Failed Apivar treatment

Pests and Diseases
1

I am a seasoned beekeeper who helped a dear friend set up a hive this spring. Everything has gone exceptionally well.
However, we treated her hive for Varroa Mites 8 weeks ago using Apivar as instructed and how I have 100% successfully used in the past. We treated with Apivar for 6 weeks, waited two weeks and retested her hive. Her hive went from 3% mites up to 6% mite load.

My question here is what can we safely treat her hive with now since we just finished the last treatments two weeks ago.

2

Hi Sarah, that’s discouraging and must have been odd to see. I guess I’d have to wonder if there was a flaw in your numbers or tracking possibly? Or about mites with resistance to Apivar…

I’ve only ever used oxalic acid for mite management, whether in vapor form or sponge. Here’s some interesting reading by Randy Oliver about his ongoing research on it:

2 Likes
3

I would use an oxalic acid dribble at this late date in the year…but am doubtful if a hive with a 6% infestation rate will survive the winter.