# When to do an OA treatment?



## snl (Nov 20, 2009)

You want to vaporize before the mites jump into the cells that are about to be capped. So now is the time. No harm to eggs/larvae..


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## evil nick (Mar 7, 2016)

snl said:


> You want to vaporize before the mites jump into the cells that are about to be capped. So now is the time. No harm to eggs/larvae..


thanks. Im hoping I can get it in time but our schedules with work are so crazy. Im going to hope saturday evening wont be to late. 
thanks. I saw the eggs this past Sunday.


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## Daniel Y (Sep 12, 2011)

I tend to leave new colonies alone. They can decide they don't like the new accommodations and fix it for themselves. I was warned in my first year about this but pestered bees fairly often anyway. no permanent ill effects. just take care how much meddling you are doing until they are settled in. At most I would give them a one shot treatment for now and not worry about it again until later in the season. like after honey production.


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## snl (Nov 20, 2009)

Daniel Y said:


> At most I would give them a one shot treatment for now and not worry about it again until later in the season. like after honey production.


Definitely do the treatment now and then do a series of treatments after supers are pulled in late summer.


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## evil nick (Mar 7, 2016)

snl said:


> Definitely do the treatment now and then do a series of treatments after supers are pulled in late summer.


thanks guys


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## gnor (Jun 3, 2015)

This is the best and simplest guide I have found for Varroa management, although it was put together before a lot of info on OAV was available. http://is.gd/QL0Jr2
It's based on methods that are proven to be effective, and mentions some methods that are not.


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## Groundhwg (Jan 28, 2016)

gnor said:


> This is the best and simplest guide I have found for Varroa management, although it was put together before a lot of info on OAV was available. http://is.gd/QL0Jr2
> It's based on methods that are proven to be effective, and mentions some methods that are not.


gnor -thanks. Great information, lots of detail, draws, and proven methods.


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## hex0rz (Jan 14, 2014)

IMO, do your mite treatments now after receiving them from your supplier. I think I will feel much better knowing that the hives I received will be treated by me to ensure that the mite counts really are low. You should be able to take the suppliers word for it, but you just never know.

Here pretty soon I'll be doing some treatments before and after the flow so I know the mites stay down low.


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## Planner (Apr 3, 2016)

Why are you treating if you don't know your mine counts? Remember OA is a very potent and dangerous chemical that requires the user to wear a certain type of respirator. Read and follow the instructions. Your health comes first and bees second oe at least thats how I feel.


evil nick said:


> I installed my bees and its been a week. I have eggs already. My hives came with 10 already combed frames to head start it all.
> One of my friends who started last year is saying you should treat with OA vapor before the eggs are capped. Is this good for the eggs/larvae?
> 
> Right now I am waiting to meet up with him to barrow his vaporizer and OA until mine come in. Is there a rush to do this? Is it better to hit them before the cells are capped or after?
> thanks


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## evil nick (Mar 7, 2016)

Did my first treatment this saturday. Went well, didnt notice many dead bees and after a day went out to check my bottom board and only found 2 dead mites. I did notice before treating that some of the brood cells were already capped, not much but some. I may do another treatment in a couple weeks to hopefully get those when theyre opened back up in case any mites were inside there before I got a chance.

Can someone tell me since I cant find a real answer anywhere. Is it the vapor itself or the crystals that kill the mites?
thanks


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## SS Auck (May 8, 2015)

evil nick said:


> Did my first treatment this saturday. Went well, didnt notice many dead bees and after a day went out to check my bottom board and only found 2 dead mites. I did notice before treating that some of the brood cells were already capped, not much but some. I may do another treatment in a couple weeks to hopefully get those when theyre opened back up in case any mites were inside there before I got a chance.


I did the same saturday and also had a half a frame of capped brood. kicking myself for not doing it midweek instead of saturday. should the bees be treated again in series?


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## gnor (Jun 3, 2015)

What they are doing when treating capped brood is to do 3 treatments about 5-7 days apart. If your population is still small, 2 mites may mean quite a few mites. The best thing is to do a sugar roll and calculate the mite load/100 bees, then treat if warranted.
Apparently, the OA crystallizes on the pads on the bottom of the mites' feet and kills them. The bees are able to retract their pads, and use claws for getting around the hive, so they aren't affected.
There were some good microscope pics posted here last year of dead mites with crystals on their feet. If someone knows the link, it would be a worthwhile repost.


