George Imirie wrote:
> ... tracheal mite, KILLED ONLY BY MENTHOL.
 
Well, this is not quite true.  MENTHOL is the only APPROVED treatment
to kill tracheal mites and it is less effective in some regions than
in others.  Menthol must be applied in warm temperatures (guessing 55-
65 dF) when there are no honey supers on the hives.  This makes menthol
next to useless in Northern climes.
 
Formic acid will also kill tracheal mites.  Some distributors have been
approved within the last month to start producing the gel formulation,
although the approval process has yet to run its course.  The gel
formulation of formic MAY hit the market by this fall.
 
Another weapon to combat tracheal mites is the continuous presence of
vegetable oil patties in a hive.  Studies done by Diana Sammataro have
shown the patties (Crisco patties) to have a deleterious effect on
T. mites.  Covered before on this list, the patties do NOT KILL the mites
but screw up their ability to recognize acceptable hosts.  For those
who require "proof", a video tape has been released recently showcasing
Diana's work.  It is available from Robert D. Smith, 238 East Fifth
Street, Perrysburg, OH. 43551
 
I just got both these pieces of information (gel update and video)
within the past two days.  I have verified neither so they should be
treated as "hear say", although I have no reason to doubt my source.
However the E-Mail account I was given for Robert Smith was inactive,
so caveat emptor.
 
Aaron Morris - I think, therefore I bee!