Bill Bartlett says that he used Apistan in the early spring and then just
FGMO and had good results.
 
That is just what might be expected.  Apistan can reduce Varroa populations
by 99 percent.  That will leave very few mites to build up during the first
year, depending on the weather, brood survivability, weather patterns,
colony swarming, and other factors.  Some damage to the colony (absconding
of old bees) may occur in the fall but is often overlooked by beekeepers.
It would appear that Bill's success is anecdotal like all of the
testimonials on FGMO that I've read on this list.
 
Bill doesn't say how many times he applied FGMO (I'm thinking of time and
costs).  Lets see how he reports his success this fall (the second year)
with and without Apistan or FGMO.  And lets hope he will have his bees
tested for HBTM, and uses Apistan with a sticky board to determine his
Varroa count, prior to his treatments next spring.
 
I haven't seen anything yet which I would consider sufficient, or
scientific evidence that FGMO works on HBTM or Varroa, has any significant
effect on them, or is a cost effective way to lower mite levels some
significant percentage.
 
James C. Bach
WSDA State Apiarist
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