>
>
> >I suggest anyone who is concerned should read this article:
> https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-00892290/document
>
> Dick, please correct me if I'm wrong.  But that study looked only for
amitraz, not its degradation products, which are commonly found in wax,
often at high levels (Mullin 2010).

>
> >Still it seems even in such an abusive and uncontrolled application there
> is no significant damage to bees, brood or queens.
>
Those who use Taktic report to me that queens temporarily shut down, but
other than that, colonies appear to tolerate it well.  In my own study of
Apivar strips in nucs, I did not notice any adverse effects due to
treatment.

Regarding formic acid, we have considerable experience (we buy it by the
55-gallon drum).
I agree that in the liquid form that it needs to be handled with care!
On the other hand, NOD's new Formic Pro strips are very safe to handle,
with little exposure to the applicator of vapors.  The strips can be easily
handled with round-end kitchen tongs, so you never even need to touch with
gloved hands.  We keep a baking soda solution on hand to rinse and
neutralize anything that comes in contact with the acid.  I've
experimentally determined that for effective neutralization, the
concentration needs to be 10 heaping Tablespoons of baking soda per gallon
of water.


-- 
Randy Oliver
Grass Valley, CA
www.ScientificBeekeeping.com

             ***********************************************
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