Varroa Mites- Put
5-8 drops of Thyme oil in 16 ounces of mineral oil, shake it up and
squirt it on a paper towel making a double SS. then put it in the hive
on top of the frames up until 3 weeks before the honey flow and anytime
after the honey flow.
- Mix
1 Tablespoon of garlic powder with 1 cup of water in a blender on low
speed for 2-3 minutes. Add the blended mixture to a gallon of 1 to 1
sugar water, mix by shaking, and feed it to the bees in early spring
until 3 weeks before the honey flow. Can be used again in the fall
after the honey flow.
- Put
4 ounces of granulated sugar per deep hive box into a blender on low
speed in order to make your own powdered sugar. The powdered sugar that
you buy in the stores contains corn starch which the bees cannot
digest. Place 4 ounces of home made powdered sugar into a baggie. Use
one 4 oz baggie to a deep box and 3 ounces per medium box. The next time
that you are in your bee yard, dump the sugar onto the top of the
frames. Use a new paint brush ( must be a foam type) to brush the
powder off of the frames onto the bees early in the morning or late in
the evening 4 times, 10 days apart starting in August and continuing
into September. Best to have screen bottom boards for this, if not
place cardboard in the bottom before dusting and then afterwards remove
it.
- Use
20-25 drops of Thyme oil in 16 ounces of mineral oil if use a fogger
for mite control. Walk by the landing board and put the fogger into each
hive for 8 to 10 seconds and then move on to the next hive.
- A
very effective treatment for Varroa mites on artificially sized 5.4
bees and the natural 4.9 bees is the wintergreen oil study found at http://www.wvu.edu/~agexten/varroa/varroa2.htm
Small Hive Beetle- Mix
10-12 drops of eucalyptus oil with 1 cup of Crisco shortening. Stir in
1/2 to 3/4 cup of sugar and make into a small patty. Place the patty on
a piece of wax paper and place on top of the frames. (Use latex or
rubber gloves anytime when working with eucalyptus oil)
- Dust
diatomaceous earth on the ground around your hive instead of using
Guard Star. Be sure and make an 8-10 foot radius around the hive,
watering it into the ground or apply before a rain.
- Use
old cortex boards for traps by cutting them into 3x4 inch rectangles
and fill with Boric Acid. Hold 6 of the cortex boards lined up together
and cover the end with Crisco. turn over and then spoon 1/8 to 1/4 inch
of the Boric Acid into the other end and seal with Crisco shortening.
The beetles like the Crisco. Place into hive on the bottom board,
securing with staples, or place on alternating corner tops of frames 1
and 10.
- When
using West SHB traps, place 1/8 to 3/16 inches of hydrated lime into a
clean, dry tray. Put the grill on top and place into the hive as if you
had oil in it. This method is better than using vegetable oil since oil
tends torun out or to settle in low spots leaving other spots dry.
Lime has a higher kill ratio than oil.
- Better Beetle Blaster is probably the best of the SHB traps.
If
Small hive beetles have slimed your frames, place the frame over a fire
ant mound. The fire ants will clean the frame and leave the wax alone.Nosema- Mix
1 teaspoon of Tea Tree oil with 1/2 cup of water. Put into a blender
and blend on low speed for 4 - 5 minutes. Needs to emulsify. Put the
mixture into a 1/2 gallon jar of water and shake it up. Then pour 1 cup
of this mixture into a gallon of 1 to 1 sugar water and feed this to the
bees for a month.
Chalkbrood- Same as above but use 2 teaspoons instead of 1 teaspoon of Tea Tree oil.
NOTE: - All oils must be pharmaceutical grade. Essential Oils are for perfume purposes and not for healing.
- Diatomaceous earth (DE) must be of food grade (C grade). Caution must be used since it is an eye and lung irritant.
- Lime dust may be an eye, skin and lung irritant.
Tips provided by John Seaborn of Wolf Creek Apiaries. Centerville, TN 37033Phone - 931.729.9229 |
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