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----------------- Original message (ID=594EFC9B) (78 lines) -------------------
Message-ID: <15aa01c5a64b$520674c0$41815142@D7DNF821>
From: "Mike & Janet Brisson" <[log in to unmask]>
To: "Informed Discussion of Beekeeping Issues and Bee Biology" <[log in to unmask]>
References:  <008b01c5a645$7dd14c70$53973f94@mules>
Subject: Re:      [BEE-L] Varroa treatment threshholds
Date: Sun, 21 Aug 2005 05:24:46 -0700

Hi, you might want to try  using powdered sugar at this point to knock down
your mites.  Its a great non-toxic method that can be used between honey
flows.  People are using it during their honey flows, if they have a bad
infestation, but we haven't had to do that yet.   I have pictures and
instructions on our website, www:countryrubes.com.  I have been using it as
a treatment each time I've pulled our honey this year, plus once in the
spring.  You need to do it 3 times, 7 days apart.  Pour 1/2 pound or 2 cups
of powdered sugar on top of the frames of the upper brood nest (don't take
apart your supers).  Make sure you have something to catch the sugar on top
of your bottom board.  Without screen boards, you should probably clean that
extra board twice, since the sugar doesn't kill the mites, just knocks them
down.  Remove it once within an hour and reinsert it.  Remove it again the
next day.  If you have a screen board you can wait 24 hours to remove the
sugar.  After 24 hours, the sugar hardens up and the mites just walk over
it.  We discard the sugar in plastic bags and lay them in the sun to destroy
the mites.
   This does not get into your honey and its does not hurt your brood or
queens and its amazing at the number of mites it knocks off the bees.  There
is a forum going on beesource.com
http://www.beesource.com/cgi-bin/ubbcgi/ultimatebb.cgi?ubb=get_topic;f=3;t=000481
where a lot of people who are using it are describing their success.
   Hope this helps.
   Janet

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