George Imerie wrote: "... grease patties from April to December...."

This period for treatment is not what is recommended by the researcher
credited with the original work, Diana Sammataro.  Diana spoke at the 1999
summer seminar hosted by the Southern Adirondack Beekeepers Association and
I
questioned her at length about her work.  Subsequent studies showed that
grease patties can be used in fall/winter (when the bees are confined and
clustered) to keep t-mites sufficiently in check.  Her recommendation is for
grease
patties for fall and winter, which should keep the dynamics of the t-mite
population low enough so that grease patties in spring and summer should not
be required.  T-mite populations that build up in non-treatment periods will
be checked in the fall when treatment resumes.

Aaron Morris