Having entered a previous conversation on this topic and enduring a couple of insulting, polarizing responses, I'd just wish we could agree to the term, "treatment" and what constitutes, "free."
We have some who think anything, any thing or substance that the bees didn't bring into the hive constitutes a treatment. So feeding supplemental HFCS is, in fact, a treatment. I wonder if these folks ponder the effect of their smoker, which can be considered an inadvertant anti-varroa "treatment" depending on what your burn.
Even adding foundation is a treatment, technically speaking. And with much of the foundation tainted with chemical residues, it really is.
Then there are those who think anything non-chemical is permissable, such as powdered sugar and formic, both thought to be on the level of "organic" (another broadly, misinterpreted term) and somehow "safe." Many of these are also not approved. Some have questionable efficacy, but ardent and zealous belief is often stronger than scientific studies. But since they are not a "chemical," these treatments are not treatments.
I consider myself to be a non-chemical beekeeper, as treatment free as possible. But I will still intervene, when necessary, with one of several "soft" approaches. It would be helpful, if we could have some common ground on which to build a conversation.
Grant
Jackson, MO
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