Thank you for the informative video Bob . I really appreciate how much work you put into helping the bee community. Greg Rogers, I'd really appreciate hearing more about how "Bring them around" when referring to the hives that had a heavy mite load. Thank you again!
I’m in Dick Brickner’s Bee club in Tennessee. He does some very good lectures on the uses of OA. I only use OA now. 3 different ways, I use the pads overwinter and see amazing results from the colonies that shut down brooding completely. I do a midsummer treatment also with a sprayer loaded with dribble style oa sugar water and my vaporizer as well. Really sustainable. Also I got a hack I’m about to share for in the winter on warm days that bees break cluster, treating every bee that goes on a cleansing flight so when they recluster at night when temperatures drop, the oa glycerin gets spread through the winter cluster. Thank you for everything you share.
A long video and I am going to watch it again. Pretty straightforward and informative. As always Thank You for sharing all of this valuable information!
This was great BOB. GREG area anyway because of the storm, 94 thousand hives have been lost cording to what I have seen on the web, anyway this was great good to see Greg and I am sorry for his loss. where I live it is all flood area when we get a bad storm coming I will have to pack my bees up and take them else where and leave them on the truck and trailer then bring the back. we have no choice here. I look forward to the part 2. Hope u and your crew and family have a Blessed week.
What a great and very informative video, i really cant wait for part 2, im very excited to see the rest of the video. I love the clear and concise presentation of the information.
Thank both for all you do for the beekeeping community. My club' s training apiary is trying out the Varroxan strips after a successful treatment of apivar .
Thank you very much for doing this you two, Thanks Bob. I run 3 treatment cycles and then use the OA Strips for maintaining, with healthy bees and this sequence I have very low numbers and not much issues concerning mites. There are also fewer beekeepers around me then other parts of my county.
I also make OA Swedish sponges twice: one in early spring and one in the middle of summer. Have healthy bees. However, I also isolate queens during honey flow in late may for 3 weeks and have a brood-less period for OAV. And now queens are isolated for the winter from approximately Sept. 5 to early March. Western mass Great video Bob.
I normally have a hard time paying full attention to some subjects of interest, BUT I paid full attention to this as it is of great interest to me as I use the slow release method on my hives. Last year I put the pads on my hives in early November and finally got them off in late April. They were mostly destroyed when I removed them. My bees filled my 3 hives full of bees and would have gotten lots of honey, but we had about 25 to 30 days of over 100 degrees and the flowers didn't produce much nectar I did get 5 gallons off my hives though. They refilled most of the frames again, not enough to harvest..
I’ve noticed the Swedish sponges don’t get any wear and tear from the bees in horizontal Langstroth hives but they do when installed between 2 vertical Langstroth hives. The bees seem to avoid them if they aren’t sandwiched between upper and lower frames. They still look like new sponges after 3 months in the horizontals.
I have found it necessary to remove the OA maxizmer pads after two months, not because they are chewed up, but because they have been covered with propolis so they are not passing and residual OA on to the bees or mites. I have also found the Swedish Sponges covered also. Dick Brickner
They avoid them... that's why I use thinner cloth for washing floor and hang them 2 above entrance and 2 right next to the brood. Bees can pass on both sides of them and slowly remove pieces.. clean it.. always working on it. When you think about it the grams in them don't matter. They are not on the bees or in the hives and when the days pass and you remove the treatment you throw half of it away anyway. The strips l make probably don't have more than half of a recomend dose
It's good to see other people doing the research the right way.. maybe if we all compare our stuff after some time we can come to an answer why it's working so well in my conditions and not so well in some others. The most l do is two times per 60 days ich. First time I do it on a big hive l always do induced brood break before it.. after that i never let them grow to big numbers. But for me is just those two 60 days that keep them down. My dry conditions could be the answer...
Here in the state of Michigan, USA Rhubarb Pie has good memories, but only after the frost in the spring affected the level of Acid in the Pie. Again memories and warnings must be passed down to the younger families. ❤😊
Hi Bob. I appreciate the video and look forward to the 2nd part. Something else I found interesting in the video was Greg’s use of insulation for moisture management in the hive. I would be interested in hearing your thoughts on this topic sometime. Keep up the good work.
