>Ghislain, could you please elaborate?  I'm suspecting that I'm seeing the same thing here in Calif.

Hello Randy and Ghislain,

Thymol has been used by others (I think by Ghislain also) for a number of years as the only treatment with good results, so it must have had good efficacy. When I started beekeeping (2011), I used it and lost one of my two colonies. The following years, I used it again for summer treatment (next to experimenting with oxalic acid, BVHC and powdered sugar) and checked for mites on the bottom board, but never had the impression that a significant increase in mite drop occurred during the thymol treatment (I have some excel data). This year I skipped the thymol treatment and rely on an oxalic acid treatment (dribble or vapor) on a broodless colony in june (using a kind of snelgrove board) and early december (or even the end of november). At the moment I don't find much mites in my sugar shakes or on the bottom boards, so i'm feeling comfortable (for now).. Curious to see how the mite drop will evolve in september.
Regarding resistance, I realize that a treatment with oxalic acid twice per year may not be the best approach..

Best regards,
Kris
Belgium

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