>        Food Grade Mineral Oil has been discussed on this list many times,
>but the method and frequency of treatment seemed a trifle ambiguous
>to us. We decided to use a squeeze bear with a tiny hole in the
>spout, and a stream across the top bars, and settled on a weekly
>treatment or every time the hive was opened. You might recall we are
>breeders and break and open our hives fairly frequently.


After looking through the archives it seems that FGMO is thought to kill
the mites by suffocating them. This of course will also kill bees as was
noted in the demise of a queen in a hive that got a bit too much.

All of this aside, would a plant oil (such as olive oil) work in the same
fashion? Would it cause the mites a problem and have less impact on the bees?