# Removing Apivar in the bitter winter



## clarekate (Mar 13, 2016)

Hello,

It's my first year, and I'll admit it, I was way late to the game on mite treatment. Lesson learned the hard one! Long story short, I did an OA dribble treatment when the hives were very weak with nearly no brood, then I combined my two hives, rechecked a week or two later and still had a very high mite count, and I placed Apivar strips on October 24th. So according to the instructions they will need to be removed sometime in the window of December 5th to 19th. I'm in Ohio and it's already _cold_ and snowy.

Is there any good way of going about removing the strips in the dead of winter? I put them in with the little plastic tabs on the strips, thinking now I should have hung them off something that was reachable above the frames for easier removal, but a little late for that now. I'm concerned about opening up the hive on a day under 50 degrees, concerned that pulling the strips without taking out individual frames could roll and kill the bees (or worse the queen!), and worried about breaking the propolis seal between the boxes (I've got two deeps each with two Apivar strips plus one full medium super on top). I also have heard that leaving the strips in could lead to resistance in the mites, so that also doesn't seem like an attractive option.

Any input or suggestions appreciated - thanks!!!


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## Eduardo Gomes (Nov 10, 2014)

In France some experienced beekeepers are leaving the apivar strips 10-12 weeks in the hives. I'm doing the same.

You can see more here: http://www.alsace.chambagri.fr/file...pertes_hivernales_2013-2014_avec_carte_01.pdf (*table on p.10*)


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## enjambres (Jun 30, 2013)

You can open the hive on a day less than 50 degrees - choose a quiet day with no wind. And do it in the middle of the day, not just before dark.

You have a super on, right?

Have a place you can set the super down and immediately cover it to keep the bees in it warm, dark, and quiet.

Remove the strips if they are only in the next box. If they are in both boxes I would remove the upper one and set it aside on top of the super - under the cover -with its strips in place and do the lower one first. That way once you've disturbed the bees in the lower box they are immediately covered up by the upper box being set back down. Removing the strips from the upper box first and then taking it off of the stack will mean you have more upset bees at risk from flying in marginal weather. If you move if off first, without doing anything in the box, chances are they will sit tight to consider what's happening. By the time you are ready to pull the strips from the upper box, you will be done with the first one and have it back in place and on your way to closing up the stack again.

Up here in northern NY people do OA _dribble_ in temps below freezing - just to put your concerns in perspective.

Since you have screened bottom board, be sure to have it closed up for winter, or at least imeediately after this manipulation.

If you want to add some gentle, calming warmth to the hive after removing the strips, think about whether there's space under the SBB (perhaps in top of the sticky board) where you could slide in one of those microwaveable therapeutic gel heating pads you can buy at a drug strore. I do this occasionally when I have to disturb the cluster for some reason on a very cold day. It seems to help replace some of the hive-warmth lost during the open period and gives them a chance to settle back down into a cluster easily. I will reheat it once or twice, but don't overdo it so as to not influence _where_ they choose to cluster. I use the large ones about the size of a hot water bottle. 

I try very hard in these circumstance to put the fewest bees in the air by my actions. And the most important thing to do is advanced preparation so you have every thing you need all set and at hand.

Enj.


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## sakhoney (Apr 3, 2016)

sure glad I don't have to deal with this cold mess with bees - just at work


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## clarekate (Mar 13, 2016)

Enj - thanks so much! All great tips and this will be very helpful! Yes, I have a medium super on top of the two deeps, two Apivar strips in each deep.

I put the Apivar in towards the end of October and still had a high mite count at that time and things looked bad, hardly any brood and all sorts of spotty. Still hadn't seen the queen but she must have been in there because there was a really warm day about a week and a half ago and I'm super happy to report that there was a good amount of much healthier looking brood (better pattern, not all the chewed out pupae like the previous really bad weeks). I know it's still not a sure thing for the winter, but feeling optimistic since it was looking so much better, and if nothing else learned so much as a fumbled through that last bit of my first summer of beekeeping. 

Enj, thanks again for all your help with my previous posts as I got things sorted out!


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## JRG13 (May 11, 2012)

Honestly, I just leave em in if it's late, pull them in spring. I figure the strips stop releasing at some point so there's no harm in leaving them in.


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## BadBeeKeeper (Jan 24, 2015)

enjambres said:


> You can open the hive on a day less than 50 degrees - choose a quiet day with no wind. And do it in the middle of the day, *not just before dark*.


LOL, very good advice. Lately I've been having to do some things, under cloudy, cool conditions with darkness coming rapidly. They get VERY unhappy...and trying to find a queen is just about impossible with bees flying all around and running rapidly on the frames...

...and then you have a lot of bees landing on you, and staying there, crawling into folds and crevices...and they don't leave you to go back to their hive(s) when you leave the yard. They just sit there, hiding, just waiting for you start taking off your gear...and once you have your gloves off and start opening zippers...ZAP! Guess how I know this...


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