Hey how’ve you been Pluto? I have not used an insect fogger. I had been using a varrox- type vaporizing wand but switched to sponges last season. Guess I’ll keep the wand for supplemental uses, but I must say I prefer the sponge method of delivery by far. They’re simple to make, can be put in place during a regular inspection, and they keep working all summer. So much less hassle than lugging the vape gear around, and it’s nice not to worry about fumes or setting your hives on fire!
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Do you do an alcohol wash at any particular intervals or do you do an accelerated drop to figure out when the levels are up? I assume you would have to take the super off to do the accelerated drop…
The sponge is supposed to stay on for how long? And one sponge per hive per season? Does the use of the vaporizer affect the use of sponges (total dose of OA per hive per season)?
The accelerated drop is so much easier, so that is what I do. I don’t do drop counts from March to July (our nectar flow), unless I see sick bees.
Well, you can leave it on for as long as your want. Randy Oliver seems to think that it may take 40 days+ to work in cooler seasons.
I am doing one in early Spring, and one after the honey season is over = August to early September here
There is no scientific data on that. I just think that if the sponges are not getting the mite infestation levels to where I want them, I add a vaporization treatment. in my experience, that only happens with weaker hives. My current colonies are thriving, but you should do what you think is best for your bees.
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I did OAV last year, wondering if I should just stick to that or try some sponges this year… maybe will see how colonies come through winter.
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And not sure I’m going to do the formic pro again… or maybe only when it is much cooler like in October while there’s still brood… or maybe in the spring? I don’t know…
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I think that the sponges are superior for maintenance. However, if you need an intervention, the OAV is perfect for that, and you can get a mite count from it too
I Did a hive inspection on a hive out in the countryside next to a small copse and found two of these chaps between the last frame and wall of the brood chamber.
One had spun a web out on the landing platform to catch bees.
You can see the bee carcasses in between the frames this is without the ones the bees would have taken away.
The spiders aren’t going to kill those bees and leave them there? Ordinarily, wouldn’t a strong hive drive off a spider in the hive even if it was only feeding off already dead bees?