RECIPE is at 12:23! Wettex Original Swedish Dishcloths (Sponges): amzn.to/3YPHVXi Food Grade Vegetable Glycerin: amzn.to/3k1JiTX --- Randy Oliver's Website Scientificbeekeeping.com Other useful bee equipment from Amazon can be found here: www.amazon.com/shop/tennessees-bees/list/2XRUBZ67FIJO3?ref_=aip_sf_list_spv_ons_mixed_d
A new (3rd season) backyard beekeeper here in New Zealand. I've been using three cardboard strips per brood box with OA this season. I hang them over each frame. I'm thrilled with how healthy the bees are and how easy (and economical) it is to make and use OA strips. I hope you're all able to make your own pretty soon. Love your videos and Laurel's contributions are priceless. Thank you for going into such depth and teaching me so much about the bees. The learning curve is enormous! 🥰🐝
There’s a few fellas in my local bee group that started doing this over a year ago exclusively , they are having great success and after a year two fellas have a zero mite count, very healthy bees with great brood patterns and overall very healthy brood , they have not used any other type of varroa treatment,I know every area is different as far as effectiveness and efficacy of the treatment, but for this to work well in my area has me very happy with this form of treatment, thanks to you and Randy Oliver for all you guys do and the potential sacrifice you make with some of your bees so we can learn and be better prepared to take the best care of our bees , I have some test hives I’m going try this on throughout the summer and see how it does for me , as of now I’m naturally mite free in the packages I installed last month, I guess I got lucky, 8 brood boxes with zero mites and zero beetles , hopefully I get lucky too this year!!!😊
@YoMommaTwo-fg6ry I am doing great as far as mites go where I live , I don’t have any at the moment, the colonies I’ve been keeping in my long hives are super hygienic and I have not treated them for anything, they have zero beetles , zero mites , zero moths , I’ve watched them kill other bees, wasps, carpenter bees and that’s all because of their incredible hygienic behavior, now in my regular langs I have followed Randy Oliver’s sponge recipe and I’ve had no mite issues and healthy bees , now this year I don’t know what’s going to happen because I got a few packages for another queen project I’m going to start but I wasn’t lucky so far because one of the packages had about 20 beetles that I could see so I imagine their infested, I’m just wondering why you’re calling B.s. if I was having an issue with mites I would certainly say so , I’ve got nothing to gain by not telling it like it is, I take it you have mite issue?? What state are you in ?
I started using paper straws instead of sponges, I really like them. They are easy to throw on top, bees get all over them and they are SUPER cheap in bulk. Basically do the exact same thing as the sponge method just throw them over the paper straws and I let my soak 24 hours as well then put them on. Had some of my best results for varroa after using apivar, OA vapor, and OA extended release as a combination. It was by far the best results I've ever seen, so I'm a believer at this point, but it's not a full proof plan like you said Kamon, it's a help overall.
One piece of advice, weigh the glycerin in the pot, one less step and less glycerin that may not make it if not scraped properly. I'd weigh everything right into the pot personally.
Thank you Karmon=watching your videos often. I fog my bees here in Ohio on warm days in January and again in Febuary, also start feeding soy bean flower with powered egg and powered sugar mid Febuary plus 1 to 1 sugar water with lemon and dash of Honey bee healthy in it. Last June 7 th my bee inspector in Summit County inspected 6 hives and found zero mites in my hives. The bees could be helping me with the mites and black hive beatles because most all of them came from the wild years ago. I invented my own Propane Copper fogger 2 years ago and its very fast=so I wait till it hits 50 F or above and kill those mites while nearly no babies are in the hives. Then I'm free of mites while they are making loads of honey from our Lenden 11 trees. Blessings to you and yours.
Swedish wetex are useful! I use them for making my tymol sponges. 1 wetex is devided into 9 pices in that case. I am outside doing all those cooking sponges things as a safety. I do not like to have the steam inside. It can become harmful amounts. Ziplockers are good for this. Can one freeze the oxalic sponges like I do with the tymol sponges? Then one can make these ahead when one have time. Take them out of the freezer when you 'll use them. I use a nametaged grilltong (used only for those type of sponges) for putting the sponges in the hive. That way I do not smear the content everywhere. I would use safteyglases while cooking. Thank you for sharing!
Hi Kamon love your videos and your giggle lady partner does a fantastic video job. I'm in Canada..eastern snow belt are so our hives are buried until late April. Last fall I experimented with the OAE method from Randy Oliver on 7 double deep 10 frame hives. (7 for good luck...lol!) I applied the pads on Aug 7 and have left them on all winter. So far all hives are still alive and seem to be doing well. I believe Randy's method was for 70 days. I wanted to see what kind of results I'd get over winter. Up until mid November I checked the mite drop with sticky boards. The drop every week from Aug was steady with declining numbers. After Nov 16 the snow became too deep to check but I will start again beginning of April. I have no idea if there is any efficacy at this point or when it might become zero but it will be interesting to see the results. My question to you is when you are dissolving the OA in the glycerin over the stove aren't you concerned breathing the vapours. I wear a mask same as if I was doing an OAV. Thanks!
can you share your experience regarding winter care for bees, specifically in using oxalic acid with glycerin on sponges in the hive during the colder months. Is it advisable to continue employ this method for wintering bees in the first floor?
I am the county bee inspector for two counties in southern Utah. Some of the beekeepers in my area are using Randy's extended-release oxalic acid shop towels and sponges. All of these beekeepers have had excessive mite counts when I do inspections, although the count is noticeably lower than "treatment-free" apiaries in my counties. My conclusion is that Randy's work has created a very useful tool, but it isn't perfect. I does seem to keep mite counts from getting our of control which makes other treatments more effective. I tell my Randy Oliver disciples that they must continue to do monthly mite counts and to treat with a different product when the mite count exceeds 2-3%. As with the "Flow Hive", oxalic-acid sponges and shop towels are NOT an excuse to be lazy.
i would like to find why their OA isn't working well. here its been hard to get people to confess to what they did. so far it appears to be a big variation in pad manufacturing.
