Its approaching the time of year when brood is minimal and many people apply oxalic acid to reduce Varroa levels before spring. There are a number of options: trickle or vape; remove remaining brood or not; do it before or after Christmas; use Api Bioxal or something else. What do people plan to do?
I have put ekes below the bottom box in my WBCs to allow room to insert a Varrox from the rear of the hive without damaging the plastic covered mesh floor below or the bees above. All I need to do is remove the lifts and off we go. I don't remove brood since everything is sealed up and I don't like to disturb the bees more than needed. Having both vaped and trickled over the years I am convinced that vaping results in less damage to the bees and higher levels of brood in spring, compared to trickling. On the other hand trickling is safer for anyone not happy with vaping. I usually wait until after Christmas but this year I plan to treat before the solstace. I will be using Api Bioxal despite its problems unless I can find another approved product. What else is available and legal?
I have put ekes below the bottom box in my WBCs to allow room to insert a Varrox from the rear of the hive without damaging the plastic covered mesh floor below or the bees above. All I need to do is remove the lifts and off we go. I don't remove brood since everything is sealed up and I don't like to disturb the bees more than needed. Having both vaped and trickled over the years I am convinced that vaping results in less damage to the bees and higher levels of brood in spring, compared to trickling. On the other hand trickling is safer for anyone not happy with vaping. I usually wait until after Christmas but this year I plan to treat before the solstace. I will be using Api Bioxal despite its problems unless I can find another approved product. What else is available and legal?