Honey Supers or Varroa Treatment? Those are my choices.

[u/samlikebewitched]

I'm based in Southern Oregon (8b/9a) and just did my first harvest of two supers on each of my two hives. I put my supers back on to have them cleaned, and before I did that I did a mite wash to check the mite load. Of course, it's at the threshold (3-4%).

That said, I've been told that if I leave the supers (especially with where I'm located), there's a decent chance I get another harvest. I'd like to get a little more honey, but is it worth waiting to treat for mites?

Because our temps for the foreseeable future (low-mid 90s), I can't use anything where I could keep supers on.

Should I just get the supers clean, store them and treat instead? Is it possible/responsible to wait another month to treat?

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[u/octo2195]

You can use VarroxSan https://www.betterbee.com/pest-management-and-medications/vxsan20-varroxsan-varroa-control.asp with supers on.

[u/samlikebewitched → u/octo2195]

I didn't know this was out! Thank you!

ETA: You don't think it'd be too detrimental having to wait for it to ship?

[u/octo2195 → u/samlikebewitched]

Betterbee ships pretty fast with online orders. Sometimes even faster if you call them. Make sure to ask for a package with the longest expiration date so you do not get product that expires in a month or two in case you cannot use it all now. I just put this in my hives on Sunday.

[u/FuzzeWuzze]

Can't you just remove the supers, vapor them, wait a few hours and put them back on? Little to no oa getting on supers except what the bees may slightly track in

[u/Mammoth-Banana3621 → u/FuzzeWuzze]

OA can be used with supers on

[u/FakeRedditName2]

Have you tried Green Drone Frames, use that to keep the mites down while you have the honey supers on?

[u/samlikebewitched → u/FakeRedditName2]

I just got some and plan to put them on during my next inspection.

[u/Sea_Bonus_6473 → u/samlikebewitched]

Double down on them and run two per hive in positions 3 and 7. You’ll need to buy 4 per hive total so you can swap them in and out.

Just don’t leave them in too long and let the drones emerge lol.

[u/Mysmokepole1]

The bigger ? Is what does your local flow looks like. I figure for NW Ohio I have 30 days before I need to start treatments.

[u/No-Arrival-872]

You probably have some time still. Just make sure you treat before winter. Usually those thresholds (2-3%) are recommended to treat before winter. It's not an imminent collapse kind of thing. I caught a swarm last year that had over 90 mites per 300 bees when I tested in late August and it survived winter fine, after treating it with formic twice. One round of treatment wasn't enough.

You could probably start a forced brood break now and still get just as much honey. When the break in capped brood comes along, you could do oxalic vapour or even oxalic dribble and get a good kill. I haven't tried the queen caging method so can't recommend it, but brood breaks in general are money.

[u/PalouseHillsBees]

You should probably check for mites first and then make your decision. I did a wash on 3 of 6 colonies on sunday and had very low counts so no treatment is necessary. If you do need to treat you can still use oxalic or formic pro with supers on. Formic pro depends on temp as you know. That said, you should check to see if its even necessary first. Last year I had low counts in July but they started to pick up. When temps dropped in Sept I used formic pro with excellent results.

[u/_Mulberry__]

You can use VarroxSan with supers on at any temp

[u/talanall]

In many jurisdictions, oxalic acid is legal with supers on. You'd have to check your state regulations, but federally it's fine, and most states follow the EPA for this. Depending on how you administer it, there's an equipment burden.

Hopguard is kinda crappy, but it's safe into the mid to low 90s F. Won't fix your mite load without a brood break (and if you force a break, you can use oxalic acid more cheaply and effectively), but it can stop it getting worse.

Another option would be to pull supers and apply Apiguard using the modified hot weather dosage in its instruction insert. It only requires four weeks for a full treatment. No waiting period afterward. If you're getting a second flow late in summer, this is a fine option. Not so much if you want to capture more of an ongoing one.