Great info- question for Greg re: condensing winter set-up. Do you use solid or screened bottom boards? If screened, do you use an insert during winter?
Bob / Greg, can either of you address why nobody seems to be able to replicate the results from Randy Oliver's OA Extended Release pad studies. He starts with mite counts (20+ /100) and at the end of his study the mite levels are reduced to nearly zero. It seems that Academia studies show that the pads only "hold" the mite levels, but Randy's studies suggest that given enough time they greatly reduce. Can it be both?
Bob, I can’t get the UA-cam link to Randy’s 2023 ABF Conference General Session (Day 3) to attach. He starts his talk on pad results around the 37:00 minute mark.
I get a little frustrated with the epa. It’s ok for me to put a synthetic miticide that is known to be harmful to humans in my hives but it’s a problem to use an organic acid soaked into a biodegradable sponge that doesn’t harm humans in dosages needed to kill mites. And for some reason the states are not allowed to approve it individually.
Good day! Very useful information. What do you recommend as a good vaporiser? I will try to find a good one here in Romania, looking for some common characteristics with your recommendations. Thank you, God bless!
In our store we carry two styles of vaporizers. The wand version, which simply slides in the entrance, is a "Varrox Vaporizer". It needs a 12 volt battery for electricity. The larger unit is an "Instantvap" which uses a slide in 18 or 20 volt battery and has a tube that the vapors come out of. This would be better for someone with more than 20 colonies but is more expensive. We carry these two because we think they are good but they are not the cheapest you can find. We use four Instantvaps in our operation and have had good luck with them. They are easy to view online and there are other companies that make similar units.
I know many do. I think the jury is still out in northern locations though. Some say they have no problems while others suspect they have winter losses due to it.
Although many do it immediately, and don't report any outright problems, I believe one week after the thymol is gone would be best to allow residuals to dissipate .
@@sabri0388 it just depends how much oxalic acid you use and how many sponges you use. I guess a better estimate would be 10 grams. 450 grams into 45 strips would be 10 grams per strip.
Time to time I do bee removal o wild bees here in N Texas DFW area and I find a lot of hive beetle which leads me to the conclusion that they have varroa too. The treatment for varroa has to be done but not to the point of extermination (0 varroa mites) but to minimize the count of them.
In our case last year we did two. One gets 90% and the next gets 90% of what is left. This of course depends on them being broodless. In our area some go completely broodless early and and some go broodless a bit later and start up later. Three treatments over a broader time could help with this.
Hi Bob, first of all I want to thank you for your persistence in trying to help bees and beekeepers around the world. Many greetings from Bosnia and happy birthday. When we talk about ecological and efficient methods of controlling varroa, I think it would be good for you to research and apply the so-called thermal treatment of suppression. About the device and how it works, see the attached video. Thus, the combination of oxal evaporation on bees and thermal treatment of the brood simultaneously kills 99% of varroa at any time of the year. ua-cam.com/video/zri6y1Dde04/v-deo.html
Would like to know exactly how much oxalic acid he mixes with the glycerin and then how he soaks his pads. An in-depth discussion would be very helpful. Thank you for taking the time to share this information.
@@jonclemons1421 The 2023 mite treatments by members of the Columbia, TN beekeepers club used 45 grams each of oxalic acid and glycerin. It is still the 1 to 1 ratio, but just a slightly weaker dose of oxalic acid. We did this because I accidently made the maximizer pads with 40 grams of acid in 2022 and still had good mite control. As of the end of October, the average mite count for all of my colonies was 0.3 mites/100 bees, ranging from 0.0 to 1.1. Dick Brickner Columbia (TN) Area Beekeepers Association
It doesn't matter at all. The dose is in the sponge, strips or what ever... it's not in the hives on the frames or on the bees. And when the treatment time passes you throw what ever remains in the garbage with the rest of the sponge or strips. The exact numbers for the dosage are the least important stuff for the treatment
Yes great talk thankyou, I saw a how too vlog "The Kiwi Wildman (The Kiwi Beeman)" made on making OA strips you might like to look at. ua-cam.com/video/oe-Z6rCCHE4/v-deo.html. I note he uses cardboard strip about 35mm wide x about 400mm long. Maybe you could test try them also as a cheaper and less synthetic carrier for the Oxalic Acid-Glycerin Extended (OAGE). He has also found this holds down the numbers of VM but does not knock the numbers down when the VM are in high numbers.