I think there is a lot to consider, different species of bees and different geographical regions, ,different mites exposures are going to affect the bees and the mites differently, ,I think that as long as there is an effort at all doesn’t mean that one is lazy for not wanting to not blow oxalic vapors in a flow hive . Some folks do well with thyme oil , thyme oil products , last year I made a mix of cottonseed , thyme , cedar and mineral oil and it killed everything but the pollinators and bees on my farm in southern maryland .if I can continue to successfully use this mix and kill everything but the bees I will stick with it as long as it’s effective
Thank you for condensing Randy’s research into a keeper-friendly understanding. I began using the oxalis dribble method this winter and have been pleased with the results.
I have a question regarding winter care for bees, specifically in using oxalic acid with glycerin on sponges in the hive during the colder months. Is it advisable to continue employ this method for wintering bees in the first floor?
I put Randy's OA treatment on 4 of my colonies, placed the treated sponges on the colonies last Mid-Nov. used Randy's Dawn Dish Soap Mite wash method just prior to putting the treated sponges on the colonies. (The treated colonies had mite loads of 1-2 mites in the samples). The sponges have been on the colonies since then and will take them off and do another mite load test as soon as the temps warm up (a low of 16F this morning here in Ariz.) seeing a good increase of activity in the colonies after the temps reach about 55d+ on sunny days. Will be interested to see the mite load results in early spring.
@@lynnerousseau9676 Hi, will post the results here, as well as doing a video on my RUclips channel with the results after I do my first mite wash load for 2023.
Can you cut/paste this into the description of the video: 1/2 gallon water w/ 6 tablespoons Baking Soda for "neutralizing agent" (safety factor) Use a kitchen scale set to grams Into large cooking pot put 500 grams of Glycerin Add 500 grams of Oxalic Acid and heat on low to medium while stirring gently. Use a cooking thermometer to make sure the temperature stays between 120 to 160 degrees. When mixture is clear, pour over shop towel strips in medium sized plastic tub. Use cooking tongs to make sure every strip is well soaked. Store in zip-lock bags. Try to use with in 1 month.
Hello, thank you so much for these years of great bee sharing. Two questions: How many weeks should the sponges stay in the hives? And how many degrees can vegetable glycerin go from 0 to 100?
I've just made the first batch, but the Api-Bioxal oxalic acid packet was only 350 grams. I made the mix 50/50 by weight and mostly saturated 20 pads so not sure got enough OA on the sponges? The temp climbed in heating the mix and it got to 180 degrees for a minute or so, was that enough to create formic acid and should I throw them away since this video suggests 160 degrees and not to exceed 170 degrees. Also, the Api-Bioxal packet says it will treat 200 hives in a vaporizer, and the sponges in the 500-gram mix treat 10 hives, so they are a lot more expensive to treat versus using a vaporizer. I like the sponge concept better knowing the bees will make contact. I wonder if any other OA materials (almost all other OA products are substantially less costly than Api-Bioxal) are allowed in Florida?
Used these for over 2 years now and my bees haven't looked this good in over 25 years. The key is leave them on for months. Put them on early and leave all year. My cell builders that I add frames of emerging brood every week are enormous. Mite counts in August when I break these down and split are zeros and ones. They work. I am in SW Missouri so humidity is high in summer. I do 1:1 by weight.
hi from NZ. i found you really need to get the maximum OA mix in the sponges that you can. the wettex i tried, hold around 200g of OA. if you try to only half fill them you can end up with very different amounts in each pad. by filling them to the max they will hold hold the same amount. also whats very important is the drying procedure (not shown in the video) they must be dry before using. i think randy uses a thinner pad. wettex do make a thinner version which might be more suitable. use a double boiler and stir constantly, otherwise you can over heat the bottom and cause the mixture to form formic acid which ends up killing the bees. hope that helps.
So a little update from what I gathered from Randy Oliver videos. The ratio of OA:gly is best 1:1. The amount of OA around 40-50 grams had the best results. Towels had 76% kill rate (not too great) but sponges were exceptionally good 92-96% at 2 months kill rate. The surface area of sponge pads mattered more than the orientation of the pads placed (on top of bars vs in btw frames). Do not use Randy’s technique in the heat of the summer or you will fry the colony. Fry rate in summer with OA was not as bad as Apivar 2 pads) but there was 11% queen loss when OA extended release was used with Temperatures of 95F and above.
Yeah, this video is lacking big time. You want 50 grams of Oxalic Acid per 2 deep hive. So take the amount of total OA divided by the number of sponges to get the amount of OA per sponge and apply enough sponges to get the 50 grams in the hive (or fraction there of depending on the size of the hive). Such a poor video without that info!
1 gram OA to 1 Gram glycerine in 1 mL of EtOH on a single sponge pad yields 1 gram per sponge pad. If you instead place 2 pads, 500 mg per pad. Which is far too much. Recommended amount per pad is 50 mg/pad. So 1 gram OA:gly is enough for 20 pads. Very economical compared 85 dollar Apivar 2 pads.
@@KambizNazir Are you high dude? EtOH as in ethyl alcohol? Where in Gods name did you find Randy Oliver using that in his recipes? And it’s not “mg”, it’s GRAMS. 50 GRAMS OA per full two deep high, if you’re using mg OA, you might as well hawk a loogey in your hives, close em up, and call ‘em good!
