> Thanks for the post. I am not speaking to formic used on pads but the *not
> yet released* (at least in the U.S.)  formic acid strips.

I am quite aware of the new product and look forward to its introduction with
concern.  I fully expect that they will turn out to be just another
way to apply formic, but an expensive one and one which may crowd out simpler, 
cheaper and more adaptable methods.

> Maybe too good to be true but *if* these *strips* work as intended they
> could be what beekeepers have been looking for (or not!).

I don't have any reason to believe that they are going to turn out to
differ much in efficacy from the many other formic application methods.

> Quite a bit of testing has went into the strips. The last time I spoke to
> N.O.D. products David was overseas working on exporting the formic strips.

A lot of testing, claims and hype went into the previous product, which I
understand has now been withdrawn from the market in spite of demand.

What are the reasons for that?  Why did it take so long to realise that they
do not provide reliable control?  Once again, efficacy is far easier
to achieve in advertising than in the bee yard.

> I am surprised you are not aware of the strips?

I am very aware of the strips and the fact that they are a threat to our freedom
to use formic as we see fit. We have discussed this before.

> I want the strips to test( for now).

I wonder how long it will take beekeepers to figure out that they
are no better than the Driloc-50 pads and a whole lot more expensive.  
Will this be measured in years?

For some reason, US consumers *want* to pay high prices for a packaged
product they can make at home better and for far less money.  This includes
many things from food to toys, and now formic treatments.

I'm guessing that for the amount of money that will be spent on this new product
in the first year that US beekeepers could get a registration on generic formic
which would allow for far more flexibility and significantly lower cost IMO.

The problem is that approval of commercial formic application products obstructs
that process since regulators can say that there is a already product
that fulfills the need and, of course, they don't care about the cost to beekeepers
or if it really works any better than home made treatments. In fact the higher 
cost increases GDP, and increases work for regulators that is desirable goal to 
governments.

The above is my opinion and the opinion of others with extensive
experience with formic acid.  After all, we are free to use it any way we wish within
some reasonable restrictions here in Canada and I see various applications daily in my
travels and routinely discuss formic use with smart beekeepers running tens of 
thousands of hives in my work.  

We know the strengths and weaknesses of formic and they have to do with climate 
and difficulty in controlling dose, along with the many unpredicable hive configurations
 in use and variation in populations and behaviour between colonies.

IMO, formic has its place, particularly in regard to tracheal mites and spot reduction 
of varroa populations, but will never be a reliable and simple varroa control.

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