❤interesting would be better than my treatment of 3 treatments 28 days apart..sept oct nov. An exactly as to mite resistance I had my hives where you could do anything to them and let them raise new queens an the end result was bees were back to the old aggressiveness.. yes I can cut down on the mites but not completely get rid of them.. 😂 EPA like all government agencies like their hands padded they don’t get that from us independent bee keepers…..
@@R_Brickner yes but they are changing how its applied. Any creature will be forced to adapt in these circumstances (constant exposure). The occasional vapor is harder to adapt to IMHO. The big commercial guys may just screw this up for all.
Bob I was reading the comments and if today is your Birthday Happy Birthday to you hope the Lord God gives you 100 more.
Thank you Frances.
Thank you for the informative video Bob . I really appreciate how much work you put into helping the bee community. Greg Rogers, I'd really appreciate hearing more about how "Bring them around" when referring to the hives that had a heavy mite load. Thank you again!
I’m in Dick Brickner’s Bee club in Tennessee. He does some very good lectures on the uses of OA. I only use OA now. 3 different ways, I use the pads overwinter and see amazing results from the colonies that shut down brooding completely. I do a midsummer treatment also with a sprayer loaded with dribble style oa sugar water and my vaporizer as well. Really sustainable. Also I got a hack I’m about to share for in the winter on warm days that bees break cluster, treating every bee that goes on a cleansing flight so when they recluster at night when temperatures drop, the oa glycerin gets spread through the winter cluster. Thank you for everything you share.
Hi Bob, you always know how to make our Sundays better and more informed. Thank you for all that you do!
A long video and I am going to watch it again. Pretty straightforward and informative. As always Thank You for sharing all of this valuable information!
This was great BOB. GREG area anyway because of the storm, 94 thousand hives have been lost cording to what I have seen on the web, anyway this was great good to see Greg and I am sorry for his loss. where I live it is all flood area when we get a bad storm coming I will have to pack my bees up and take them else where and leave them on the truck and trailer then bring the back. we have no choice here. I look forward to the part 2. Hope u and your crew and family have a Blessed week.
That's horrible
I complain about winter weather but what you guys go thru is far worse .
You never know which storm will wash them away .
Thank you from the Netherlands. Best wishes
Thanks to both. Looking forward to part 2.
Happy birthday Mr. Binnie! 🎂
What a great and very informative video, i really cant wait for part 2, im very excited to see the rest of the video. I love the clear and concise presentation of the information.
We should have part two out next Sunday.
Thank both for all you do for the beekeeping community. My club' s training apiary is trying out the Varroxan strips after a successful treatment of apivar .
Thank you very much for doing this you two, Thanks Bob.
I run 3 treatment cycles and then use the OA Strips for maintaining, with healthy bees and this sequence I have very low numbers and not much issues concerning mites. There are also fewer beekeepers around me then other parts of my county.
Thank you both for your precious time!!!
Thank you for sharing that with us, Appreciate it. Look forward to part 2!
This is fantastic! Thanks so much!
A fantastic presentation as always, gentlemen! Looking forward to part two!
Really appreciate this video !
Trying really hard to get my oa treatment to work efficiently and effectively! So far so good !🎉
Great video and I can’t wait for Part 2 😊
Fantastic information !!! Thank you to both of you. Looking forward to the next video on this subject !!
Great video Bob and Greg. Looking forward to the next part. Thanks
Great information Bob & Greg. I hope to see you both at NAHBE.
Can't wait to see the 2nd video! Thanks!!!!
Thank you so much for all your videos!!
Very informative thank you for doing these videos
I also make OA Swedish sponges twice: one in early spring and one in the middle of summer.
Have healthy bees.
