This is my go-to method for mite control !!!
I used this method for two seasons with remarkably positive results. For those two years, I never lost an overwintered hive with the Oxalic/Glycerin cardboard strips, and every one of those colonies came out of winter looking healthy and strong.
I was following Randy’s progress using Oxalic, so switched over to his shop towel method. As I’ve disclosed to him, in the higher humidity parts of the Bay Area, my results with shop towels were a step down from the cardboard strips, experiencing losses, so I have returned to the Aluen cap method, with a slightly stronger dilution.
I use the mixing ratio of 80 grams Oxalic to 100 ml Glycerin, fold and insert 6 cardboard strips in the ‘U’ configuration in the bottom of a wide mouth Mason jar, and another 6 folded strips nestled into the other strips with the ‘U’ configuration facing down. Fill the quart jar with the Oxalic/Glycerin formula, dissolved per Randy’s description of heating to 150 f to dissolve. Soak for 24 hours, shaking occasionally to mix and dissolve clinging air bubbles. Then hang to drip dry for 24 hours before placing in a ziplock for field deployment. I hang them in an upside down Nuc box strung with frame wire on pushpins, strung back and forth for the long dimension. I trim the long side edges from a 7” mini paint tray to catch and reuse the drips, placed under the nuc box drying rack.
I have used drywall shims, 1-1/2x45”, sold in packs of 100, from GripRite, and available at Home Depot on the West Coast. I cut the 45” strip into 4 strips that end up 11-1/4” long, folding them to hang over a top bar with the tails being 5” long, and the 1-1/4” hanging over the top bar as the saddle. The bees chew it out at a varying pace, and my biggest caveat is that GripRite has changed the base material from a darker brown fibrous cardboard to a lighter, and slicker cardboard material. I am just about to assemble my first batch using the new material. Not enthused about the new material, but have no choice but to be hopeful until results from first deployment.
I deploy at the recommended 4 strips per brood box, and again, have loved the results.
Randy O. said that my experience with the shop towels echoes that of Jennifer Berry on the East Coast, and that higher humidity may be the prominent factor. He said that her data was not concusive as yet. Apologies if I have misunderstood, or misstated any of Randy’s information or recommendations.
I have returned to using Aluen cap as my prime mite control method with the higher humidity of the Bay Area, and have also moved from MAQS to flash Formic at the 50%, 1:1 ratio, to avoid queen loss which I experienced with the ‘fresher’ supply chain of MAQS.
I am impressed with Aluen cap, and it has been my most successful method of maintaining vibrant colonies from mid-summer through to new Spring expansion. In the colony-dense Bay Area, mites are still transferring from collapsing hives from October-February. Our non-frozen winter is a mixed blessing, and creates a very different bee calendar.
Robert MacKimmie
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> On Jul 7, 2019, at 5:36 AM, Bill Hesbach <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
>
> Hi All,
>
> Can anyone with experience using Aluen cap share some of the particulars about proper application and results?
>
> Bill Hesbach
> Cheshire CT USA
>
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