Below is an article forwarded by my bee club regarding a new 7 day formic acid gel treatment which gives 95% control of Varroa Mites. It looks like it'll be available in the spring. Yahoo!!!PRESS RELEASE, January 26, 2010
A New Formic Acid Tool in the Varroa Mite Battle NOD Apiary Products Ltd., Frankford, Ontario, has developed a new, versatile form of treatment for the varroa mite in honey bee colonies. This treatment is called Mite-Away Quick-Strips™ (MAQS) and uses Formic Acid as the active ingredient. Formic acid is found naturally in honey and in the environment, so is considered an organic treatment. There are no residue issues in the honey or in the wax.
Easy to use and versatile, MAQS is only a 7 day treatment and requires no extra equipment.
MAQS is placed in the brood area of the hive, between the brood chambers. It uses the heat from within the hive to fumigate rather than the outside daytime temperature. This gives the treatment more direct action in the brood, therefore resulting in 95% mite kill both of the adult mites and the mites under the capped brood. The spent MAQS strips are biodegradable, the bees will remove them from the hive, or the strips can be removed and composted or thrown away. This is a definite step forward in varroa mite treatment. This product was tested in 2009 in Ontario, Hawaii, France, Texas and Florida with positive results.
The beekeepers of Hawaii obtained a Special Local Needs pesticide registration. Varroa have arrived only recently in Hawaii and due to the large number of queen breeders, soft chemical treatments, like formic acid are the preferred method of varroa control. The Hawaii Department of Agriculture purchased the product for their beekeepers and distributed it in late 2009. MAQS is proving to be a success and beekeepers are happy with the results. It is hopeful that most of Canada and the US will be able to use MAQS in time for spring treatment this year.David VanderDussen, NOD’s CEO will give a Power Point presentation about the Mite-Away Quick Strips™ on Monday, February 8, 2010, 7:00 p.m. at the Fairfield Marriott Hotel, 407 N. Front St., Belleville, located directly off Hwy 401. Take the Highway 62 South exit. This meeting is hosted by the Quinte Beekeepers’ Association. For more information please call 613-398-8422 or email peterbussell@reztel.net. Everyone is welcome.
Read more about the release of this product on NOD's website at: Miteaway.com
6 comments:
Hi Thanks for sharing this! Very informative.
Very interesting to read about. We are just in our second year of beekeeping and I am constantly trying to find ways to treat that are organic and effective. Sounds promising!
there was just an interesting article in BEE CULTURE regarding: drug interaction (in hives) - in this particular case it was between APISTAN and CHECKMITE.... they pointed out that wax absorbs these "additives" - as beekeepers we should be "cycling out" a lot more old foundation on an annual basis (20/30% of frames) - so that when we DO make a switch (try a different treatment)- we're not subjecting them to unseen interactions....
That's very true D regarding switching out old combs. They have done studies and have found treatment chemicals in the combs. Those chemicals from Apistant & Check Mite I are fluvalinate) and coumaphos.
With the Formic Acid that's in Mite Away and the Mite Away Quick Strips are natural because they're made from super strong cider that vapours through the hive. They say it doesn't leave any residue - and note too the article says you can compost the sheets afterwards as well.
This is great news for beekeepers and bees.
It is extremely interesting for me to read the article. Thank you for it. I like such topics and anything connected to this matter. I would like to read a bit more on that blog soon.
Best wishes
This is a great article. Keep up the great work.
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