Mite control - powderd sugar

[John Jones]

This site will not allow a posting of links.  Go to you tube, search on powered sugar.  Look through the post and you will see it.  It is in a non english but you will get info from the video.

John Jones
Stone Mountain, Ga.

[Eshu]

The powdered sugar worked for one of my hives.  The mites got away from me in the other hive.  I was consistently getting 200 to 250 mites on the bottom board an hour after sifting.  Now the hive has some DWV and I am treating with apiguard.  Had I started dusting earlier, the sugar might have worked on this one.  Dust early and dust often!

[Kimbrell]

I agree, that was one brave beek in the video!  Wonder why he had plastic wrap on top of his super?  He also seemed to use an inner cover with no hole.  I don't think I'd do a shake this way either.  It makes my girls mad enough when I Brush it on the tops of the frames.  He sure knocked off a lot of mites, though.

[josbees]

I like the idea of the sugar shake and will apply it to my good hive.  However, my hive that seems to be collapsing under wax moth and is queenless is also heavily mite infested.  I had hoped to combine these workers with the ones in the good hive, but now I'm super cautious to do that because of the mites.

Any ideas as to a solution?  Should I just let this hive fade away and suger treat the good hive as a preventive?

[Robo]

Any ideas as to a solution?

Oxalic acid will knock the mites down

  Should I just let this hive fade away and suger treat the good hive as a preventive?

Why stress them out.  I would suggest only treat when mite counts warrant it, not as a preventative.

[josbees]

Are there any less nasty methods other than the acid?

[Robo]

Are there any less nasty methods other than the acid?

I guess that depends on your definition of nasty. 

I have no problem differentiating between hard chemicals such as fluvalinate (Apistan), coumaphos (Check Mite+) which are truly nasty and I would not use,  and the soft chemicals such as organic acids which are in our diet daily.  Ever eat sorrel, rhubarb, buckwheat, black pepper, parsley, spinach, chard, or  beets?  All of these have significant concentration of oxalic acid.



A pound of spinach has 2x the amount of oxalic acid than used to treat a hive.

http://www.guinealynx.info/diet_oxalic.html

[suprstakr]

WOW good info robo , cleared my way for oxalic!!!! P.S. I like spinach...

[josbees]

Point taken.  And advice taken too.  Thanks!