I'm a relatively new beekeeper, 4th year, and I like the wand method but I don't put it in the front opening. You run a very high risk of killing a lot of bees with the high heat and I'm certain that one of the first hives I used a wand on, I killed the queen. When I realized there was no new eggs or brood coming, I requeened the hive but eventually it died out. When I dismantled the hive there were a couple of badly burned frame bottoms and I'm sure the queen just happened to be down there at the time. So, to prevent that potential disaster I built sturdy, hollow wooden boxes for the hives to set on. They are about 12" high. I cut a slot in the backside of the box for the wand to go into. This puts the wand and the intense heat about 6-8 inches below the bottom of the frames. I use screened bottom boards so the vapors go up into the hive from there. I haven't lost a hive since and I have two hives that are in their third summer - meaning I've gotten them through two very harsh Minnesota winters. And I've killed A LOT OF MITES!
Thank you for your video. It helped so much. I just did my treatment for the first time ever. my bees are in the hiveIQ and there were so many bees even after smoking them they were hanging down on the frames so far i couldnt get the tool all the way in there. Luckily the hiveIQ has a nice bottom board with vents so i had to let the vapor go in from there which actually worked our beautifully.. they were banging on the door to get out! Then some ghostly bees came out. But i must ask, what do the bees do in the wild where theres no humans to do mite treatment
I just did my first treatment.. ever. This is my first hive. I accidentally breathed some of it and I got a buzz plus a headache from hell. But it seemed to have worked on the bees!
I'm a relatively new beekeeper, 4th year, and I like the wand method but I don't put it in the front opening. You run a very high risk of killing a lot of bees with the high heat and I'm certain that one of the first hives I used a wand on, I killed the queen. When I realized there was no new eggs or brood coming, I requeened the hive but eventually it died out. When I dismantled the hive there were a couple of badly burned frame bottoms and I'm sure the queen just happened to be down there at the time. So, to prevent that potential disaster I built sturdy, hollow wooden boxes for the hives to set on. They are about 12" high. I cut a slot in the backside of the box for the wand to go into. This puts the wand and the intense heat about 6-8 inches below the bottom of the frames. I use screened bottom boards so the vapors go up into the hive from there. I haven't lost a hive since and I have two hives that are in their third summer - meaning I've gotten them through two very harsh Minnesota winters. And I've killed A LOT OF MITES!
Dang!! Nicely done, I like how you improvised and came up with something that works better!! Thanks for sharing this!🐝🐝
What do you do for circulation with ventilation and moisture when overwintering. What’s your setup like thanks for the help.
I have holes drilled in the face of my boxes, especially my quilting box. The bees circulate the air as needed. Air in and up and out the top.
Thank you for your video. It helped so much. I just did my treatment for the first time ever. my bees are in the hiveIQ and there were so many bees even after smoking them they were hanging down on the frames so far i couldnt get the tool all the way in there. Luckily the hiveIQ has a nice bottom board with vents so i had to let the vapor go in from there which actually worked our beautifully.. they were banging on the door to get out! Then some ghostly bees came out.
But i must ask, what do the bees do in the wild where theres no humans to do mite treatment
Ha! Sounds like an awesome experience 🤣. Good question…because of Varroa, feral colonies don’t usually survive since they cannot be treated. 🐝
Hello my friend. Can I still perform an OAV treatment in temperatures in the 50s at night; 60s during the day?
Yes! Those temperatures are still good to treat OAV in because it doesn’t disturb the tight winter cluster yet. Great question 🐝
1) if its not safe for us to breathe, will it harm the bees or honey?
2) “Bearding”…a technical term?? 🤔😆
Somehow it doesn’t harm the bees. And bearding is when hundreds of bees hang out on the front of the hive. 😁🐝🐝
I just did my first treatment.. ever. This is my first hive. I accidentally breathed some of it and I got a buzz plus a headache from hell. But it seemed to have worked on the bees!
@champinsoccer9 Oh no!!😅