You can put the pan on the scale and not worry about scraping out the glycerin... Thought this didn't work well for you... Works awesome for me... Been at zero mites in 2 hives since August...
I l literally saw mites on bees last August, so I ordered OA and a wand type applicator the SC dealer didn't ship the applicator, later found he was too busy doing honeybee speaking engagements, having Amazon Prime got glycerin and sponges in 3 days, I don't sell fall honey pulled all I wanted for personal use, 3rd week of Aug, did exactly what Kamon did except I treated my doubles with 75g of OA & 75g of V glycerin per 20 frames, cut the sponges into quarters for my 2 - 5 over 5 nuks to equal 37.5g per 10 frames then cut two 1/4s in halve to do my 2 five frame single nucs to be 17.75g for those, had no issues with brood or queens, the doubles continued raising drones between frames within inches during cotton and fall flows, wear a respirator to remove the sponges even after 3 months on the doubles there was still enough OA vapor in the core of the sponges to make me have a slight cough for 2 days when looking in the bottom boxes of 2 of the double deeps, 1 deep still has the sponges on fromr late August as a test to see if impedes spring build-up and I'll check to see if it still has and core OA left soon., for those who question me, I'm building bees, not making honey for human consumption.
Thanks Kamon for the video. I've been excited about the extended release for awhile, but was seeing varying results from the different people testing it while using the shop towels. I'm curious how the sponges will do. Thank you again for taking the time to share your knowledge, it's great having a place we can trust to get information like these videos and Randy's website.
Hey Kamon, Thanks for the great video. In Randy's original study, he found the the blue shop towels were eventually consumed/removed from the hives. Do you have a thought on how long these sponges should be left in place, since they probably won't be consumed?
I understand Randy Oliver to have said that he has noticed higher bee mortality when sponges are used on early spring colonies. You might benefit from asking him about this🤔
Good Information Kamon, I was fortunate enough to work with Randy's sons Eric and Ian for a few months. I learned a lot. Great research and information on his site.
Down here in NZ I use screen bottoms on all my backyard hives. Topbars, Bench hives and standard langstroth's. Leave sight boards out over summer except when I'm treating (I use OG strips I make myself) and monitoring.
Nice video. We started using sponges this past year, and are pleased with the results. The nice part is it's effective and economical to use. Have used swedish sponges, but have heard absorbent mats from New Pig work well also.
Seems to me that there should be at least bee space above the pads. The reflectix will be flat to the pad and bees will not be walking on the pad. It would be better with a shim on the underside of cover and no reflectix. There are other options as well
Great to see this being brought forth more often. These are tracked much better and faster by using them as strips and placed in between brood frames. Kinda like apivar strips. Bend them over the frames so they reach two sides. Sure you lose a couple of brood, but it is more efficient that way. Can't tell you how i know this😁 cutting them into thinner stips say two inches wide
Thanks for doing a straight forward easy to understand video on this. I’ve been researching this a bit. Looking forward to the follow up video. Any idea what your mite counts are in those hives prior to application?
Thanks for the video as always! Interested to see how these work as it's nice to have another tool in the toolbox for varroa. Look at that slab of brood! Thanks again! -Brandon
Kamon. I think Laurel was trying to teach you not to ask her questions and basically just you do the talking in the video and try not to get her involved other than her running the camera! How does a person find out if this is legal in their state?
Fun fact: Rhubarb has oxalic acid in it. Grow rhubarb if you have nothing else, grind the leaves into a paste, and smear it on the top bars. Theyll remove it, but again, theyll first carry it around the box and get it on their feet.
Tried last spring and summer, so happy with my results. And of course proud its a Swedish product involved ;). Not mutch talk about this Randy Olivers oxalic treatment in my hoods. I did a test and maked alcohol washing for true results. Lets hope this simple and nice system will last and be good enough. Gretings frome Sweden
Thought I read where Randy was varying the sponge sizes and found that about 2" strips were ideal with larger sponges lowering the dose. More edges ment more bee contact. I've "heard" it worked real well last year.
I seen the queen! I believe she had a white mark. By the way PA makes the best Maple Syrup! Lol I could send you a jug if you’d like. Just need to know where to send and what flavor you prefer… Golden Amber or Dark ✌🏻 and thanks for all that you do for the honey bee community!
Wow, the brood. Just north of you in ky. Haven't been able to get in my 2 hives yet. But I'm just starting my second year. Both made it. Thought I was going to loose both due to mites last fall. Pleasantly surprised.
Hello from Albania I dont understand you guys why are u so late using OA in all forms... We here have been using it with strips, sparying, vaping and dribbling it in broodless hives in winter or in mid summer with very good results for at least 15 years. Good luck to all felow beekeepers there. You people do work a lot.
I also have a question about the OA, can you never use that colony for honey production or can it be used for honey production after a certain time frame?
for between the frames you need about double the surface area ie double the pads. also thickness is a big issue. have aread on his website, he does mention it.
Hi Kamon and Laura! I have a question as a non US resident. Would you be so kind and give a bit of info regarding dimensions and weight on one sponge (need to know what type of sponge to use instead of vileda)? Also, have you used 1 kg of glyc/oa on 10 whole sponges or on 10 halves? Thank you
50 grams of OA and 50 grams of Glycerin go into each sponge. Each sponge is then cut in half. Here is the link to the sponges I use. There should be technical info there on size and such. amzn.to/3YPHVXi Thanks for watching!
looks like a very useful treatment for the winter and early spring months when other treatments can not be used due to the temperature restrictions. I'll give it a try next week, we're about a month behind you here up north
The recommended way in New Zealand is to use the strips using Randy Oliver's research to keep numbers low very AFTER treatment with Oxalic acid or another mite product. Once these numbers are negligable seasonal products are rerely needed. Being a natural product which some plants producemeans the only reason it is not allowed to be used in all states (and these are lower since this video) is cost is low therefore it is a pain in the backside for companies who produce other products as it's growing popularity effects their profits big time. It's always hard to prove however it look like a big fat back hander has been given to certain people governing rules and regulations within the bee keepers association... Serious questions need to be asked as to why it is not allowed to be used when scientific proof shows it is safe to se with no side effects. The product manufacturers can be fought successfuly if there is enough resistance. Have been in associations which fight greedy manufacturers who want a monoply and won...
