>>>>adding 10,000 lbs of sugar per stalk.<<<<<

Bill,
    You gave me the best laugh of the day. Still I remember as a boy (WW2 was on) cutting a stalk out of the bunch and going on my way chewing on it. Nobody saw this so I'd guess I wasn't trying to prove anything.

On the dangers of Oxalic acid sublimation.
I treated 20 colonies last year with the battery powered electric vaporizer. Mite counts went from 20 a day to almost 200 when I started. I began with gloves and a top of the line respirator. By the time I was finished I decided that was overkill. Noticing the direction of the wind, one slides the little wand into the hive entrance and closes the hive with a towel or a piece of foam rubber. (Fumes stay inside and disperse quickly). Then the power is connected for 60 to 90 seconds. Then I sneak the heater out after a minute or so. leaving the hive closed for another 20. A quick sponge will cool the unit down. Adding O/A to a hot tool is a no-no.
Then I go on to the next. I did 3 treatments a week apart. With the sticky board you can watch the mites fall off. 
    I didn't exactly get a whiff of it but at times there can be a sensation of having your nose run when you know you didn't have a cold when you started. I think this ammonia-like property would have you moving out before it could hurt you. Still, I don't think I'd want to trust the job to the hired help. In a commercial run you could do a number of hives at the same time. The bees carp a little at being cooped up but don't seem to notice any fumes. They don't boil out at all. PS the hive with a daily drop of 200 survived!

Dick Marron

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