On Jun 4, 9:42am, Bill Painter wrote: > Subject: Tracial mites(Spelling) > I am new to this list as I have just started keeping bee's (two new hives). > If this is a rehashing of old topics I apologize. > > I understand that a patty can be made to keep down tracial mites using > wintergreen. My question is would one made with pepermint work just as well > or better or not at all? If it does work does anyone have a recipe for > this? >-- End of excerpt from Bill Painter Also, has anyone tried using pennyroyal oil or extract on either variety or mite? My wife's father was a veterinarian and he used pennyroyal oil for years to remove ear mites from dogs and cats. One drop in each ear every few days for a couple weeks completely cures ear mites in our dogs. I haven't experimented with any mint species oils in my hives but pennyroyal will be my first choice when I do. I'd be very interested in the results if someone else on Bee-L has already tried this! Kris Bruland Member of Mt. Baker Beekeepers Association Bellingham, Washington U.S.A.