Hi All,
    In regards to the FGMO teatment that I used last year I had several
questions emailed to me and on the list.
 
1. Would spraying the front of the hive encourage robbing?
I would have to say yes, I had used this system only last year and there was
a excelent flow on most of the time.  I had not thought of the robbing part,
I know I did have a problem with two of my colonies close to my house after
I pulled honey supers off. They were starving and needed feeding
immediately, this area did have 25 other colonies in the area. I am sure
this is what happened to these colonies they just were over run by robber
bees, because as soon as I moved them they were just fine.
 
2. Does cold weather affect treatment?  Yes, this will not work in
temperatures under 60 degrees, bees must be very active. This should be done
once a week so you should have at least 1 nice day each week.
 
3. another problem is mineral oil suspending long enough. After you spray
the front of the colony, you may see some puddles form,  you can actually
see the mineral oil separate after a minute or so. the warmer it is the
faster the bees take it in. There is a specialty mineral oil that will
suspend for a longer time called FMO 85 it is sold by a company called lab
tech in Minneapolis MN. This stuff is not very cheap as far as mineral oil
cost $14.85 per gal must buy 4 gallons, so it is out of reach of the hobby
beekeeper. I would estimate that someone with a 100 colonies would use 1 1/2
gallons in 1 summer.
 
I don't have the number for lab tech right now but if any one wants it I can
post it monday. From what I got from them when I talk to them on the phone
is that they are a specialty company. If beekeepers develop a special need
for mineral oil to be suspended in sugar water they are the people to get
involved.
 
An alturnative to spraying the front of the colony is what I had done in
cooler temps is to open the colony and quickly spray the top bars and inside
cover, this works very good, bees don't like the mess and will clean it up
really fast.
 
As I see it beekeepers have put up with the plague of the v-mites and the
chemical companies too long, this is a chance to rid yourselves of both.
 
Lastly I think Dr. Rodriguez is experimenting with this system , I think he
is working on a fool proof method for this to work.
 
This system is not perfect needs lots of refining but it is a start.
 
Elroy