Greetings

I philosophically object to suffocating bees. It is a horrible way to die. They can be killed very quickly using ether based starter fluid, acetone, pure alcohol, or acetic acid. None of these will leave significant residues, they evaporate quickly. They are extremely flammable, however. A safer, if more cumbersome approach would be to use CO2. 

I think Randy makes a good point when he proposes killing the susceptible bees, and their mites. Whether its crappy bees or super mites that is the problem, taking the colony out is a good idea. If you just shake the bees out of the hive (the old plan), the mites and the sickened bees will all drift into your good hives. 

plb

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