> Some of us were talking last year about getting
> motions passed at the AHPA
> and ABF meetings to get formic and oxalic approved
> for use the USA.
> > allen
> A Beekeeper's Diary:
> http://www.honeybeeworld.com/diary/

An overview of the formic acid situation in Canada:

In 1994, on the initiative of the Canadian Association
of Professional Apiculturists (CAPA), a PROPOSED
scheduling of formic acid, PMRA document C94-05, was
issued. It lays out the standards and the manner in
which Canadian beekeepers may use formic acid to
control tracheal and varroa mites.  It is available on
the web.  Just type into a search engine "C94-05".

The beekeepers took this as an OK for legal use of
formic acid, mostly by word of mouth.  Many, if not
most, have never even heard of C94-05, never mind
having read or followed it.

The Pest Management Regulatory Agency (PMRA), the
Canadian government agency that oversees pest control
products, was shifted from being under the Agriculture
Ministry to Health Canada in 1995.  Since then all
pest control products have been undergoing  review.
In 2001 formic acid came up and the PMRA reviewers
were not impressed with what was going on in the
beekeeping community.

The use requirements set out in C94-05 were not being
followed.  Provincial Apiarists were publishing their
own recommendations with no scientific review of new
application methods. Industrial grades of formic acid
with excessive levels of impurities were being sold
through bee supply outlets, and beekeepers were not
training themselves or their staff in basic safety
procedures for handling such a highly corrosive
product.  Reports were coming out of beekeepers losing
the skin off their hands by not using the right
gloves, skin off their legs and arms from splashes
going through clothing.  A friend working with
Mite-Wipes had a bucket he was carrying slosh acid
that struck him in the face, run down behind his
goggles and into his eyes that led to permanent
partial loss of vision as well as leaving extensive
acid burns to his face.

PMRA had had enough.  In November of 2001 the industry
was told it would require the registration of formic
acid products or permission to use formic acid in
beehives would be officially removed.  The agency was
willing to work with the industry through a transition
period.  At that point Apistan was still fully
effective and beekeepers did not have to rely on any
other products or management for varroa control.

None of the bee supply outfits or Medi-Vet decided to
pursue the registration of liquid formic acid.
Mite-Wipes decided not to pursue registration.  As far
as I know, PMRA has not received any form of
application for registration from MiteGone.  NOD
Apiary Products, producer of Mite-AwayII, has been
working with PMRA since January of 2002, and submitted
a registration package in January of 2003.  The PMRA
review was completed August 24 this year, they
officially decided the application has "merit",issued
a PRDD, and it will soon go into the public review
process.

The Canadian Honey Council(CHC) and CAPA Chemical
Committee have been kept informed of this process.
January 2004 the CHC voted to request PMRA to have all
non-registered formic acid applications off the market
in two years.  They realize in the era of resistance
to hard chemicals, now spreading in Canada, beekeepers
need formic acid applications that are proven to work,
treatments the industry can rely on. It is not known
what PMRA will do with this request, but it is likely
that 2005 will be the last year any form of working
with liquid form acid will be legal in Canada.

The Canadian beekeeping industry has managed its
approach to varroa very well. The Canadian border
closure since 1987 delayed the coming of varroa until
1992, and the emergence of hard chemical resistance
until two years ago. It has had 11 years to work with
formic acid, to work the bugs out. It has a proven
soft chemical management strategy in place, with the
full registration of Mite-AwayII imminent and for
oxalic acid underway.

I was at the North Dakota Beekeepers Association
meeting last week and there were commercial beekeepers
there talking about the collapse of their colonies
over the last six weeks. A lot of these colonies were
to be heading to California for almond pollination,
and now there were no bees. My heart went out to them
as they struggle to keep these family outfits viable.
Many were envious of the Canadian situation and are
looking forward to the completion of the EPA
registration of Mite-AwayII by the end of 2004.
Hopefully an approach to registering oxalic acid for
use in the US will be worked out by the US beekeepers.

yours truly,
David VanderDussen
NOD Apiary Products


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