I made my first batch of extended-release OA using chipboard strip yesterday as seen on another RUclips channel that seems to been taken down. Guy was from Jacksonville, Fla where I grew up. First attempt was not pretty. I went to the Salvation Army thief store and found a large 12" S/S skittet with lid., $6.99, that allows me to fix the issues with a too small of a pan. SA is a great place to find S/S items, cheap.
Kamon, If you care to divulge... What is your treatment of choice during spring build up before the first flow for nucs or production hives. Really appreciate all you do for all of us.
I have a question regarding winter care for bees, specifically in using oxalic acid with glycerin on sponges in the hive during the colder months. Is it advisable to continue employ this method for wintering bees in the first floor?
Thanks for explaining this method. I didn’t know that this mixture needed to be heated. I killed all my bees in my two hives. Still have so much to learn.
Randy's site seems to indicate 90% efficacy with a high enough dose in his limited trials. Hopefully can replace Apivar as a fall treatment in a year or two.;
Evening Kamon, I didn't read through all the comments below. This might be a bit of a redundant question, but how long should I leave these sponges in the brood boxes for? Thanks again your a fantastic resource, keep up the great work
I always see people with respirators on when they use in vapor treatment wouldn’t it be wise to use a respirator while heating that up just my opinion love all your videos great family kaymen
Really need to use resperator. I got luck when the wind caught me with resperator down. Lost my breath and after doctor vis I t found i had blood clots in lungs and heart along with calf. Would not have worried about calf but not being able to get my breath back scared me. Been 3 weeks since they sucked clot from heart and lungs but still not back right at 66 years old. Gope to be ready to handle my 32 hives in Darlington S.C.
@@BucksBeesS.C. well I’m glad you are still here my friend sorry you have been through so much but keep on getting better and get back to your bees they definitely bring a sense of calm and healing feeling when I work with them God bless you mr.Buck and may God bring back your health as soon as possible so you can get back to your bees God bless you and your family best wishes to you
RECIPE is at 12:23! Wettex Original Swedish Dishcloths (Sponges): amzn.to/3YPHVXi
Food Grade Vegetable Glycerin: amzn.to/3k1JiTX
--- Randy Oliver's Website Scientificbeekeeping.com
Other useful bee equipment from Amazon can be found here: www.amazon.com/shop/tennessees-bees/list/2XRUBZ67FIJO3?ref_=aip_sf_list_spv_ons_mixed_d
A new (3rd season) backyard beekeeper here in New Zealand. I've been using three cardboard strips per brood box with OA this season. I hang them over each frame. I'm thrilled with how healthy the bees are and how easy (and economical) it is to make and use OA strips. I hope you're all able to make your own pretty soon. Love your videos and Laurel's contributions are priceless. Thank you for going into such depth and teaching me so much about the bees. The learning curve is enormous! 🥰🐝
Love your name! Thanks for watching, your take and the nice comment happy beekeeping!
can you share us you procedure please?
Hi from central Otago southern New Zealand 👋 cardboard, that's an interesting idea, I'll try it too👍
There’s a few fellas in my local bee group that started doing this over a year ago exclusively , they are having great success and after a year two fellas have a zero mite count, very healthy bees with great brood patterns and overall very healthy brood , they have not used any other type of varroa treatment,I know every area is different as far as effectiveness and efficacy of the treatment, but for this to work well in my area has me very happy with this form of treatment, thanks to you and Randy Oliver for all you guys do and the potential sacrifice you make with some of your bees so we can learn and be better prepared to take the best care of our bees , I have some test hives I’m going try this on throughout the summer and see how it does for me , as of now I’m naturally mite free in the packages I installed last month, I guess I got lucky, 8 brood boxes with zero mites and zero beetles , hopefully I get lucky too this year!!!😊
@YoMommaTwo-fg6ry I am doing great as far as mites go where I live , I don’t have any at the moment, the colonies I’ve been keeping in my long hives are super hygienic and I have not treated them for anything, they have zero beetles , zero mites , zero moths , I’ve watched them kill other bees, wasps, carpenter bees and that’s all because of their incredible hygienic behavior, now in my regular langs I have followed Randy Oliver’s sponge recipe and I’ve had no mite issues and healthy bees , now this year I don’t know what’s going to happen because I got a few packages for another queen project I’m going to start but I wasn’t lucky so far because one of the packages had about 20 beetles that I could see so I imagine their infested, I’m just wondering why you’re calling B.s. if I was having an issue with mites I would certainly say so , I’ve got nothing to gain by not telling it like it is, I take it you have mite issue?? What state are you in ?
9:51 queen spotting!
I started using paper straws instead of sponges, I really like them. They are easy to throw on top, bees get all over them and they are SUPER cheap in bulk. Basically do the exact same thing as the sponge method just throw them over the paper straws and I let my soak 24 hours as well then put them on. Had some of my best results for varroa after using apivar, OA vapor, and OA extended release as a combination. It was by far the best results I've ever seen, so I'm a believer at this point, but it's not a full proof plan like you said Kamon, it's a help overall.