However, I also isolate queens during honey flow in late may for 3 weeks and have a brood-less period for OAV. And now queens are isolated for the winter from approximately Sept. 5 to early March.
Western mass
Great video Bob.
Very informative. Look forward to part two. Happy Birthday Bob.
Thanks 👍
Thanks Bob❤❤
I've used some iteration of this treatment since Randy did his first write up about it in Jan 2017. I'm a believer!
Informative. Thanks Bob and Greg!
One of my mentors in Cali ! Taught me how to make and use OAStraws a cheap and effective way to keep them mites knocked down!
Thanks for sharing this video. Thank you for coming to Illinois and speaking yesterday, I enjoyed your talks.
Thanks. I really enjoyed that convention.
I normally have a hard time paying full attention to some subjects of interest, BUT I paid full attention to this as it is of great interest to me as I use the slow release method on my hives. Last year I put the pads on my hives in early November and finally got them off in late April. They were mostly destroyed when I removed them. My bees filled my 3 hives full of bees and would have gotten lots of honey, but we had about 25 to 30 days of over 100 degrees and the flowers didn't produce much nectar I did get 5 gallons off my hives though. They refilled most of the frames again, not enough to harvest..
Thank you for the share!! Cheers from Portugal!
Very, very interesting! Can't wait for part #2.
Should have it finished by next Sunday. Thanks.
After our conversation a few weeks ago Bob this was very informative. 👍
Thanks again Bob very good information here when is part two
Should post Sunday morning.
Thank you for sharing. Great information
Good morning Bob, been waiting. Thank you.
Good morning.
Happy birthday 🎂 🎉. Hope you're having fun. Sir Bob we don't have to that much work like you all
Thanks 👍
I also am looking forward to part 2.
Very important and great video Bob
I’ve noticed the Swedish sponges don’t get any wear and tear from the bees in horizontal Langstroth hives but they do when installed between 2 vertical Langstroth hives. The bees seem to avoid them if they aren’t sandwiched between upper and lower frames. They still look like new sponges after 3 months in the horizontals.
They still look like new sponges after 3 months in the horizontals because they do not work, bud the beekeeper feels better.
I have found it necessary to remove the OA maxizmer pads after two months, not because they are chewed up, but because they have been covered with propolis so they are not passing and residual OA on to the bees or mites. I have also found the Swedish Sponges covered also. Dick Brickner
@@R_Brickner they don’t touch them on horizontals. Not a speck propolis on them. As I said they look new after months.
They avoid them... that's why I use thinner cloth for washing floor and hang them 2 above entrance and 2 right next to the brood. Bees can pass on both sides of them and slowly remove pieces.. clean it.. always working on it.
When you think about it the grams in them don't matter. They are not on the bees or in the hives and when the days pass and you remove the treatment you throw half of it away anyway. The strips l make probably don't have more than half of a recomend dose
Yeah I've noticed this propolis issue at well with the maximizer pads@@R_Brickner
Thanks Bob and Greg. I’m looking forward to part 2.
We should have part two out next Sunday.
Дякую за відео. З нетерпінням чекаємо 2 частину
Thanks. It should come out next Sunday.
I come back in Feb/March with 3 early season OA vap treatments, 8 days apart. I use highest dose!
Very informative study!
Happy Birthday Bob🎉
It's good to see other people doing the research the right way.. maybe if we all compare our stuff after some time we can come to an answer why it's working so well in my conditions and not so well in some others. The most l do is two times per 60 days ich. First time I do it on a big hive l always do induced brood break before it.. after that i never let them grow to big numbers. But for me is just those two 60 days that keep them down. My dry conditions could be the answer...
Great information! Hopefully, Canada follows suit.
Here in the state of Michigan, USA Rhubarb Pie has good memories, but only after the frost in the spring affected the level of Acid in the Pie. Again memories and warnings must be passed down to the younger families. ❤😊
Hi Bob. I appreciate the video and look forward to the 2nd part. Something else I found interesting in the video was Greg’s use of insulation for moisture management in the hive. I would be interested in hearing your thoughts on this topic sometime. Keep up the good work.
