In my research in the Mitegone site last night, I came across some of my 
old notes about making up the Dri-loc 50 formic pads.  

Medhat has been recommending thios method, using two pads placed 
side by side on a strong double brodd chamber hive.  They are 
placed on the top bars 1/3 of the way from tyhe back.  

Medhat may wish to add add something more specific about the details.  

I don't know what the pads cost these days, but I seem to recall they 
were less than three cents each, but maybe it was 10 cents (does anyone 
have recent info?).  This would seem to make this method cheaper than 
Mitegone, but this method requires as many as 10 pads over time and 
multiple trips.  It also uses more acid in total if ten pads are used.  
Of course this is for doubles and Bill is treating singles.

It is hard to compare costs and efficacy.

This info is provided to show what we did and was written for our own use.

It is not a recommendation and does not provide advice as to the 
safety measures necessary for safe handling of the product.

Anyhow, I thought this might be of interest to those beekeepers 
lucky enough to live the free world where it is not prohibited. 

If your local regulations prohibit this, please ignore.
---

A drum contains about 204 litres of 85% formic acid / A box contains 
2,000 Driloc-50 pads
 
Set the drum on a pallet and raise it with the forklift a bit. Our mission: 
to make 85% formic into 65%. 6 litres of the Real Thing makes 8 
litres of the dilute stuff. 

Take a 33 pound honey pail and measure 2 litres into the pail and 
mark the level with a marker (Pails are translucent and you can see 
a mark on the outside when you look inside). Then mark the 6 litre 
and the 8 litre levels and start siphoning Acid with a clear nylon 
siphon tube. 

It does not matter whether we add water to acid or acid to water; 
the reaction is not particularly exothermic or violent.  Watch which 
bucket is which, because they are so similar. (I wonder if I can find 
a dye which formic will not bleach). 

Put 250 (exactly one stack from the box) of the pads into a 2-1/2 
gallon honey pail and add 8 litres of the 65% acid and put on the 
lid.   It is ready to use after the acid has a chance to equalize 
through the pads. 

Repeat this a few times and in half an hour, we have enough to 
treat 1500 hives once. 

If placed in a freezer overnight, before going to the field, they do 
not give off much in the way of fumes.

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