January, Oxalic acid treatment for varroa

We've been very inspired by members who had been to LASI to hear professor Ratneiks talk about the success their beekeeping research projects were having with treating for varroa by sublimating oxalic acid.

So we thought we'd have ago ourselves, so of course, for us,that means we had ago at making our own vapouriser...

Here's how we tackled each hive atthe apiary....  putting a modified varroa board in underneath the mesh floor to reduce the ventilation fora few minutes...

measuring the right amount of oxalic acid into the vapouriser....

 

Add apiece of cloth to further reduce the air flow....
 

attach the vapouriser to a nearby car battery(!) and BLAST!those varroa mites....

and just in case you were wondering what was happening to that oxalic acid. This series of shots taken on the grass at 15 second intervals show how quickly the crystals sublimate. (that's turn from crystals to gas for the none chemists among us!)

We'll keep you posted on how the varroa mite count goes down.....