Just one other slight problem with OA either as a vapor or trickle. It 
has not been approved in the US as a pesticide for bees.

It is unlikely that the trickle method will draw much attention since it 
if fairly benign and used mostly by hobby beekeepers. Not so with vapor 
which seems to be the preferred method by some commercial beekeepers.

So just add that to the possible complications arising from an accident 
with the vapor. The Federal Government will be involved. A quick google 
yeilded this...

Quote
*"August 24, 2001
EPA To Seek Penalties From Pesticide Company 
<http://www.epa.gov/region01/pr/2001/aug/010825.html>*
EPA's New England office announced that it intends to seek monetary 
penalties against a corporation for selling unregistered and improperly 
labeled pesticides and pesticide devices. The proposed penalty in this 
administrative complaint against the Mansfield, Mass.-based company is 
$209,000. This penalty is the largest proposed penalty in an EPA New 
England pesticide enforcement case. The corporation sells and 
distributes pet care products and specialty chemicals for pond and 
aquarium maintenance from its U.S. headquarters on Hampden Road. The 
penalty stems from an inspection last March by inspectors from the MA 
Department of Food and Agriculture. They collected six samples of 
different aquarium and pond pest control products for algae control sold 
by the corporation.

These products are regulated as pesticides under the Federal 
Insecticide, Fungicide and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA) because they claim to 
prevent or destroy pests, such as algae. Under FIFRA, regulated 
pesticides must be registered with EPA before they are sold or 
distributed. EPA later determined that these pesticides were neither 
registered or properly labeled as FIFRA requires. "This is an example of 
inter-agency cooperation at its best and I'm please our inspectors were 
able to assist EPA in protecting human health and the environment," said 
Jonathan L. Healy, commissioner of the Massachusetts Department of Food 
and Agriculture, which oversees the state pesticide bureau."
Unquote

Other checks of the Internet showed State penalties in the area of 
$1,000 to $3,000 per incident. Knowing the government, they would try to 
make each colony and "incident". So it could be costly if an accident 
happens that bring attention to unauthorized pesticide use, especially 
with a known dangerous chemical when in its vapor state.


Bill Truesdell
Bath, Maine

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