Subject: Use of Formic Acid in Canada and the USA

From: Ulli Hoeger <[email-masked]>
Date: 24 Jul 1996 08:23:24 GMT

Hello beekeepers,

Like you can see in my E-Mail address I am a beekeeper from Germany.
The varroa mite is present in Germany for at least 20 years, and a lot
of things are tried by beekeepers to keep them under control.
There are some pharmaca legalized <Perizin, Bayvarol, etc> and formic 
acid.  Officially you can use formic acid in a way which looks similar to 
the one descibed in this newsgroup a few days ago.  Others use formic 
acid from the top of the hive, some place special designed applicators in 
the frames nearby the brood.
For all these methods 70-90% success are  reported by scientific 
research, depending on outside temperature and concentration of the 
formic acid.
Formic acid is used in late summer and fall for 2-4 weeks to kill the 
mites, not during the honey season <other mite-medicine is used later in 
the year, when there is no brood in the hives>.
Im our monthly beekeepers club-meeting on this Fr. is a round table 
discussion about various methods of mite-control.
I think it would be intersting to tell the people about the use of formic 
acid in America.  So I am interested in all ways of formic acid 
application used in American and Canadian hives.
Please mail me a short discription of methods used by you and your 
colluages for varroacontrol, especially if you use formic acid or other 
organic acids.  How do you applicate the acid, how long, and in which 
period of the year.
I would like to discuss this points with my beekeeper colluages, some of 
them do this job for more than 50 years, and maybe we find interesting 
aspects and new views.
The results of the discussion might be of interst for you, so I will post 
them in this newsgroup in a few days.
Lets cooperate to face the beast!

With best regards

Ulli Hoeger