His system and it's logic is good and if I lived farther north I would probably adopt it.
Good morning, Bob and crew!!
Good morning!
Very good 👍
Interesting video Greg maybe on to something grinding up the leaves and make a paste using glycerin heck it’s how great products are developed
Bob I hope you all the best threw winter have a good Christmas
Thank you and the same for you!
kudos to Randy Oliver. Huge kudos
Great info- question for Greg re: condensing winter set-up. Do you use solid or screened bottom boards? If screened, do you use an insert during winter?
Bob / Greg, can either of you address why nobody seems to be able to replicate the results from Randy Oliver's OA Extended Release pad studies. He starts with mite counts (20+ /100) and at the end of his study the mite levels are reduced to nearly zero. It seems that Academia studies show that the pads only "hold" the mite levels, but Randy's studies suggest that given enough time they greatly reduce. Can it be both?
I'm not sure. Could you give us a link to the article with those results? Thanks.
@@bobbinnie9872 ua-cam.com/video/jK1Zf306nt0/v-deo.html 36:44 mark. There is a bar graph at the 37:14 mark
Bob, I can’t get the UA-cam link to Randy’s 2023 ABF Conference General Session (Day 3) to attach. He starts his talk on pad results around the 37:00 minute mark.
Good Morning Bob !
Good morning sir!
Great video thanks Bob for sharing with us. I enjoy your channel very much I don't think you insulate your hives is there a reason? Thanks Bob
We're in a location where we can get away without it. I may try using Reflectix under the lid at some point. I can see that it helps.
I get a little frustrated with the epa. It’s ok for me to put a synthetic miticide that is known to be harmful to humans in my hives but it’s a problem to use an organic acid soaked into a biodegradable sponge that doesn’t harm humans in dosages needed to kill mites. And for some reason the states are not allowed to approve it individually.
Follow the money trail.
Hopefully Trump does away with the Epa. They are no good.
You have the same cycle as us in Nova Scotia Canada we have 6 months of winter and bees stop brooding around the same time
I always wondered about Mt. Mint. A lot of us know it repels ticks and mosquitoes
I believe Dr. James Ellis suggests treatment every two months.
Good day! Very useful information. What do you recommend as a good vaporiser? I will try to find a good one here in Romania, looking for some common characteristics with your recommendations. Thank you, God bless!
In our store we carry two styles of vaporizers. The wand version, which simply slides in the entrance, is a "Varrox Vaporizer". It needs a 12 volt battery for electricity. The larger unit is an "Instantvap" which uses a slide in 18 or 20 volt battery and has a tube that the vapors come out of. This would be better for someone with more than 20 colonies but is more expensive. We carry these two because we think they are good but they are not the cheapest you can find. We use four Instantvaps in our operation and have had good luck with them. They are easy to view online and there are other companies that make similar units.
I would think that the drift within a bee yard would interfere with the test results if treatments were performed on only a portion of the yard.
Part two has some interesting numbers on that.
I used this method between a spring and fall Formic treatment. Any thoughts on using it during the winter? I’m located in SW Wisconsin
I know many do. I think the jury is still out in northern locations though. Some say they have no problems while others suspect they have winter losses due to it.
Hey Bob, how long after an Apiguard treatment is it safe to begin OAV treatments this fall? Thanks.
Although many do it immediately, and don't report any outright problems, I believe one week after the thymol is gone would be best to allow residuals to dissipate .
Good 👍
I use 4, 2” strips of OA/Glycerin Swedish pads on top bars and remove them in 2 weeks. No “super mites” I hope!
Unfortunately you will always have mites
I have a question, Dr. Bob, because I do not speak English well. How much of the glycerin and oxalic acid mixture does each sponge absorb?
50/50 mix
~15 grams
You mean 15 grams per sponge?
@@sabri0388 it just depends how much oxalic acid you use and how many sponges you use. I guess a better estimate would be 10 grams. 450 grams into 45 strips would be 10 grams per strip.
Even in areas of low numbers of beekeepers... do wild hives also have an impact on mite levels?
