Robin said: > If there is too much rubbish to see even that, wipe clean and check again after > only a week. Involves a return visit to the apiary > I use yellow plastic tea trays [costing 85p - say $1.20] 120 hives at 85p = £102 > Wipe the trays with petroleum jelly so the rubbish comes away easily. More cost and labour - as Allen said : "trying to find more things to do with one's bees..." > If moth larvae are there, wipe them away - and be glad they were there and not right in the hive - the > trays act as a moth trap. Disagree. I think that the trap acts as an ideal breeding ground. The notion that all these moths would otherwise be in the hive is flawed. Most hives would not tolerate them. > UK trays have handles at the ends - cut these off to reduce the total length More labour! > Most other diseases affect only a few colonies and are > not so deadly. Chalk brood affects more than a few colonies and leads to considerable loss of brood just when it is needed most - when the colony is trying to build up. > Varooa is only controlled so effectively because of Apistan Apistan is the easy option for most beekeepers, but varroa is being controlled very successfully by many beekeepers using other methods. > - scientists have not had as much success with thymol as Peter or we > would all know of it. You would if you read the right papers. My thymol treatment is based on research by Mariano Higes and Jesús Llorente of the Regional Apiculture Centre, Agrarian Investigation Service Joint Communities of Castilla - La Mancha, which was reported in Bee Biz, July 1997. Effectiveness is quoted at 97.6% for powdered thymol crystals placed in a petri dish directly above the brood nest. The effectiveness was greatly reduced when the thymol was enclosed (eg the 'tea bag' method). Peter Edwards [log in to unmask] www.stratford-upon-avon.freeserve.co.uk/ :::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: -- Visit www.honeybeeworld.com/BEE-L for rules, FAQ and other info --- ::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::