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  • Vape or trickle?

  • General Q&A, Bee chat and only Bee chat please
General Q&A, Bee chat and only Bee chat please
 #5312  by Patrick
 08 Dec 2019, 09:39
Cheers Andrew.

Thanks for the correction on Apiguard treatment duration it’s been a while and I misrembered it.

Not sure when I used it there was any guidance given on feeding at the same time, so that’s worth noting as well.
 #5317  by Alfred
 09 Dec 2019, 18:41
Going slightly off topic and back onto the original post.... :D
Do you tricklers apply solution cold or warm?
I'm thinking cold would be unpleasant for the bees but warm would encourage them to eat it??
 #5318  by NigelP
 09 Dec 2019, 19:52
In golden olden days used both hot and cold but never noticed any difference. They both killed varroa.
The important bit is actually doing it....or doing some form of effective varroa control.
 #5319  by AdamD
 10 Dec 2019, 09:22
Alfred wrote:
09 Dec 2019, 18:41
Going slightly off topic and back onto the original post.... :D
Do you tricklers apply solution cold or warm?
I'm thinking cold would be unpleasant for the bees but warm would encourage them to eat it??
I've generally used it at room temperature or if it's made up on the day, a bit warmer to start with; but it cools down as you go through the colonies.
 #5320  by Caroline
 10 Dec 2019, 11:43
1. MAQS: Like Patrick, I have used MAQS since it was first licenced in the UK. No problems with bearding, and mostly no brood breaks. I started using MAQS because of time restraints, I found I couldn't get to the hives in accordance with the instructions for the alternative treatments (previously to MAQS I was using Apiguard). Like Patrick, thinking may be a good idea to have a change.....

2. Trickling temperature: I start the temperature of the syrup at average room temperture and place it in an insulated box with a warm wheat bag. Keeps the syrup warm, which I assume the bees will appreciate.

3. Like all things beekeeping, I think opinions and methods will modify with the changes in climate that appear to be happening in the UK and world wide. The 'seasons' don't appear to be as defined as when I was a child in the 1960s, or when my grandfather was keeping bees in the 1930s & 40s; and the 'beekeeping calendar' of 'what happens when' within a colony often no longer fits with what we actually experience when inspecting hives (I don't believe we currently experience winter brood breaks here in the south). But that's a whole other topic..........!
 #5321  by Alfred
 10 Dec 2019, 12:24
So lukewarm is a reasonable median,thanks.
We have averaged one hard frost a week since the end of October here (welsh border)with daytime temps never reaching double digits,how does that compare?
I'm going in with a trickle tomorrow.
I'd liked to have a peek if there's brood but it's forecast a max of 7c so I don't want to mess about too long.

My next oa treatment will be vaped-when would that be best done?
 #5323  by mikemadf
 10 Dec 2019, 16:21
"We have averaged one hard frost a week since the end of October here (welsh border)with daytime temps never reaching double digits,how does that compare?"

Staffordshire Moorlands about 10 miles from Stoke on Trent.150m above sea level

Horrible November cold and rained most days.. 4--5 frosts lowest -3C. Raining and dark as I write..

Been so wet my leaf blower will not work on very wet leaves..

Forgettable weather.
 #5324  by Alfred
 11 Dec 2019, 18:00
Pretty much the same then Mick.
Plenty of hazel catkins and cherry buds already out despite the temps

It maxed out at 6c midday so I trickled at midday.
Disaster fell as my sheep drench wouldn't pump so I had to hightail it to the agricultural merchants for a replacement
They had Fexpensive 2ml plastic ones or 15 ml SOLID GOLD ones.
Or wait 3 weeks for one off eBay?
Wiping away the cold sweat,I spied 5ml syringes for 20p each.
I got 10 and loaded them up ready between each hive.
So quick and easy.It took longer to reassemble the boxwork.
I had a quick peek while I was there-it was great to see they had all chugged down so much autumn syrup but I was concerned about the temps and closed up quick so I didn't really see if they were isolated.
I dropped fondant on the nucs top bars,but I really think I need to perhaps shuffle the frames around on the nationals as the outer frames are fully loaded but most of the clusters are small and tight.
The hives are insulated well and the nucs are poly but with the temps as they are I don't relish the thought of the disturbance :roll:
 #5329  by Japey Edge
 13 Dec 2019, 09:46
Is about now the time to start looking to vape/trickle?

I have api-bioxal, I will be trickling. It's just when.
 #5330  by Alfred
 13 Dec 2019, 10:46
Right now when there is minimal brood, so you are zapping the mite before it can lay eggs in the cells.