Wonder if you could use the beetle bee- gone towels for this process. Two birds with one sheet
Randy was talking about thin maxipads. Anyone try them. Paper straws? How many per colony? Thanks 😊
One piece of advice, weigh the glycerin in the pot, one less step and less glycerin that may not make it if not scraped properly. I'd weigh everything right into the pot personally.
There's only one issue with that. You should heat the glycerine TO 170°F before adding the OA.
@gazinta he added the oxalic into the glycerin before heating in the video, was this wrong?
Thank you Karmon=watching your videos often. I fog my bees here in Ohio on warm days in January and again in Febuary, also start feeding soy bean flower with powered egg and powered sugar mid Febuary plus 1 to 1 sugar water with lemon and dash of Honey bee healthy in it. Last June 7 th my bee inspector in Summit County inspected 6 hives and found zero mites in my hives. The bees could be helping me with the mites and black hive beatles
because most all of them came from the wild years ago. I invented my own Propane Copper fogger 2 years ago and its very fast=so I wait till it hits 50 F or above and kill those mites while nearly no babies are in the hives. Then I'm free of mites while they are making loads of honey from our Lenden 11 trees. Blessings to you and yours.
Swedish wetex are useful! I use them for making my tymol sponges. 1 wetex is devided into 9 pices in that case. I am outside doing all those cooking sponges things as a safety. I do not like to have the steam inside. It can become harmful amounts. Ziplockers are good for this. Can one freeze the oxalic sponges like I do with the tymol sponges? Then one can make these ahead when one have time. Take them out of the freezer when you 'll use them. I use a nametaged grilltong (used only for those type of sponges) for putting the sponges in the hive. That way I do not smear the content everywhere. I would use safteyglases while cooking.
Thank you for sharing!
Hi Kamon love your videos and your giggle lady partner does a fantastic video job. I'm in Canada..eastern snow belt are so our hives are buried until late April. Last fall I experimented with the OAE method from Randy Oliver on 7 double deep 10 frame hives. (7 for good luck...lol!) I applied the pads on Aug 7 and have left them on all winter. So far all hives are still alive and seem to be doing well. I believe Randy's method was for 70 days. I wanted to see what kind of results I'd get over winter. Up until mid November I checked the mite drop with sticky boards. The drop every week from Aug was steady with declining numbers. After Nov 16 the snow became too deep to check but I will start again beginning of April. I have no idea if there is any efficacy at this point or when it might become zero but it will be interesting to see the results.
My question to you is when you are dissolving the OA in the glycerin over the stove aren't you concerned breathing the vapours. I wear a mask same as if I was doing an OAV. Thanks!
can you share your experience regarding winter care for bees, specifically in using oxalic acid with glycerin on sponges in the hive during the colder months.
Is it advisable to continue employ this method for wintering bees in the first floor?
I am the county bee inspector for two counties in southern Utah. Some of the beekeepers in my area are using Randy's extended-release oxalic acid shop towels and sponges. All of these beekeepers have had excessive mite counts when I do inspections, although the count is noticeably lower than "treatment-free" apiaries in my counties. My conclusion is that Randy's work has created a very useful tool, but it isn't perfect. I does seem to keep mite counts from getting our of control which makes other treatments more effective. I tell my Randy Oliver disciples that they must continue to do monthly mite counts and to treat with a different product when the mite count exceeds 2-3%. As with the "Flow Hive", oxalic-acid sponges and shop towels are NOT an excuse to be lazy.
Well said Blaine. Thank you for the comment!
i would like to find why their OA isn't working well. here its been hard to get people to confess to what they did. so far it appears to be a big variation in pad manufacturing.
I think there is a lot to consider, different species of bees and different geographical regions, ,different mites exposures are going to affect the bees and the mites differently, ,I think that as long as there is an effort at all doesn’t mean that one is lazy for not wanting to not blow oxalic vapors in a flow hive . Some folks do well with thyme oil , thyme oil products , last year I made a mix of cottonseed , thyme , cedar and mineral oil and it killed everything but the pollinators and bees on my farm in southern maryland .if I can continue to successfully use this mix and kill everything but the bees I will stick with it as long as it’s effective
What about the OA drip method?
Great comment.
Thank you for condensing Randy’s research into a keeper-friendly understanding. I began using the oxalis dribble method this winter and have been pleased with the results.
I have a question regarding winter care for bees, specifically in using oxalic acid with glycerin on sponges in the hive during the colder months.
Is it advisable to continue employ this method for wintering bees in the first floor?
I put Randy's OA treatment on 4 of my colonies, placed the treated sponges on the colonies last Mid-Nov. used Randy's Dawn Dish Soap Mite wash method just prior to putting the treated sponges on the colonies. (The treated colonies had mite loads of 1-2 mites in the samples). The sponges have been on the colonies since then and will take them off and do another mite load test as soon as the temps warm up (a low of 16F this morning here in Ariz.) seeing a good increase of activity in the colonies after the temps reach about 55d+ on sunny days. Will be interested to see the mite load results in early spring.
Please come back and let us know what your results show… it would be very interesting 😊
@@lynnerousseau9676 Hi, will post the results here, as well as doing a video on my RUclips channel with the results after I do my first mite wash load for 2023.
@@honigtrailapiary4341 thank you!!!!
Can you cut/paste this into the description of the video:
1/2 gallon water w/ 6 tablespoons Baking Soda for "neutralizing agent" (safety factor)
Use a kitchen scale set to grams
Into large cooking pot put 500 grams of Glycerin
Add 500 grams of Oxalic Acid and heat on low to medium while stirring gently. Use a cooking thermometer to make sure the temperature stays between 120 to 160 degrees.
When mixture is clear, pour over shop towel strips in medium sized plastic tub. Use cooking tongs to make sure every strip is well soaked.
