David and all,
 
   I appreciate the comments on using essential oils on the mites.  We
all gotta learn how to lick this bugger.  I meant my comments to be about
the baggie feeder, and you caught me not following the directions on the
oils...  Thanks.
 
   I have a few more comments on the baggie feeders, based on one use,
then one replacement after they sucked down the first one:  (Read "novice
user...") They are a cute way to deliver syrup to the bees, and they did
drain the first one _very_ fast, but there are some drawbacks:
 
1.  Don't overfill the bags.  Three fourths full, max.  (When laid down,
the top should not bow upward any.)  Fuller than this will cause the
syrup to immediately drain out to this level...  If your hives are
slanted forward, put the baggie forward also to catch the spills.
 
2.  With the baggie in place on the inner cover or top bars and slit with
a razor, it is then immoveable (until it is taken down by the bees)
without spilling the syrup.  Hive inspections stop til then.  (I had one
hive that didn't take any down. I somehow gotta gingerly remove the inner
cover and...)  With jars or can feeders, you can move the feeder easier.
 
3.  The bags must be replaced at each "refill."  (You can't refill them
once they are slit.)  I dislike the ecology of this;  we gotta save the
plastic trees too!
 
Comments?  Other experience with this type feeder?  Maybe I ain't doing
it right.
 
Thanx muchly!
 
Gerry Visel
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