New varroa treatment?

Just saw this on Indiegogo… Check out “VARROA BUSTER: Save Your Bees From Varroa Mites” on Indiegogo http://igg.me/at/varroabuster/shre

Looks interesting, like a DE solution on a board.

There are a few similar gadgets for sale on eBay. Can’t do any harm adding it to your IPM

They don’t say it, but it sounds like diatomaceous earth.

My wonder is if the bees themselves could be hurt by the same thing to cut open and kill the mites…can anyone comment on that?

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/NEW-weapon-in-the-fight-against-Varroa-destructor-mites-beekeeper-bees-/331905956841?hash=item4d4722fbe9:g:-~8AAOSwxp9W2gQp

But now bees can easily rub themselves against the surface of the VARROA BUSTER by crawling behind the disc to get rid of the mites from both, the front and the back of their bodies, equally as good.

Where is this supposed to be attached to the hive?
If internally:

  • why would the bees choose to go near this protrusion that will violate bee space? After millennia of getting robbed by bears, Bees have observed and learned to scratch their backs against things?

If as an entrance reducer/tunnel/bee-carwash:

  • I’ve read of Varroa having a predisposition of attaching in the segment between the thorax and abdomen, a much lower profile than the one riding high and proud like a little mite cowboy in the favored pictures. I’m not sure that 2 parallel planes cover enough area of the cylinder of possible body area where a mite might be attached.
  • If the plates are close enough together that a worker can sandwich themselves through it and scrape the Varroa, will a drone fit?
  • how much pollen gets knocked from the baskets when re-entering the hive?
  • that might help against new infestations, but the existing population that’s phoretic in the hive on nurse bees wouldn’t be culled.

Not enough information for me to decide if a clever simple invention or a cheap cash grab praying on a popular fear. “Saving the world” for 6 grand seems really cheap.

Okay, my cynic muscles need a rest.

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That was one of the most unprofessional campaign videos I’ve seen.

No empirical evidence, no “in-use” demonstration, no comparisons.

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You didn’t like a 4:17 video that actually only talks about the product for 18 seconds? You obviously think too much to blindly hand over your money and are not the target audience. :slight_smile:

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The fact that they have raised so little of their target speaks volumes. There is no magic bullet…at least, not yet

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What a terrible movie. I watched it, but still don’t know how it works, where it is placed etc. 4 minutes felt like an hour of hell watching that cr*p.

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Yeah I felt like I was watching a generic commercial on TV.