Store in zip-lock bags. Try to use with in 1 month.
I bet Laurel loves you cooking acid on her stove 🤣 😂 . Thanks for sharing
Cooking Acid on the boss's stove, what could go wrong???
@@kamonreynolds No one can destroy a kitchen like beekeepers do...fast and furiously😎
@@pcelarskisokak I agree! The bees even has their own stove outside 😉😊
Best how to on making the OAE Sponges I have found! Keep up the good work
Hello, thank you so much for these years of great bee sharing. Two questions: How many weeks should the sponges stay in the hives? And how many degrees can vegetable glycerin go from 0 to 100?
I've just made the first batch, but the Api-Bioxal oxalic acid packet was only 350 grams. I made the mix 50/50 by weight and mostly saturated 20 pads so not sure got enough OA on the sponges?
The temp climbed in heating the mix and it got to 180 degrees for a minute or so, was that enough to create formic acid and should I throw them away since this video suggests 160 degrees and not to exceed 170 degrees.
Also, the Api-Bioxal packet says it will treat 200 hives in a vaporizer, and the sponges in the 500-gram mix treat 10 hives, so they are a lot more expensive to treat versus using a vaporizer. I like the sponge concept better knowing the bees will make contact.
I wonder if any other OA materials (almost all other OA products are substantially less costly than Api-Bioxal) are allowed in Florida?
Used these for over 2 years now and my bees haven't looked this good in over 25 years. The key is leave them on for months. Put them on early and leave all year. My cell builders that I add frames of emerging brood every week are enormous. Mite counts in August when I break these down and split are zeros and ones. They work. I am in SW Missouri so humidity is high in summer. I do 1:1 by weight.
How long do you keep them on before you need to change them?
Great information. I have been reading about these. Hope we have approval soon. Thank God for sharing this.
hi from NZ. i found you really need to get the maximum OA mix in the sponges that you can. the wettex i tried, hold around 200g of OA. if you try to only half fill them you can end up with very different amounts in each pad. by filling them to the max they will hold hold the same amount.
also whats very important is the drying procedure (not shown in the video) they must be dry before using. i think randy uses a thinner pad. wettex do make a thinner version which might be more suitable.
use a double boiler and stir constantly, otherwise you can over heat the bottom and cause the mixture to form formic acid which ends up killing the bees.
hope that helps.
As a beekeeper in Canada 🇨🇦 I always enjoy your videos. Keep up the good work. Maybe we will see you up here one day at an AGM🐝👍
Thanks Murray! It would be fun to visit Canadian beekeepers for sure!
So a little update from what I gathered from Randy Oliver videos. The ratio of OA:gly is best 1:1. The amount of OA around 40-50 grams had the best results. Towels had 76% kill rate (not too great) but sponges were exceptionally good 92-96% at 2 months kill rate. The surface area of sponge pads mattered more than the orientation of the pads placed (on top of bars vs in btw frames). Do not use Randy’s technique in the heat of the summer or you will fry the colony. Fry rate in summer with OA was not as bad as Apivar 2 pads) but there was 11% queen loss when OA extended release was used with Temperatures of 95F and above.
bees didn't even touch all of these oxalic sponges!! they put sticky resin gum around sponges
Laurel's advice was the best! Thanks for sharing this!
It normally is!
Mike Rowe from TV's Dirty Jobs likes to use the saying "Safety Third".
That mixture ratio for HOW MANY SPONGES? I never heard or have seen an answer to that. Great CHANNEL!
Same question here
Yeah, this video is lacking big time. You want 50 grams of Oxalic Acid per 2 deep hive. So take the amount of total OA divided by the number of sponges to get the amount of OA per sponge and apply enough sponges to get the 50 grams in the hive (or fraction there of depending on the size of the hive). Such a poor video without that info!
1 gram OA to 1 Gram glycerine in 1 mL of EtOH on a single sponge pad yields 1 gram per sponge pad. If you instead place 2 pads, 500 mg per pad. Which is far too much. Recommended amount per pad is 50 mg/pad. So 1 gram OA:gly is enough for 20 pads. Very economical compared 85 dollar Apivar 2 pads.
@@KambizNazir Are you high dude? EtOH as in ethyl alcohol? Where in Gods name did you find Randy Oliver using that in his recipes? And it’s not “mg”, it’s GRAMS. 50 GRAMS OA per full two deep high, if you’re using mg OA, you might as well hawk a loogey in your hives, close em up, and call ‘em good!
@@KambizNazirhow do u apply 1 gram OA/glycerin 20 pads
You can put the pan on the scale and not worry about scraping out the glycerin... Thought this didn't work well for you... Works awesome for me... Been at zero mites in 2 hives since August...
I l literally saw mites on bees last August, so I ordered OA and a wand type applicator the SC dealer didn't ship the applicator, later found he was too busy doing honeybee speaking engagements, having Amazon Prime got glycerin and sponges in 3 days, I don't sell fall honey pulled all I wanted for personal use, 3rd week of Aug, did exactly what Kamon did except I treated my doubles with 75g of OA & 75g of V glycerin per 20 frames, cut the sponges into quarters for my 2 - 5 over 5 nuks to equal 37.5g per 10 frames then cut two 1/4s in halve to do my 2 five frame single nucs to be 17.75g for those, had no issues with brood or queens, the doubles continued raising drones between frames within inches during cotton and fall flows, wear a respirator to remove the sponges even after 3 months on the doubles there was still enough OA vapor in the core of the sponges to make me have a slight cough for 2 days when looking in the bottom boxes of 2 of the double deeps, 1 deep still has the sponges on fromr late August as a test to see if impedes spring build-up and I'll check to see if it still has and core OA left soon., for those who question me, I'm building bees, not making honey for human consumption.
