# Vampire mites



## Cray (Dec 8, 2004)

Scary article.

http://www.palmbeachpost.com/localnews/content/local_news/epaper/2005/03/28/m1a_honeybees_0328.html


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## Terri (May 10, 2002)

Yes.

The varroa mites BIG impact was 10 years ago, when almost all wild hives and a great many domestic ones were killed. But, we can treat for them now. 

Yes, the mites on the West coast and Florida HAVE gotten resistant to the chemicals. But, there are other treatments available, such as putting in a fog of Food Grade Mineral oil (FGMO), using naturally resistant bees, and using drone cells as a trap (mites PREFER to reproduce inside drone cells when they are available, so the drone comb can be removed regularly and destroyed. The mites die with them).

The varroa mite is the beekeepers currant biggest headache, but the outlook is not QUITE as bad as the article suggests. We do have alternatives. I am told that the alternatives don't work quite as well as the chemicals did, but such is life. 

I expect the resistant mites to be in my area in a couple of years. Until then I will continue to use the chemicals.


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## justgojumpit (May 5, 2003)

Terri, why are you going to wait for your mites to become resistant? You will only know that they have become resistant after the fact, after you have suffered great losses. I have moved on to oxalic acid as a fall treatment, after all brood rearing has ceased. I will also be using drone comb traps throughout the season. Once my bees are flying well and bringing in pollen, I will be splitting hives, and each split will get a paper towel over the top-bars, soaked in mineral oil. The bees will tear the paper apart and drag it out of the hive, and in the process they will cover themselves in the oil and suffocate the mites. I found out my first year that apistan does not work; and suffered losses because of the mites. Please, learn from my mistake and use various different mite treatments. If you use only one, you are just breeding for a mite resistant to yet another threatment method!

justgojumpit


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## Terri (May 10, 2002)

I used Apistan because I have not been well for a year and a half. And, in my area the mites are not yet resistant. Apistan requires very little effort and right now it works very well in my area. 

I have been toying with the idea of buying survivor queens, but I think that will be for next year. This year I will just encourage my queens to cross with the local wild bees.

I have HEARD of the paper towel with oil trick, but those who use it ALL seem to ALSO use FGMO or something else, so I have no idea how helpfull the paper towel is. FGMO has to be done too often for my energy level. 

I am on a new med, so I will know more about my long-term prospects in a month or 2. Then, I can plan ahead more accurately.


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## justgojumpit (May 5, 2003)

The FGMO is the oil that is used with the paper towels. Hence, everyone who uses the paper towels is inherently using FGMO. I'm not sure if you comment related to FGMO fogging, but that would involve buying a fogger. One more expense that I am just not willing to put into my bees. 

justgojumpit


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## Terri (May 10, 2002)

Yes, I WAS thinking about the fogger. A lot of people fog once every week or two.


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## Runners (Nov 6, 2003)

A couple of months ago, there was an article in one of the bee keeping mags about fogging with FGMO. It sounded pretty dangerous (explosive?), vaporizing any kind of oil with a heat source, and they seem to question how effective it really was.


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## lizw (Apr 6, 2005)

At the local beekeeping meeting tonight, we heard that in trials of FGMO (using fogging), the number of mites actually increased, compared to a decrease with either Apistan or Couphas. I too dislike using poisons but I don't think I'm going to try FGMO either.


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