Randy,

Here are some comments.

>>...acts as a contact poison to mites...

I've read in some places that, when the bees ingest OA/sugar syrup, 
it changes their blood pH.  As mites suck the blood or perhaps lose 
the taste for the altered blood, it causes them to die.

>>Syrup that lands on the frame tops does not count--the
bees don't touch it!

Perhaps not initially but eventually they clean it up.  I think it 
must, at least temporarily, end up in their stomachs.  When I checked 
a hive once after a treatment, I saw freshly deposited OA syrup in 
cells.  There had been no flying weather since the treatment.

>>Ideally, we'd squirt each box of bees, but this year we're only 
squirting the box with the most bees.

When broodless, bees are typically in 2 deeps.  To treat both boxes, 
first treat the upper deep under the inner cover.  Then, replace the 
inner cover, separate the hive from the bottom board, tip it over and 
treat from underneath.  No need to separate the two deeps.

>>Tip:  if you question whether any acid is still on your skin after 
rinsing, just touch your tongue to your skin.

This is not good advice [although the concentration could be 
harmless].  It's like asking a person to put a finger to a 
potentially live wire to see if it's 'hot.'  Just wash your hands 
with soap or better yet wear cheap, disposable rubber gloves.

I have a tip for small scale beekeepers: estimate how many bee spaces 
the bees in all my hives/nucs occupy and make 10% extra solution.  I 
weigh off the corresponding amount of OA, sugar, water on a gram 
scale and mix up the solution until the OA is all dissolved.  You 
will waste very little sugar solution.

In my opinion, dribbling is the easiest, safest, and arguably most 
accurate (as far as the 'point of use') method.

Waldemar
Long Island, NY

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