Peter said:
However, if it doesn't work I think people should be clear about this.

Bob:
 Every chemical put on the market to control varroa works. The problem I am
 trying to point out is you can not claim a high effacy for products which
 are temperature  and humidity dependent in every situation.

Peter:
Whether a product "works" is not simply a matter of whether it kills mites
(though I question whether *every* product does even this. Copper salts?)
Anyway, it is not so hard to find something that kills mites, but it must
also not harm the bees and honey. Early reports on thymol were not all that
good.

One study showed 98% mite kill, but 50% of the hives died over winter
compared with 10% in the control group. ("Test with 'Api-Life-VAR' for
varroa", R. Moosebeckhofer. 1995)

Other problems associated with thymol include stupefied bees, robbing, and
absconding. And as has been noted, thymol smells very bad and can taint the
honey. ("Ecological varroa control", Mariano Pascual. 1999)

Unless these problems are eliminated, it can't be said that "it works".

pb

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