----- Original Message -----
From: "Lloyd Spear" <[log in to unmask]>
> The difficulty with essential oils is that sometimes they work and
sometimes
> they don't.

They do if you use them properly - apart from some oxalic acid drip in the
first couple of years, I have used only thymol since finding varroa in 1997.
Winter losses have not increased and average crop (from 100+ colonies) has
actually improved slightly.

> This is understandable once one considers that each essential
> oil contains dozens of chemicals

Dozens???  How many dozen in thymol?

> treating with essential oils (only) is a good way to ensure that your bees
will
> slowly die from Varroa damage.

This just not so and ignore the considerable amount of evidence available
(links from our website).

Peter Edwards
[log in to unmask]
www.stratford-upon-avon.freeserve.co.uk/

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