip out or fall. The whole thing lasts not even 2 minutes per hive. If you have strong exposure to mites in the hive, say about 1000, then you must apply every 2 days, 10 times in a row, until it is reduced significantly. That was my experience at an apiary of an incredibly strong reinfestation from dying ferals (must have been very many) that I was able to help with powdered sugar. Now here are ALL ferals are dead. Frightening – not?
Here you can see how easily and quickly such a powdered sugar treatment can take place. The most important thing is that it does not cause stress among the bees, then you can apply it as many times as you want:
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And in any case don’t make such a nonsense as you can see in the video below, which speaks for absolute ignorance, and ignorance of the beekeeper. This is just unbelievable how unsensitive some people can be: