Allen wrote:

OA drizzling is dirt cheap, easy, takes only moments to do and and leaves no
> trace of any sort in the hive an hour later.
>

I am a big fan of oxalic drizzle and do it every fall.  But I wonder if you
really meant the above comment?  Where do you think the oxalic goes?  It is
a relatively stable chemical, so it will not break down (at beehive
temperatures, it does break down at very high temps as you have posted).
It is a reactive acid, so in the presence of basic chemicals it will form
salts, oxalates, which I think are not very soluble (which is why you have
to be careful to prevent the formation of kidney stones by not letting the
acid permeate your skin).  Where do any oxalates formed in the beehive go?
And the oxalic acid is obviously very soluble in water, since we have no
trouble mixing it in the drizzle, so it could get into honey.

None of those concerns are going to stop me using oxalic acid,  and in this
case I am going to trust that the Pest Management Regulatory Agency did
their homework and scrutinized the data provided by the Canadian Honey
Council (much thanks due to them) and found it safe.

But I don't believe that you can stick 2 grams of oxalic acid in a beehive
and not leave a trace.  You can't see it, the way you can when you
vaporize, but I don't think it evaporated, like formic.

Stan

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