> It is totally doable to manage varroa, using only formic, oxalic, and thymol

While this statement is true, and some have been using oxalic successfully for over a decade, and new application methods have been developed, the procedures can be more complex and weather and management dependent than some methods that worked for almost everyone and almost all the time and could be assigned to partly trained staff at remote locations with confidence in efficacy.  

These methods also vary in efficacy with location and other factors that may not be obvious until too late.  

Complete failures are possible and in some cases the window of opportunity is small so repeating may not be as successful as hoped.

I did and documented some fairly intensive measurements back in and fall/winter 2011 and found that even with repeated applications I did not get consistent control.

My friends also have invested heavily in various oxalic devices and methods and yet have had to fall back on other approaches.

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