# Best Time of Day for OAV Treatment?



## psm1212 (Feb 9, 2016)

What is the best time of day to do an OAV treatment? I have been assuming that you want as many foragers in the hive as possible, so I have been targeting early mornings and late afternoons. Am I thinking about this correctly?


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## dudelt (Mar 18, 2013)

Originally, I was thinking that the best time of the day to vaporize was in the early morning when everyone was home. But as time has gone by, I have been looking at it differently. When you vaporize, the crystals cling to everything in the hive for a couple of days. Thus, there is a window of 2 days or so that the OA continues to kill the mites. This year most of my vaporizing has been done in the afternoon and I have not seen any difference in mite kill from last year when they were all done in the early morning. Intuitively, I believe early in the morning before they start flying is the best time. Intellectually, I don't think it really matters much what time of day it is done. Doing the vaporizing is the most important thing, not the time of day.


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## snl (Nov 20, 2009)

Most mites reside in the brood chamber, however there are many more on the bees. The best time is when most of the bees are in the hive.


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## Groundhwg (Jan 28, 2016)

I treat my hives in the morning for the following reasons: I feel that most of the bees are in the hive; here in SE Alabama is can get rather hot and since I have my veil and jacket on it is cooler in the morning and easier on me; since I try to space my treatments and keep on schedule, whether every 5 days or 7 days I do not have to worried about late afternoon thunder storms; OAV does not seem to disturb my bee but if it does then they have all day to recover - of course I have heard others say since the bees have all day to start cleaning the OA out they want to treat in the afternoon or evening so the OA is in the hive longer so ……

Really though I agree most with dudelt that it is more important to treat then what time of day you treat.


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## aunt betty (May 4, 2015)

When I do OAV it's an all-day thing. Treating a few dozen hives will take a good minute or two. I try to select days where it's breezy and overcast where there are not a lot of bees flying. Having the wind makes it easy to not expose myself. 
How I do it takes too long but is safe for me. 
First I set up the wand in the hive with the dose of OA. I connect the battery and walk away and as I'm walking I set the timer. 
When the timer goes off I head over to the battery while holding my breath, unhook the battery, then walk away for another 10 or 12 minutes. (forget the timing but you get the idea).

When the cycle is up I start another hive. It takes me about 15 minutes per hive. I know it can be done faster and if someone says they have two wands I'd appreciate it if they'd buy me one or two. They're only $165...come on. Be generous. lol


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## dlbrightjr (Dec 8, 2015)

I've been doing mine at night after dark by necessity due to my schedule. All the bees are in the hive, much cooler, and very peaceful. Easy to see the mites on the bottom board at night with a flashlight the next night.


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## dudelt (Mar 18, 2013)

Aunt Betty, Why leave the wand in the hive while waiting? Pick the cloth up slightly and pull the wand out. put the cloth back to seal the hive and go do the next hive. When hive # 4 is vaporizing, open up hive # 1 by removing the cloth. Ten minutes will have passed by then. Very little vapor comes out when removing the wand so you are still getting a full dose. You will be spending 2-3 minutes on each hive instead of 15.


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## Dubhe (Jul 19, 2007)

The Varrox instructions call for the delay prior to pulling the wand. This gives the vapor a chance to condense and less exposure for the operator. A kind of a safety factor I guess. As long as you use proper PPE, your method would be faster.


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## razoo (Jul 7, 2015)

aunt betty said:


> I know it can be done faster and if someone says they have two wands I'd appreciate it if they'd buy me one or two. They're only $165...come on. Be generous. lol


Aunt Betty, I got my vaporizer from Bud Willis for $100. 
Maybe now you can get a second one so that you don't need to take all day. 

You can find him here on Facebook 
https://m.facebook.com/buds.bees


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## Groundhwg (Jan 28, 2016)

razoo said:


> Aunt Betty, I got my vaporizer from Bud Willis for $100.
> Maybe now you can get a second one so that you don't need to take all day.


I agree that saving time should quickly pay for a 2nd vaporizer. My time is worth xxxxx dollars an hour as is A B's or anyone else. Would rather be doing something else than treating hives all day long.


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## Norcalkyle (Apr 23, 2015)

I have gotten my time to starting the next hive 7 minutes after starting the previoius one. I put the wand in, battery for 2 1/2 min, sit for 2 1/2 min, pull out and plug the entrance, dip in water, refill the pan and start over. I just finished my 4x of my six hives and got them done in 45 minutes each time.


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## Tom1617 (Oct 17, 2016)

I am going to be updating my drop #s maybe later today or tomorrow. I have done 7 treatments over 29 days and my feelings are morning is optimal if it is above 50 maybe 60 degrees because they are all in the hive not bearding, calm and less likely to cluster. But at my location mornings are much colder than evenings. And I saw better drop counts in the evening treatments... I am not sure it is for those reasons??? But it is working. I also think if you have a lot of caped like me you need to vape every 3 to 4 days to cover an entire drone cycle...14 days... at 5 to 7 you will miss to many and it will be less effective.


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