I just tried oxalic acid vapor a week ago for the  first time on my hives, and have had a steady drop of mites (150-200 first 24 hrs, then 50-75 per day for several days). I have seen info saying to treat when the hive is broodless since the vapor only effects the phoretic mites, and I've also seen references to treating weekly for 4 weeks -- my assumption is this technique is based on the idea that by the last treatment, all brood will be hatched and the majority of phoretic mites gone before the bees cluster.

I'm trying to figure out the best timing for this--since I treated on Aug 15--is it better to treat again weekly for 4 weeks...or is it a better plan to treat again in a month? Are there any issues with treating weekly for 4 weeks? And is treatment required again in late winter before the brood build up begins?

Thanks for any help you can provide.

             ***********************************************
The BEE-L mailing list is powered by L-Soft's renowned
LISTSERV(R) list management software.  For more information, go to:
http://www.lsoft.com/LISTSERV-powered.html