# Varroa..Amitraz vs Formic acid



## WBVC (Apr 25, 2013)

This is my first year with bees. I have been advised to treat all hives for Varroa control however I have had different advice as to what to use. I do have honey supers on and there is brood in the bottom deeps.

The Apivar strips (Amitraz) say to use for 7 days and remove. It seems this product is left in the hive for a month or so. For pets Amitraz is called Mitaban...it was handled as a toxic substance and is now considered very out dated. The Mite a Way Formic product is only left in the hive for 7 days. Is that long enough to get the mites that are on the adults as well as the developing stages?

Are these products going to compromise the adults, immature stages and/ or honey?

Having just read on this forum that someone lost 4 strings over a month to these mites I am going to have decide on something soon.

When is the best time to apply these products?

Thanks for sharing your knowledge and experience.


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## cg3 (Jan 16, 2011)

All other considerations aside, MAQS kill a bunch of mites in a hurry.


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## WBVC (Apr 25, 2013)

Are the "other considerations" detrimental? Is there any difference between product with rate and load of recurrence?


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## beedeetee (Nov 27, 2004)

Temperature is the consideration. Formic can be hard on bees with higher temps.


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## JStinson (Mar 30, 2013)

Amitraz works extremely well on varroa mites. I used them last winter/spring and it put a hurtin on the mites. 

I have not used MAQS, so I cannot comment on that. However, Apivar is idiot proof whereas you need to be a little more educated about MAQS. You can't use Apivar with honey supers on whereas MAQS you can. 

I would advise you to use Apivar this year and learn more about MAQS before you use it.


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## larrybeach (May 25, 2013)

I have not used it before, but most of the members of my local club use the mite-away quick strips. The advantage seems to be it is easy to use and very effective, it works on the adults and the bees still in the cells. Since formic acid is already in the honey you can leave your supers on. The disadvantage seems to be it can be a little hard on the bees, not a good idea to use it if temps are around 88 degrees or more. One member said he will find a few more dead bees than normal for a couple of days, and more bees hang outside the hive for about 2-3 days. In Georgia, august is a good time to treat for varroa. Not sure about Canada.


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## Lburou (May 13, 2012)

Two things:

I would do some sugar rolls, or ether rolls or equivalent 'roll' to get a handle of your mite load before you do the treatments. I go here to get smart on this issue. HTH


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## WBVC (Apr 25, 2013)

We rarely see weather in the 80s...so that is not an issue


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## bolter (Jun 27, 2013)

You could use drone boards to keep the mite loads down & then only have to treat for mites once a year (spring). That said; you likely don't get much cold weather on the left coast so your hive won't have much of a "dormant" period. IAC, you need to check mite loads once in a while to determine if you need to treat, or not.


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## WBVC (Apr 25, 2013)

I have screened bottom boards...white..so far have not seen any signs. Thought I did but under the scope was reddish wax like goo not a red mite.
Do some treat each 6 months?


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## johng (Nov 24, 2009)

The apivar has a long treatment period something like 50 days its a contact miticide. So it has to be in the hive long enough to kill the mites that hatch out with the emerging brood. The Maqs kill the mites that are on the bees and under the cappings. The cappings are porous so the fumes go through the caps and kill the mites. The Maqs can be used with the supers on. I hear a lot of northern beeks praising the Maqs. Down here in the south it is hard to find a treatment window that also meets the temperature requirements. If I lived in BC I would be tempted to try the Maqs but, I think you will get a good kill rate with either one. Just keep in mind Apivar has a long treatment period. It is always a good idea to do some before and after mite counts to make sure your treatment worked. Maqs (formic acid) can be a little less effective if the temps are not just right. There is a pretty good article in the American Bee Journal this month about mites if you have access to one.


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