Thanks Kamon for the video. I've been excited about the extended release for awhile, but was seeing varying results from the different people testing it while using the shop towels. I'm curious how the sponges will do. Thank you again for taking the time to share your knowledge, it's great having a place we can trust to get information like these videos and Randy's website.
Hey Kamon, Thanks for the great video. In Randy's original study, he found the the blue shop towels were eventually consumed/removed from the hives. Do you have a thought on how long these sponges should be left in place, since they probably won't be consumed?
I understand Randy Oliver to have said that he has noticed higher bee mortality when sponges are used on early spring colonies. You might benefit from asking him about this🤔
Good Information Kamon, I was fortunate enough to work with Randy's sons Eric and Ian for a few months. I learned a lot. Great research and information on his site.
Where can we see a list of the states that have approved usage of Oxalic Acid treatments on sponges/shop tags?
Thank you Kamon!
It would be interesting with a screen bottom board to observed the daily mite drop. Before and during the sponges. Just a thought.
Down here in NZ I use screen bottoms on all my backyard hives. Topbars, Bench hives and standard langstroth's. Leave sight boards out over summer except when I'm treating (I use OG strips I make myself) and monitoring.
If dealing with singles hang strips between frames. May have to spread the frames out a bit in order for the sponges to fit better.
They will abandon the brood comb on both sides of the item if you hang them.
Nice video. We started using sponges this past year, and are pleased with the results. The nice part is it's effective and economical to use. Have used swedish sponges, but have heard absorbent mats from New Pig work well also.
Seems to me that there should be at least bee space above the pads. The reflectix will be flat to the pad and bees will not be walking on the pad. It would be better with a shim on the underside of cover and no reflectix. There are other options as well
Inner cover gives you extra room
I think we're finally allowed here to use OAV with the honey supers on, baby steps.
Great to see this being brought forth more often. These are tracked much better and faster by using them as strips and placed in between brood frames. Kinda like apivar strips. Bend them over the frames so they reach two sides. Sure you lose a couple of brood, but it is more efficient that way. Can't tell you how i know this😁 cutting them into thinner stips say two inches wide
Great teaching video!
I appreciate the info... I will check with the State Bee inspector about this. Have a great day...
Thanks for doing a straight forward easy to understand video on this. I’ve been researching this a bit. Looking forward to the follow up video. Any idea what your mite counts are in those hives prior to application?
Thanks for the video as always! Interested to see how these work as it's nice to have another tool in the toolbox for varroa. Look at that slab of brood!
Thanks again!
-Brandon
You could just put the pot on the scale and pour in the 500g of vegetable glycerine
Kamon. I think Laurel was trying to teach you not to ask her questions and basically just you do the talking in the video and try not to get her involved other than her running the camera! How does a person find out if this is legal in their state?
Laurel correctly states the most important safety rule.
Yes! Someone had to speak the truth!
Her giggle reminds me of Betty Rubble's on the Flintstones...
Fun fact:
Rhubarb has oxalic acid in it.
Grow rhubarb if you have nothing else, grind the leaves into a paste, and smear it on the top bars. Theyll remove it, but again, theyll first carry it around the box and get it on their feet.
Lets us know how it goes and please share how long you plan to keep these in the hive. Thanks for doing this and giving clear instruction.
75 days
Be carefull with "old mixed" oxalic acid. Use the fresh stuff and don't buy too much of it if you don't need to.
Keep cold (frozen is great) and it will last years (Gly not sugar). Room temp around 90 -120 for a 50% drop in the OA-.
I know a guy 😉, who has had really good results with this method in Colorado for 2 years.
Tried last spring and summer, so happy with my results. And of course proud its a Swedish product involved ;). Not mutch talk about this Randy Olivers oxalic treatment in my hoods. I did a test and maked alcohol washing for true results. Lets hope this simple and nice system will last and be good enough. Gretings frome Sweden
Thought I read where Randy was varying the sponge sizes and found that about 2" strips were ideal with larger sponges lowering the dose. More edges ment more bee contact. I've "heard" it worked real well last year.
I am sure it does work better but it does take more time!
Next time, just put the pot on the scale and add the glycerin to it.
I was wondering how long the sponges last? I didn’t hear a time. I may have missed it. Thanks
I leave them on for 3 months
I seen the queen! I believe she had a white mark.
By the way PA makes the best Maple Syrup! Lol
I could send you a jug if you’d like. Just need to know where to send and what flavor you prefer… Golden Amber or Dark ✌🏻 and thanks for all that you do for the honey bee community!
Keep sharing your thoughts. ✅️
Thanks !!
Great video!!! how often do you apply the sponges?
I plan to just use them once a year for 75 days
@@kamonreynolds great job of explaining the process
You are easier to follow than Randy Oliver 👍🤠🐝
Wow, the brood. Just north of you in ky. Haven't been able to get in my 2 hives yet. But I'm just starting my second year. Both made it. Thought I was going to loose both due to mites last fall. Pleasantly surprised.
"Don't be an Idiot". That's life advice right there folks.
Pretty much what my dad said to me all the time
Hello from Albania
I dont understand you guys why are u so late using OA in all forms...
We here have been using it with strips, sparying, vaping and dribbling it in broodless hives in winter or in mid summer with very good results for at least 15 years. Good luck to all felow beekeepers there. You people do work a lot.
Cardboard is the way to soak oxal
Thank you for the great detail in this video.
This video would be SOOO much cooler if someone like Blake Shook had made it.
I guess I'll try to stay awake... 🤠
Blake who???? Lol
Sorry for the delay…yes, just mistyped. Small hive beetles SHB.
I also have a question about the OA, can you never use that colony for honey production or can it be used for honey production after a certain time frame?