Time to time I do bee removal o wild bees here in N Texas DFW area and I find a lot of hive beetle which leads me to the conclusion that they have varroa too. The treatment for varroa has to be done but not to the point of extermination (0 varroa mites) but to minimize the count of them.
Yes, wild colonies have mites also.
Bob, HAve you experienced more queen loss in recent years? If so, what d o you attribute it to? Thank you.
I think our yearly queen loss has been about the same for the last couple of decades. Of course there are minor ups and downs from year to year.
@@bobbinnie9872 Thank you.
Video yang sangat bagus 👍 saya tunggu video selanjutnya.
Thank you. Next Sunday.
Why does a hive need 3 OA treatments in Nov. and Dec.? This is supposed to be the broodless period.
In our case last year we did two. One gets 90% and the next gets 90% of what is left. This of course depends on them being broodless. In our area some go completely broodless early and and some go broodless a bit later and start up later. Three treatments over a broader time could help with this.
Hi Bob, first of all I want to thank you for your persistence in trying to help bees and beekeepers around the world. Many greetings from Bosnia and happy birthday. When we talk about ecological and efficient methods of controlling varroa, I think it would be good for you to research and apply the so-called thermal treatment of suppression. About the device and how it works, see the attached video. Thus, the combination of oxal evaporation on bees and thermal treatment of the brood simultaneously kills 99% of varroa at any time of the year. ua-cam.com/video/zri6y1Dde04/v-deo.html
Would like to know exactly how much oxalic acid he mixes with the glycerin and then how he soaks his pads. An in-depth discussion would be very helpful. Thank you for taking the time to share this information.
50gm OA and 50gm Glycerine
@@jonclemons1421 The 2023 mite treatments by members of the Columbia, TN beekeepers club used 45 grams each of oxalic acid and glycerin. It is still the 1 to 1 ratio, but just a slightly weaker dose of oxalic acid. We did this because I accidently made the maximizer pads with 40 grams of acid in 2022 and still had good mite control. As of the end of October, the average mite count for all of my colonies was 0.3 mites/100 bees, ranging from 0.0 to 1.1. Dick Brickner Columbia (TN) Area Beekeepers Association
It doesn't matter at all. The dose is in the sponge, strips or what ever... it's not in the hives on the frames or on the bees. And when the treatment time passes you throw what ever remains in the garbage with the rest of the sponge or strips. The exact numbers for the dosage are the least important stuff for the treatment
@@R_BricknerThank you. 1:1 but just a 🎉5gm difference in both at 45/45 or 40/40. Gotta it, just a bot weaker.
Yes great talk thankyou, I saw a how too vlog "The Kiwi Wildman (The Kiwi Beeman)" made on making OA strips you might like to look at. ua-cam.com/video/oe-Z6rCCHE4/v-deo.html.
I note he uses cardboard strip about 35mm wide x about 400mm long. Maybe you could test try them also as a cheaper and less synthetic carrier for the Oxalic Acid-Glycerin Extended (OAGE). He has also found this holds down the numbers of VM but does not knock the numbers down when the VM are in high numbers.
The threshold is way too high.
Rhubarb leaves have OA in them I wonder how much? , and they’re giant leaves, slap one on a hive for them to chew on lol 😂
❤interesting would be better than my treatment of 3 treatments 28 days apart..sept oct nov. An exactly as to mite resistance I had my hives where you could do anything to them and let them raise new queens an the end result was bees were back to the old aggressiveness.. yes I can cut down on the mites but not completely get rid of them.. 😂 EPA like all government agencies like their hands padded they don’t get that from us independent bee keepers…..
Has anyone put rhubarb leaves in their hives since the leaves contain oxalic acid.
in the hive longer= more opportunity for varroa to develop resistance! I think this is a bad idea!
Oxalic acid has been used for mite treatment for nearly 30 years now with no known resistance. DB
@@R_BricknerIt hasn't been used in 𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙨 way for thirty years.
@@R_Brickner yes but they are changing how its applied. Any creature will be forced to adapt in these circumstances (constant exposure). The occasional vapor is harder to adapt to IMHO. The big commercial guys may just screw this up for all.