# Hop guard varroa mite control



## Taylors_Bees

Has any one heard any thing about hop guard does it work It sounds good let me know:scratch:


----------



## KQ6AR

A couple people from mann lake spoke at our meeting last month. They brought a white board that was in a hive with the hopguard in the hive. Looked like there where 2000 mites that droped on that board in 24 hours.
From what I've heard it looks like a good product. Its had several trials & is in the Gov. approval stage.
If I remember correctly its an acid extracted from hops.


----------



## concrete-bees

Mann Lake is waiting on a sticker - the sticker is waiting for an "ok" from the EPA - with the regulations of the product 

Mann Lake has piles of Hop guard - just waiting on a sticker


----------



## Taylors_Bees

:thumbsup:Well hope its soon I was going git some and try it its $30 for 50 strips you have to treat - twice so a pack does 25 hives


----------



## Flathead Honey

I just got off the phone with mann lake CA branch and they said hopguard is available in WA only as or today.


----------



## hipifreq

I just got off the phone with Erik Johnson at WSDA.

He said that yes, HopGuard has Federal approval, but there's still labeling issues to be worked out before it gets state approval. He did *knock on wood* say that it should all be worked out this week.


----------



## JoeMcc

We may have hopguard and MAQS this summer. Nice to possibly have 2 choices for treatment with honey supers on. Excellent! 

JoeMcc


----------



## hipifreq

JoeMcc said:


> We may have hopguard and MAQS this summer. Nice to possibly have 2 choices for treatment with honey supers on. Excellent!


Don't get too excited. No one has even APPLIED for MAQS in Washington state yet. I'm hoping they're just applying in the southern states first, and working north with the spring.


----------



## megank

Kill mites while making beer...Whudda thunkit?


----------



## oldenglish

hipifreq said:


> Don't get too excited. No one has even APPLIED for MAQS in Washington state yet. I'm hoping they're just applying in the southern states first, and working north with the spring.


I was speaking with the NOD folks late last week (well actually email) They dont need anyone to apply for use of the product in WA. As it has federal approval all they need to do is send in a pesticide registration and they are currently working through that. 
Here is the email I got back from them,

"We received the full federal EPA registration this past Monday for MAQS in the US. Therefore, the only thing I need to do now for Washington is submit a pesticide registration application which is a simple task. The product is being shipped to our warehouse in Reno in about 2 weeks. You will be able to buy it from your favourite bee supply company in time for spring treatment"


----------



## hipifreq

oldenglish said:


> I was speaking with the NOD folks late last week (well actually email) They dont need anyone to apply for use of the product in WA. As it has federal approval all they need to do is send in a pesticide registration and they are currently working through that.
> Here is the email I got back from them


Thanks for the clarification there. The bee pesticide guy here in Washington had only said that no one had applied yet. He didn't elaborate (nor did I ask..) how much work that was except that it was relatively quick.

Here's to hoping it all goes through quickly, because I know that the commercial guys must get nervous when they think of asking employees to apply formic in a non-approved manor. There's a ton of liability that would be eliminated by an approved method of application like MAQS.

@megank: It's alpha-acids in beer, beta-acids in HopGuard. Anyone want to finish Randy Oliver's thoughts in the Feb 11 ABJ and calculate how many beer-equivalents are in a single application of HopGuard?
What would you pick, Pilsner - IPA - stout - weizen - saison?
Now I'm just getting thirsty....


----------



## johng

I am not sure if there are temp requirements for the hop gaurd. But, if not it could be something that would work very good for a winter treatment during the broodless period. Could really help with spring build up. Glad to see some more natural type treatments coming soon.


----------



## Scott J.

The beekeeper that tested the hopp gauard in Washington applied it in January if I remember corectly from the presentation. He said they had a good mite drop, and when testing after almonds had a hard time finding one.


----------



## AR Beekeeper

Has anyone read anything about possible beta-acid buildup in brood chamber wax?


----------



## jbeshearse

This makes me want to order some hops and use them in my smoker and see if I get a greater mite drop.


----------



## concrete-bees

Hop guard is most likely an extract of a part of the hop plant - burning the hops probably will not give you the same results


----------



## BeeLee

I talked to some people at Mann Lake and some of the beekeepers that used it, and from what I understand HopGuard works best in damper, cooler weather (I am not exactly sure what that means) and it works for about 3 days before it dries out. And I hear it has a great mite drop. It sounds like it could be a great treatment for brood-less periods or a low mite level, but if you have brood you're not going to kill at least half the mites.


----------



## Daniel Wasson

I just received my WSDA beekeeper registration renewal in the mail today. Included with the application is a flyer listing approved in Washington pesticides, and Hop Guard is now listed.

Erik Johansen is listed as the contact in Olympia (360)902-2078 or [email protected] if anyone has questions.

I was going to scan and attach, but no need at this point.


----------



## hipifreq

If anyone's interested, here's the link to the list of approved mite-control products in Washington State.
http://agr.wa.gov/PestFert/Pesticides/docs/StatusMiteControlProds.pdf


----------



## Ian

Hopguard, MAQS, Thymol, Formic, Oxalic Acid,

Lots of options here,


----------



## Ian

I ask this with every alternative treatment thats promoted, can anyone provide me with a link to testing or study of the product? Or are preliminary result the norm now? Does MAQS have any solid study yet. What I had seen earlier was pretty wishy washy. Lots of claims, no proof. From what I see, without any study backing them, they are asking alot of money for a "trust me he said she said" treatment.

Im not bashing these treatment options, just id like to see if they had worked under study before I dish out the thousand to use them.


----------



## JoeMcc

Ian said:


> From what I see, without any study backing them, they are asking alot of money for a "trust me he said she said" treatment.
> 
> Im not bashing these treatment options, just id like to see if they had worked under study before I dish out the thousand to use them.


As far as knowing if they work...buy a few.... do before and after counts. I know hopguard is best with phoretic mites. MAQS kill in the cell too. 

We all need to do before and after sampling to be sure.

JoeMcc


----------



## SmokeEater2

So has anyone tried Hop Guard yet?


----------



## Capricorn

I'm really wondering about HopGuard too. I don't think I'll have to treat this year, but come spring I might want to do something. HopGuard's advertisements sound good, but I haven't heard anyone talk about actually using it.


----------



## valleyman

There was a report in (i think) ABJ about 3 months ago. If my memory isn't failing me again it was Randy Oliver. Best thing since sliced bread. It can be used with the supers on with no problems.


----------



## Jetjockey

Been using HopGuard for two days now and wow the little red devils are dropping like crazy. I noticed a huge drop increase in less than six hours after application. No noticeable affects on the bees the girls are going about their work like normal.


----------



## arcowandbeegirl

I just applied Hopguard last week, dont have afterward mite counts yet, will post when I do. Bee activity looks normal, and no dead ones being brought out.


----------



## Jetjockey

Day 5 - had a massive mite die off the first two days the last three days have seen smaller numbers hope that means most of them died the first two days. I think the ones I'm seeing now are the ones that were on capped brood. No noticeable negative affects on the bees, in fact they seem to have little more spunk showing a little more activity around the hive entrance.


----------

