# Formic flash treatment question



## minz (Jan 15, 2011)

Glen,
I have been playing around with formic this year and that is contrary to what I have been reading or working with. The Formic fumes are heavy and will go down, putting it on the bottom would ‘pool’ it all there. 
Here is the study that I have been working off of for what it is worth, I have hit them one time and took sugar roll samples before and 10 days after. The formic was not placed on unless I had greater than 10 mites in a sample and I only recorded mites on one hive (2 mites) in the follow up but that was because I had a screen bottom board and the tape fell off. For reference I only did 10 hives, (9 Doubles, 1 single deep). I would think 3 times would be pretty harsh.
Good luck.
http://www.wvu.edu/~agexten/varroa/FormicAcidppt.pdf
Here is West Virginia’s honey bee page:
http://www.wvu.edu/~agexten/varroa/


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## Glen H (Aug 17, 2013)

Here are two links for doing a flash treatment, where they put it on the bottom board.
they use a measured dispensing gun to put the acid on the paper.

My question was: Will the meat pads release the formic acid too slowly to be considered a flash treatment? 

http://www.apinovar.com/articles/flash.en.html

http://www.apinovar.com/apinovar_IPM_guide.html

Glen


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## Belewsboy (Jun 6, 2012)

I agree with Minz... Formic vapor is heavy. It should be dispensed from the top of the hive.


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## jean-marc (Jan 13, 2005)

I would think that the soaker pads might release a bit slower, but not 100% sure. Why not follow the recommendations? Paper towels are cheaper than the meat soaker pads and it the recommended method.

Apinovar bottom boards are by far the easiest, most convenient, fastest and most effective way to dispense formic acid. Besides they can also tell you the likelihood of your hive surviving based upon natural mite falls at different times of the year. It is well worth reading. Somebody must have counted an awful lot of mites to come up with those numbers.

Jean-Marc


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## Glen H (Aug 17, 2013)

jean-marc said:


> I would think that the soaker pads might release a bit slower, but not 100% sure. Why not follow the recommendations? Paper towels are cheaper than the meat soaker pads and it the recommended method.
> 
> Apinovar bottom boards are by far the easiest, most convenient, fastest and most effective way to dispense formic acid. Besides they can also tell you the likelihood of your hive surviving based upon natural mite falls at different times of the year. It is well worth reading. Somebody must have counted an awful lot of mites to come up with those numbers.
> 
> Jean-Marc


Jean-Marc,

Merci beaucoup for your input!

Yes I think you are right, next time I do it I'll use the paper towel instead of the pads. 

I tried contacting Apinovar in Quebec via Email but the Email got pinged back too me stating no such address. Their website in very informative though.

Glen


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## Honeycomb_Kidd (Sep 23, 2021)

Has anyone had any issues with the bees dragging the meat pads out the front of the hive? Ive just started using Formic Acid and after 1 day it was ripped to shreds on the front entrance. I thought of either placing it on top of queen excluder or pinning it down to a frame. Any suggestions?


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## crofter (May 5, 2011)

I think the liquid formic on various pads have kind of gone out of style with the advent of Mite Away Quick strips and Formic Pro. but some people still use it. Many places no longer will ship it without a hazardous goods surcharge. The large adult diapers can be cut up in pieces that just soak up the usual 30 gm (1 oz.) charge is what I last used. Up top is more effective than on the bottom board.


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## username00101 (Apr 17, 2019)

The issue is that some of us don't want to pay a fortune to MAQS when we could just buy a gallon of formic acid and make the strips ourselves for pennies.

After this year, I may order a vat of formic so I can make emergency flash treatments if I see mite bombs in the future.


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## Kevinf (Oct 2, 2019)

Off topic but can anyone tell me what the actual dimensions are of the formic pads? I see on line references to the package dimensions but can’t find the actual pad dimensions.


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## johno (Dec 4, 2011)

Guys you are starting to play around where I was in 2012, If you want some FA I still have about 4 gallons left. First of all if you have not worked with hazardous materials be very careful as 96% FA will not be kind. You will have to dilute the stuff and then measure the amount to put onto the pads and the stuff can be quite volatile, however you need to open the hives place the pad onto the top bars and leave it there for 24 hours. Then the results are all over the place depending on ambiant temperatures and size of the cluster and also bearing in mind one shot does not cure all so you end up looking for something else so that is where I took a look at OAV and have never looked back. Dont take my word on this, get your own experience if you wish and please come on by and collect the 4 gallons I have gratis.


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## HarryVanderpool (Apr 11, 2005)

The very best information I have found for liquid formic use is at: www.mitegone.com
And from my experience that dates WAY back, from the time varroa came on the scene; placing the acid on a bottom board is a ridiculous notion.
As Minz said, Formic acid vapor is heavier than air. Why would you place it where it will just spill out the entrance??!!!
Check out the articles from Bill Ruzika at Mitegone for some great insight.


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