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Peter held a discussion about his trials with oxalic acid which was very interesting. He did a drop count of the mites the day after he did the treatment, the drop court was over one thousand mites.
The oxalic acid is mixed with sugar syrup and then this liquid is dribbled over the bees in the brood boxes.
This is the method that Peter uses. He also stressed the need to be sure about the mixture and the type of oxalic acid you have.
The “Control of Varroa” by Mark Goodwin and Michelle Taylor book has a lot of information about this method. Which we are going to try soon on some of our bees. It’s important to be very careful with this treatment, as exposure to the raw acid can be very dangerous to you and your bees. So be sure to mix it correctly.
He also discussed the clubs oil fogger that has yet to be used. We have donated a Kiwimana Meshboard to the club, for the fogging trials that the club are going to conduct.
During the inspections a couple of the hives were not very strong, so we reduced these down to a single box. The hive I inspected didn’t have any brood at all, let’s hope it still has a queen.

It’s important to reduce the hive entrance over winter to make it easier for the bees to defend the hive against invaders such as wasps/yellow jackets.
Thanks to Les, Joan and Sharon for baking and bringing along such wonderful cakes on the day.
Afterwards we went out for a coffee with Greg and Peter at a nearby cafe. After we put the world to rights, we headed back down the motorway to home.
Another great day in Franklin. Were you there that day, how did you think the day went?
Here is all the photos of the day:-
Great report and photos on Sunday’s meeting. I learn something new every time I attend, but I should go more often! On Monday I purchased some oxalic acid and treated my hives as per the manual and Peter’s instructions.
The Varroa manual is available free on line – http://www.biosecurity.govt.nz/files/pests/varroa/control-of-varroa-guide.pdf
And you can purchase 99% oxalic acid from Ceracell in 250 gram lots for $6 and a 60 ml syringe from RD1 for $3.99. Follow the safety instructions and apply carefully.
Thanks Don for the feedback.
We would be very interested to hear how your bees get on with the treatment, did you do a mite count before and after you did the treatment?
See ya…Gary