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## SS Auck (May 8, 2015)

http://www.beesource.com/forums/showthread.php?322101-Let-s-talk-about-lega-vaporizer-unit

gnor here is your link


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## gnor (Jun 3, 2015)

SS Auck said:


> http://www.beesource.com/forums/showthread.php?322101-Let-s-talk-about-lega-vaporizer-unit
> 
> gnor here is your link


Thank you


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## Mimzy (Sep 17, 2013)

SNL, I time 2 1/2 minutes for the treatment (1/2 tsp) for two deeps. I forgot the time for a single deep? I know to use 1/4 tsp.


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## snl (Nov 20, 2009)

Depending on your battery, it'll probably be about the same time. I'd go for 2 minutes......


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## gnor (Jun 3, 2015)

Mimzy said:


> SNL, I time 2 1/2 minutes for the treatment (1/2 tsp) for two deeps. I forgot the time for a single deep? I know to use 1/4 tsp.


I did a dry run and timed it, so I know pretty well exactly how long it takes. (stand upwind LOL)
I also made a measure out of a 1/2 inch copper end cap that holds almost exactly a gram. I soldered on a handle made from bare copper wire. One scoop for one deep, 2 scoops for 2 deeps.


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## snl (Nov 20, 2009)

gnor said:


> I also made a measure out of a 1/2 inch copper end cap that holds almost exactly a gram. I soldered on a handle made from bare copper wire. One scoop for one deep, 2 scoops for 2 deeps.


Overkill  A 1/2 a teaspoon is almost exactly a 2 grams....... Steal one from the "junk" drawer in the kitchen! :lookout:


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## Mimzy (Sep 17, 2013)

snl said:


> Depending on your battery, it'll probably be about the same time. I'd go for 2 minutes......


Thanks, I did 2 minutes and it worked fine!


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## gnor (Jun 3, 2015)

snl said:


> Overkill  A 1/2 a teaspoon is almost exactly a 1/2 a gram....... Steal one from the "junk" drawer in the kitchen! :lookout:


Thanks for the info. That's different from what I learned last year, but I will try it and see. I can still use my homemade measure, and it will save me from cutting a teaspoon in half! :lpf:


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## snl (Nov 20, 2009)

A typo on my part. A 1/2 teaspoonful is almost exactly 2 grams not 1/2 a gram! Sorry...


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## gnor (Jun 3, 2015)

snl said:


> A typo on my part. A 1/2 teaspoonful is almost exactly 2 grams not 1/2 a gram! Sorry...


Just to be clear - 1 gram for 1 deep, 2 grams for 2 deeps?


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## snl (Nov 20, 2009)

gnor said:


> Just to be clear - 1 gram for 1 deep, 2 grams for 2 deeps?


Yes.........sorry for my typo.....


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## shelly0312 (May 3, 2015)

New quandary for new BeeKeep: I cannot find oxalic acid--went to 5 stores this morning. The new packaging at the paint stores seems to be a liquid--with no specifics of concentrations. When I look on the web to buy, all the powder forms appear to be 98.9-99%. The working formulas I've seen all seemed to deal with a concentrate of 71.something..... I do have HopGuardII sitting that I bought "just because I was suppose to". Should that be my fall-back position? worried about all levels of brood: eggs, larva --I guess not to much the capped?? Suggestions appreciated.


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## snl (Nov 20, 2009)

shelly0312 said:


> New quandary for new BeeKeep: I cannot find oxalic acid--went to 5 stores this morning. The new packaging at the paint stores seems to be a liquid--with no specifics of concentrations. When I look on the web to buy, all the powder forms appear to be 98.9-99%. The working formulas I've seen all seemed to deal with a concentrate of 71.something..... I do have HopGuardII sitting that I bought "just because I was suppose to". Should that be my fall-back position? worried about all levels of brood: eggs, larva --I guess not to much the capped?? Suggestions appreciated.


Legally labeled Oxalic acid is found at Brushy Mountain. Mann Lake sells Savogran. It is not the legally labeled OA but it is 99.7 % pure. It is even more pure than BM which is 97%. You can also find OA on Ebay and Amazon.
If you're vaporizing, that's all you need. If you're dribbling, you need to mix OA with sugar syrup. Randy Oliver's website is a good place to start for mixing instructions.


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