Thought this info would be of interest to all on bee-l
Jerry Worrell, Dunkirk,MD
 
I think this is the latest from Washington State U
 
In this months 'Cappings'  (the newsletter of the Pierce Cnty Beekeepers
Assn)  some discussion  of Apistan reuse was made.
 
I think Jim Bach works at the Washington State University..Puyallup Campus
(that is where the Assn has its meetings)
 
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FROM THE DISK OF JIM BACH:
 
Reuse of Apistan
 
Several persons have reported the reuse of Apistan after some modification of
the surface of the strip.  Testing of this method produced the following
results:
  New Strips = 809 ug of fluvalinate on surface
  Visibly clean strips after 45 days of use = 201 ug (24.8%)
  Slightly contaminated strips after 45 days = 142 ug (17.6%)
  After 45 days: brushed with electric wire wheel = 110 ug (13.6%)
  After 45 days: planed on each side of strip = 70 ug (8.7%)
  After 6 months use (over winter) = 38 ug (4.7%)
Obviously using the strips beyond the 45 days required on the product label
significantly reduces the amount of chemical available to kill mites.
Altering the surface of the strips actually reduced the amount of chemical
available.  Having low, sub-lethal levels of chemical in the presence of an
organism raises the opportunity for the development of resistance to the
produce.  Any reuse of Apistan is prohibited by the label and now we know it
is counter productive and may produce Varroa resistance to fluvalinate.
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