Sealing bottom tray for Oxalic Acid Treatment

Pests and Diseases
1

What do you all do to seal the yellow bottom tray area when you do an oxalic acid treatment so the vapor stays inside the hive?

2

I just put the vent piece closed, the OA flow around pretty rapidly and precipitates quickly so not that much gets out the bottom.

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3

Ok, that sounds easy enough. Do you use the InstantVap? And if so, did you drill a hole in the back of the hive to place the applicator tip in (not sure what to call it) that releases the vapor? I saw a Youtube video where a guy did that with his Flow hive, but now I can’t find the video. I wanted to see where in the back he placed that hole.

4

I don’t know the brand of vaporizer but I did drill a 1/4” hole in the back. The hole got kind of enlarged (enough for the bees to get through and put propolis in there so I ended up putting a brass threaded bushing in there that I block with a screw and remove when I am going to treat. That’s all a lot of work since it works just as well treating through the entrance.

But when I treat from the back I don’t need to gown up, just put my goggles and face mask on and go.

5

Yes, that’s what I saw on the video! The guy drilled a quarter inch hole in the back for the barrel tip then put ‘something’ in the hole to block it and keep the bees from filling it with propolis. I wondered about ‘gowning up’ to keep it off of my clothes. I have a full-face mask/filters just for this.

Thanks for sharing your personal experience…as always, I appreciate your help! I’ll figure it out and do the same! FYI, the InstantVap is by Lorobbees. Awesome vaporizing tool…just attach a drill battery and go.