OAV

[Robert Provost]

Anyone treating via OAV this Fall? I would like to but haven’t done it before. Was hoping to tag along if someone with experience was going to treat. Thanks, Bob

[John Sallay]

Bob,

I plan to do an OAV treatment, but not until mid-to-late November, when the hives will be broodless, or nearly so. I'm not sure exactly when, since the timing is somewhat weather and temperature dependent, and of course I need to fit it into my non-beekeeping schedule. If you want, I can try to remember to email you a day or two before I do it. Frankly, you might be better off watching a YouTube video, though I don't know of a specific one to recommend.

If you didn't treat with formic acid or something else over the last few months, and in any case if you discover a high mite load when doing an alcohol wash, you may want to treat now, and then again in the late-fall. I did some mite testing a few weeks ago and found one of the four hives I tested had a 3% mite load so I treated all of the hives with the same characteristics as the one with the mites. It was much larger than the others, I think 5-6 mediums high, so the one-pad Formic Pro treatment (2x) that I did in August/September was relatively less effective than it was on the smaller hives. So I treated my largest four hives with a one-shot OAV to knock back the mites.

In any case, whenever you treat, you not only need the vaporizer wand (I would buy the Varrox model), but also a 12V battery, battery chrarger, and the oxalic acid (Savogran wood bleach).

AND YOU NEED TO BUY PROTECTIVE EQUIPMENT. I wrote up a thing for the MCBA newletter (attached see page 14) describing the protective gear that you should have, even if you are just coming over to watch. It roughly doubles the upfront cost of OA treatment, but the respirator is really necessary.

The ProVap 110 is another approach to OAV, but I think folks are still experimenting with this gadget and haven't yet completely figured it out. It is also very expensive, at about 3x the cost of the Varrox wand. And indeed, even above and beyond the risks of OAV generally, this model has the potential to explode if you don't use it correctly. See: https://honeybeesuite.com/use-an-oxalic-acid-vaporizer-with-caution/

If you decide to do the OA dribble treatment instead, this video provides a good introduction: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hfF3zH3DzUo&t=85s

I have not found a similarly simple and good video on OAV, but please let me know if you find one.

Best,

John

[Robert Provost]

Thanks John. Yes, I did treat with MAQS a couple of times this season. Be great to tag along in November but no worries if you forget. Thanks for all of the tips. 

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<2018_Spring-Summer MCBA Newsletter.pdf>

[Robert Provost]

John,

Hope all is well. Was thinking of OAV this weekend but it’s been somewhat warm. Think I should wait a week?  Thanks for your help. 

Regards

Bob

On Oct 14, 2018, at 3:17 PM, John Sallay <jo...@sallay.net> wrote:

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[John Sallay]

Hi Bob,

Yes, I think it would be better to wait. In general I think of this late-fall OAV treatment as a mid-to-late November event, and even that may be a little early. Some folks think a nice day in December is even better. The idea is broodless (so something like mid-November through mid-January around here) but warm enough so that the cluster is loose, not tight. Ideally, this would be when the high temperature for the day is 40-55°F, though the EPA-approved instructions say anything above 32°F (0°C).

John

[Mike Garvey]

John's advice is sound; from what I have heard, you want (ideally) 50F and I try to anticipate the delay in a cluster warming up and do the treatment after an hour or two of 50F, rather than at the beginning of the 50F temperature (assuming that you can anticipate temperature swings.

It is my understanding that the mechanism for killing the mites is foot contact with the OA micro crystals, so a broad distribution of the OA cloud in the hive and on the bees is ideal.  If the bees are tightly clustered, only the outside bees get the dusting.

Mike

 

From: beel...@googlegroups.com [mailto:beel...@googlegroups.com] On Behalf Of John Sallay
Sent: Thursday, November 08, 2018 10:16
To: BEElieve beekeepers
Subject: Re: OAV

 

Hi Bob,

 

Yes, I think it would be better to wait. In general I think of this late-fall OAV treatment as a mid-to-late November event, and even that may be a little early. Some folks think a nice day in December is even better. The idea is broodless (so something like mid-November through mid-January around here) but warm enough so that the cluster is loose, not tight. Ideally, this would be when the high temperature for the day is 40-55°F, though the EPA-approved instructions say anything above 32°F (0°C).

 

John

On Thursday, November 8, 2018 at 7:36:15 AM UTC-5, ropro222 wrote:

John,

 

Hope all is well. Was thinking of OAV this weekend but it’s been somewhat warm. Think I should wait a week?  Thanks for your help. 

 

Regards

Bob

On Oct 14, 2018, at 3:17 PM, John Sallay <jo..@sallay.net> wrote:

Bob,

 

I plan to do an OAV treatment, but not until mid-to-late November, when the hives will be broodless, or nearly so. I'm not sure exactly when, since the timing is somewhat weather and temperature dependent, and of course I need to fit it into my non-beekeeping schedule. If you want, I can try to remember to email you a day or two before I do it. Frankly, you might be better off watching a YouTube video, though I don't know of a specific one to recommend.

 

If you didn't treat with formic acid or something else over the last few months, and in any case if you discover a high mite load when doing an alcohol wash, you may want to treat now, and then again in the late-fall. I did some mite testing a few weeks ago and found one of the four hives I tested had a 3% mite load so I treated all of the hives with the same characteristics as the one with the mites. It was much larger than the others, I think 5-6 mediums high, so the one-pad Formic Pro treatment (2x) that I did in August/September was relatively less effective than it was on the smaller hives. So I treated my largest four hives with a one-shot OAV to knock back the mites.

 

In any case, whenever you treat, you not only need the vaporizer wand (I would buy the Varrox model), but also a 12V battery, battery chrarger, and the oxalic acid (Savogran wood bleach).

 

AND YOU NEED TO BUY PROTECTIVE EQUIPMENT. I wrote up a thing for the MCBA newletter (attached see page 14) describing the protective gear that you should have, even if you are just coming over to watch. It roughly doubles the upfront cost of OA treatment, but the respirator is really necessary.

 

The ProVap 110 is another approach to OAV, but I think folks are still experimenting with this gadget and haven't yet completely figured it out. It is also very expensive, at about 3x the cost of the Varrox wand. And indeed, even above and beyond the risks of OAV generally, this model has the potential to explode if you don't use it correctly. See: https://honeybeesuite.com/use-an-oxalic-acid-vaporizer-with-caution/

 

If you decide to do the OA dribble treatment instead, this video provides a good introduction: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hfF3zH3DzUo&t=85s

 

I have not found a similarly simple and good video on OAV, but please let me know if you find one.

 

Best,

John

On Saturday, October 13, 2018 at 5:45:23 AM UTC-4, ropro222 wrote:

Anyone treating via OAV this Fall?  I would like to but haven’t done it before. Was hoping to tag along if someone with experience was going to treat. Thanks, Bob

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<2018_Spring-Summer MCBA Newsletter.pdf>

[Robert Provost]

Thanks Mike and John. Great stuff. Really appreciate your thoughts. Just acquired the Provap 110. Hopefully pretty efficient. Let me know if you’d like to give it a whirl. Happy to lend it out. 

[Jessica Kern]

John great information on OAV and yes best to treat at temperatures around 45-50 when bees are relatively broodless, loosely clustered and not flying.  I miss the bees already. :)

Jess

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