General note on chemicals: I do not endorse or advise on chemical treatments, as I am not qualified to do so and there may be dangers beyond my control. New products may be introduced or existing ones withdrawn, so it is difficult to keep up with current information on a website such as this. As many of the chemical pages were generated by Dave Cushman, I am leaving the content mainly as left by Dave for historical purposes only, which may mean information is out of date and unreliable. The user should seek guidance from other sources and satisfy themselves regarding safety and legality. Roger Patterson.

I do not endorse or promote any particular treatment. You must satisfy yourself that whatever you treat bees with is safe to both bees and yourself and any action you take is legal. Please ascertain that the treatment you give is licensed or approved in your relevant country.

Whatever your motives, do not modify the dosage, method of delivery or time of exposure that is indicated by the manufacturers, unless you have all the facts and all the necessary knowledge of the chemistry involved and have discussed your reasons with the manufacturers as well as relevant administrative authority and gained their agreement.

I don't know the situation in other countries, but in the U.K. it is an offence to apply treatments in any other way than what is on the instructions. This includes altering the dose or length of treatment.

I try to rotate the treatments that I give to my bees to reduce the risk of resistance being imparted to the offending organism.

I have done little research into essential oil therapies. Most essential oil techniques are aimed at varroa and thus will appear on the Varroa Treatment page.

Thymol crystals can used directly by evaporating in a Frakno frame, or similar device.

Various methods are used to deliver the chemicals. The Bee Institute at Dol in the Czech Republic have produced two standardised methods of fumigation. Dol strips can be used within the hive and as they smoulder they evaporate the active chemicals into a vapour that pervades the hive. They have also developed an atomiser pump that can be used to deliver the same materials as an ultra fine mist, via a flattened nozzle, direct into the hive entrance.

All Chemicals should be treated with care and respect, some of them can be dangerous to humans or other life forms. Some of these chemicals have product specific Data Sheets, but for those that do not you should still use gloves for handling strips and goggles for liquids. Organic acids require particular care, especially in apiaries that are untidy or have a rough ground surface.

Dave Cushman.

Originally written by Dave Cushman. Edited by Roger Patterson.

Page created pre-2011

Page updated 13/12/2022