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British Beekeepers Association Official Forum 

  • Varroa treatment. Summer or autumn

  • Honeybee pests and diseases.
Honeybee pests and diseases.
 #1842  by AdamD
 02 Feb 2019, 17:19
Many publications mention "autumn treatment" for varroa - even Beebase. However "The Apiarist" blog gives a good explanation why the terminology is wrong and it should be late summer treatment. Treating in autumn is simply too late for the colony to be in the best shape possible as winter bees are already in the hive before an autumn treatment.

https://theapiarist.org/when-to-treat/
 #1843  by Chrisbarlow
 02 Feb 2019, 17:31
This guy does a great blog. I read this article about a couple of years ago. It made me not only think about when I treat but with what. I used to use api life var but when you read up the finer details about it, i was using it when it was to cold so the efficacy deminished, to what, who knows, went onto MAQS , the treatment is now done in a week and finished by the 10th September. This is a brilliant article. It is well worth bringing to beekeepers attention.
 #1844  by NigelP
 02 Feb 2019, 19:10
Depends when your late summer is......
Uuup North that's about mid September.

The key is knowing when hives are producing winter bees....something there is precious little information about in the literature.
 #1849  by MickBBKA
 03 Feb 2019, 02:23
I have to agree with Nigel.
The whole of British Beekeeping is very Southern orientated. The Ivy only finished flowering here about 2 weeks ago, Southern Beeks may have had a crop in October before it ever flowered here. The best time to treat for Varroa for me is late September Early October as my bees have a brood break at that time. Trouble is in the past they can just be coming back from the Moors at the end of September and still have a honey crop to remove.


I am still learning the timings and adjusting my treatments to match.


It would be a help if the BBKA considered all the regions when giving out their generic advice.
 #1852  by Jim Norfolk
 03 Feb 2019, 12:33
Climate is a tricky thing. I am on the North Sea coast which means in winter its can be several degrees warmer than inland while in summer it is colder. I don't go by what books, or magazine articles suggest but by what I see. Compared to the south coast where I used to live, there are a lot fewer days when bees are out and even if they go out there is no forage. I used to get bees a lot of foraging succesfully in January on a number of plants in my garden down south.

I agree treat for Varroa as early as you can which means not by the calendar but after the honey has been removed, since you dont want extra chemicals in your honey. Whether that is August or October may well depend on area, but then treatement choice depends on temperature. Thymol only works well in warm weather, while MAQS is probably better when its cooler. Previously I have always used Apiguard but I am going to try oxalic acid vapourisation after taking off the honey crop this year and see what happens.

It would be useful if we could all indicate where we are. Some do and some don't.
 #1853  by Chrisbarlow
 03 Feb 2019, 13:04
Jim Norfolk wrote:
03 Feb 2019, 12:33
It would be useful if we could all indicate where we are. Some do and some don't.
until you mentioned that, I didnt realise I hadnt set it up but its a good point.
 #1854  by Patrick
 03 Feb 2019, 13:39
There is South and...South. I am in Somerset but mates in Cornwall can have a very different season and well ahead of me.

We do have heather I could move to with some travel, problem is it has a reputation locally for picking up EFB, which is hardly an incentive (even if unmerited).

Personally I try to treat as soon as supers are off as practical, which is August usually. The recent heatwaves around here has meant delaying somewhat as it’s been too hot for MAQs to be used safely.

I don’t know how to spot a winter bee but I sort of trust an Autumn bred bee has less work to do so should be in the frame for a longer stint. Or on the frame perhaps.
 #1856  by MickBBKA
 04 Feb 2019, 01:21
Jim Norfolk wrote:
03 Feb 2019, 12:33
It would be useful if we could all indicate where we are. Some do and some don't.
I am also very close to the sea and have similar conditions to yourself and suffer very badly from North Easterly winds in the spring and summer and being a hundred miles further North probably a little bit cooler. Last year being the exception to every other previous year I have kept bees.

I have had as much as 9C difference in ambient air temperature between 2 apiaries just 1 1/2 miles apart, the cold one facing North East and the warm one facing South West. Last winter I was able to relocate the colder one to a much more sheltered location and the improvement was very noticeable.

Local micro climate is my favourite subject......LOL... I can't beat it so working on ways to mitigate it. All part of the fun.

Cheers, Mick.
 #2176  by DianeBees
 01 Mar 2019, 14:23
Read the information that comes with the product and look at the temperature ranges suggested.
We have apiary thermometers.

If you keep records of what's flowering when then you have something to compare to.