He can't answer that question because people are mixing it with the other honey Lang as you don't lose a hive.
ماهيةمصادير حمض الاوكزليك للخلية الواحدة
هل يؤثر سلبا على الحضنة؟
Does temperature matter when using these sponges
How long do you leave the sponges on the hive? When do they become ineffective?
70 days min. The maximum is still up for debate
I’m pretty sure I saw this on breaking bad!
How long do you leave the sponges in the colonies?
70-90 days
What is the difference between vegetable oil and vegetable glycerin? Can vegetable oil be substituted?
Thanks for this informative video.
What if we use single deep broodbox? As I remember, Randy does not recommend this application for singles.
Then I would hang the strips down between frames
for between the frames you need about double the surface area ie double the pads. also thickness is a big issue. have aread on his website, he does mention it.
Hi Kamon and Laura!
I have a question as a non US resident.
Would you be so kind and give a bit of info regarding dimensions and weight on one sponge (need to know what type of sponge to use instead of vileda)?
Also, have you used 1 kg of glyc/oa on 10 whole sponges or on 10 halves? Thank you
50 grams of OA and 50 grams of Glycerin go into each sponge. Each sponge is then cut in half. Here is the link to the sponges I use. There should be technical info there on size and such. amzn.to/3YPHVXi Thanks for watching!
looks like a very useful treatment for the winter and early spring months when other treatments can not be used due to the temperature restrictions. I'll give it a try next week, we're about a month behind you here up north
Just do 1:1 by volume. Keep it simple 😉.
I am actively working on getting a 2(ee) in Oklahoma for this.
The recommended way in New Zealand is to use the strips using Randy Oliver's research to keep numbers low very AFTER treatment with Oxalic acid or another mite product. Once these numbers are negligable seasonal products are rerely needed.
Being a natural product which some plants producemeans the only reason it is not allowed to be used in all states (and these are lower since this video) is cost is low therefore it is a pain in the backside for companies who produce other products as it's growing popularity effects their profits big time.
It's always hard to prove however it look like a big fat back hander has been given to certain people governing rules and regulations within the bee keepers association...
Serious questions need to be asked as to why it is not allowed to be used when scientific proof shows it is safe to se with no side effects.
The product manufacturers can be fought successfuly if there is enough resistance. Have been in associations which fight greedy manufacturers who want a monoply and won...
Thanks, I saw that later after send you the message.
No worries
What is the best way to store unused strips, and how long are they good for when stored? Thanks
Thanks for the video. I’m a super visual person and the video really helped. I assume you neutralize your pot when you’re done??
Absolutely! The reaction looks just like vinegar and baking soda
can you put in a sticky board to count the dead mites?
Likely isn't an issue but to my mind it seems like a method you would use to try and build resistance to oa in mites . Low dose long term.
Good job,Sir
I only have two hives, can I cut the recipe in half
I made my first batch of extended-release OA using chipboard strip yesterday as seen on another RUclips channel that seems to been taken down. Guy was from Jacksonville, Fla where I grew up. First attempt was not pretty. I went to the Salvation Army thief store and found a large 12" S/S skittet with lid., $6.99, that allows me to fix the issues with a too small of a pan. SA is a great place to find S/S items, cheap.
Hi Kamon. Thanks for walking us through the process. I recall the 500 grams of glycerin, but I did hear the amount of OA?
500 grams of OA the recipe is at the end of the video thanks!
Kamon, If you care to divulge... What is your treatment of choice during spring build up before the first flow for nucs or production hives. Really appreciate all you do for all of us.
Epa does not give a damn. Epa says Ohio water is safe to drink. Sad
Kamon, where can you find what states allow it to be used without exemption?
You can write or email your State Chief apiary inspector and ask if you can use it.
I have a question regarding winter care for bees, specifically in using oxalic acid with glycerin on sponges in the hive during the colder months.
Is it advisable to continue employ this method for wintering bees in the first floor?
Thats interesting that this my not be legal but yet using a dribble is.
Dribble is great!
Can you use slow release anytime of year when no honey in the hives for harvest
Thanks for explaining this method. I didn’t know that this mixture needed to be heated. I killed all my bees in my two hives. Still have so much to learn.
Good job Kamon!
Ha Kamon how much would u use for 30 hives would it be 1500 grams each Thanks
The recipe is at the end of the video.
50 grams of oxalic acid and 50 grams of glycerin per sponge
Rule #1 in safety “don’t be an idiot”. 👍
Could you ez vap them first? Maybe too much?
Save the dishes and you can measure by weight into your pot.
I am curious how effective this is? Looking forward to your test results.
Randy's site seems to indicate 90% efficacy with a high enough dose in his limited trials. Hopefully can replace Apivar as a fall treatment in a year or two.;
Evening Kamon,
I didn't read through all the comments below. This might be a bit of a redundant question, but how long should I leave these sponges in the brood boxes for?
Thanks again your a fantastic resource, keep up the great work
I always see people with respirators on when they use in vapor treatment wouldn’t it be wise to use a respirator while heating that up just my opinion love all your videos great family kaymen
Really need to use resperator. I got luck when the wind caught me with resperator down. Lost my breath and after doctor vis I t found i had blood clots in lungs and heart along with calf. Would not have worried about calf but not being able to get my breath back scared me. Been 3 weeks since they sucked clot from heart and lungs but still not back right at 66 years old. Gope to be ready to handle my 32 hives in Darlington S.C.
@@BucksBeesS.C. well I’m glad you are still here my friend sorry you have been through so much but keep on getting better and get back to your bees they definitely bring a sense of calm and healing feeling when I work with them God bless you mr.Buck and may God bring back your health as soon as possible so you can get back to your bees God bless you and your family best wishes to you