# Oxalic Acid Vapor in a TBH.. best method?



## cgybees (Apr 20, 2015)

Please post your 'best advice' on how to use OAV in a TBH?.... any and all comments / suggestions welcome, from 'cheap n' cheerful' to 'rube goldberg special'... in particular I'd appreciate any setups where hardware can largely be interchanged between standard lang setups and TBH without too many issues...what's your experience been? What are the 'wouldn't do that again' things you've run into?


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## dudelt (Mar 18, 2013)

I used the vaporization last year with excellent results. In my hives I built an opening exactly the size of a boardman feeder at the bottom of the front of the hive. When not feeding, I put a 4 inch 1x1 to block the hole. The entrance for the bees is on the same end but at the top of the hive. I put the vaporizer in the hole and let it do its thing. It worked perfectly.


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## mgstei1 (Jan 11, 2014)

I cut the handle down on my OAV to about 6-8" and on the only two I've ever done is remove the top cover, tilt the bottom of the divider board which is solid wood, back towards the back of the hive and slid the OAV in and dropped a rag down in the remaining opening. 
Girls never knew I was there.


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## cgybees (Apr 20, 2015)

mgstei1 said:


> I cut the handle down on my OAV to about 6-8" and on the only two I've ever done is remove the top cover, tilt the bottom of the divider board which is solid wood, back towards the back of the hive and slid the OAV in and dropped a rag down in the remaining opening.
> Girls never knew I was there.


Did you have honey bars in the hive at the time? What time of year did you do the treatment? Did you worry at all about residue in the honey? A number of places reccommend not treating with OAV with honey supers on a lang, however that's a bit different than a TBH.


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## NSBee (Dec 20, 2014)

I am a 1st year beek so i don't know but have been looking for answers myself .
i watched a video on youtube of a guy treating with oav using a home made vaporizer he had made from copper plumbing pipe with a closed off end . he put the powder in the pipe and heated it with a blow torch with the open end in the hive entrance ,
I would think this method would work well for TBH or long lang hives which is what i have .


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## cgybees (Apr 20, 2015)

NSBee said:


> I am a 1st year beek so i don't know but have been looking for answers myself .
> i watched a video on youtube of a guy treating with oav using a home made vaporizer he had made from copper plumbing pipe with a closed off end . he put the powder in the pipe and heated it with a blow torch with the open end in the hive entrance ,
> I would think this method would work well for TBH or long lang hives which is what i have .


I've looked at a few people's comments on the copper pipe method... seems like you run a risk of overheating, etc..but here's a link to what you're describing.

http://www.beesource.com/forums/showthread.php?303256-DIY-Oxalic-acid-treatment-viewed-through-a-TBH-window

Michael Bush has this to say: 
Question: How do you treat for Varroa in a top bar hive?
Answer: I don't. I depend on the smaller natural cell size. But you could put a hole in and use oxalic acid vapor or you could drizzle oxalic acid or you could use powdered sugar. 
http://www.bushfarms.com/beestopbarhives.htm

(as a side note, powdered sugar doesn't seem effective - relevant link: http://scientificbeekeeping.com/powdered-sugar-dusting-sweet-and-safe-but-does-it-really-work-part-1/)

A good discussion on another forum: http://www.biobees.com/forum/viewtopic.php?p=107014

Having said that, other than the pipe, or fitting a standard vaporizer into the hive by some method, I haven't found any other options.


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## Ketuel (May 1, 2015)

Where did you get the Oxalic Acid? If I buy at at a hardware store, would it be called another name?
Thanks,
Ketuel


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## dudelt (Mar 18, 2013)

It is called Savogran (the brand name) wood bleach


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