How and when to use Formic Pro
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- Опубликовано: 25 июл 2021
- Formic Pro (formerly known as Mite Away Quick Strips) is my favorite, go-to treatment for mites in the Summer and early Fall. It does not affect honey on the hive and kills mites even in capped brood (where 60-85% of mite are to be found) but this is a very strong treatment and must be used with care. Here are some of the ways to avoid possible problems.
enjoying all of your videos. I used formic pro starting the second week of July. I had 1 colony wash a 22 and another a 5. I did the 1 strip for 10 days then another for 10 days. It hit 90 but only after the first 3 or 4 days so it was fine. Both colonies are doing great, no queen issues. The 22 colony went down to 4 and the 5 colony went down to 1. pretty satisfied but I will be doing some oa treatment on the colony with 4 mites as well as my other 5 colonies that are just under the 6 threshold to get them through the summer.
I understand It is best to treat the whole apiary as one unit rather than separately. This is due to very high movement of mites (bee drifting) and to prevent robbing.
Thank you for some great information. I had formic pro from last year and put it in the freezer, saw somewhere that was not a good idea. Will use it when the temperature get closer to the range for at least three days. Last year we where hot and dry most of the summer so used OAV for 5 cycles every 3-4 days. I want the mites low now so they are strong going into fall getting ready for winter. Also the queens are laying less so the mites are getting more concentrated in the brood that is left.
Yes OAV even done frequently is not as good as Formic Pro
The instructions say to remove queen excluder????
Hi there Peter! Great practical series. Thank you. How has your experience been with Formic Pro relative to queen mortality assuming temperatures are in the proper range, front entrances are wide open and you use the 2 pads? You have a lot of hives…just wanted to get some sense of your experience on the larger scale. The last couple of years I have gone with a low dose, 1 pad treatment, but 2 successive treatments of 10 days. I have 16 single brood box hives with supers. Contemplating trying the single dose, 2 pad approach for 14 days. Thanks.
Generally very low queen losses. If temps are borderline I will go for two doses of one pad or if colony is small (5-10 frames) I will just use one pad.
Comments on breathing the fumes of Formic Pro and it's affect on your eyes. Thanks!
My comment is, Don't! Can also burn eyes.
Nice video. Do you have a preference for using one strip for 10 days, followed by a second 10 day strip, versus 2 strips for 14 days?
For efficiency I usually do 2 for 14 days but with smaller hives or threat of heat I would do 2 applications for 10
Could you tell us (me) about the thin covers you use that appear to be covered with (what?). Thanks so much!
I think you mean the bubble wrap covers. Can get it by the roll at Home Depot and the like.
Great video, I apologize for the redundancy of this question because uou even stated the temp for the first 3-5 days needs to not exceed 85. Here in Richmond va temps 7/31-8/5 are forecasted to be 84 or below. I don’t know about the forecast after 8/5. In the event that after day 6 the Temps go to 90-95, would it still be ok to use?
To be honest I do not know. Perhaps others who have experienced this can contribute?
Temp range is 50-85⁰F
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Cool man
Question:
How long do you leave it in?
two weeks
Hi from Italy. I am going to use formic pro for my very first 2 hives. So far, spotted 1 varroa each family inside the trail on the bottom of the hive. Do you suggest or practice the 1 x 14 days / 2 strips application method or the 2 x 10 days / 1 strip each phase method? What is the criteria to decide?
I will normally use 2 strips for 14 days, but I will use the alternative treatment if there is significant risk of high temperatures or the hive is only just big enough to treat.
Still waiting for my formic pro to come in from dadant. It’s been 3 weeks now. They are looking into it. Is their a shortage of that product?
I don't know I order a lot in for my store months ago....no shortage here.
Can I treat with formic pro in April temperature are at Night about 40 plus day 60 plus or quick stripes or are the same?
A bit to cool
Over here in the UK we're not allowed to use Formic Pro with supers on
It was the other way around for Oxalic Acid for some time.
OMGosh, formic acid. I can't say I believe in this any more because the only time I used in all of my hive absconded
I have never seen that happen, did you manage to catch them?
@@BeekeepingwithTheBeeWhisperer only one of them. My friend in NY also uses formic pro and has 50 hive, the following day after using formic pro 22 of his hives absconded, and he lost 11 of his queen. I'm never playing with it again. I'm going to try some natural methods.
@@bradgoliphant yea, except formic pro IS made from natural raw ingredients. It's organic acid that naturally occurs in honey.
Your comment reads like an intentional horror story.
@@mark-ish Is was a horror for me loosing my bees. I've since then become a natural beekeeping and found methods without chemicals and doing well.
@@bradgoliphant did you add an empty super to give more fume spacing with a vented top cover?
Do I have to take supers off for treatment?
Depends upon what you treat with.
Hi Peter I have never used formic pro before and I have just gotten nukes 8 days ago should I use formic pro now or wait till they have been in hive longer ? I in west Paris maine thanks Peter
The correct answer is to sample to see if you need to treat yet. I like to leave it till July if I can just before the winter bees start to be made.
@@BeekeepingwithTheBeeWhisperer thanks that’s what I’ll do then thanks no sense to treat if they don’t need it yet 👍
I did a mite treatment on all my hives one died can I take the frames with dead brood and I put the in a big colonial and be alright
Probably, yes as long as it was not foul brood that killed the bees.
@@BeekeepingwithTheBeeWhisperer no there was a lot of mites on The brood so I'm pretty sure it wasn't AFB
I think the mite strips is what killed the bees they're pretty weak
Have you already removed honey supers?
Not required but it will work better with fewer supers on.
That's why I said it's most likely call safe because it just don't flat out kill the bees they will survive as long as it's done just right but a little bit too much or a little bit too hot it will cook them just like it Cooks the grass
True, all mite treatments worthy of the name can kill if not used right. But used with care will keep bees healthy,
can you help me i am a new beekeeper and im very desperate, i tried yesterday this treatment an today i see 200 Bee dead or caroling on the ground , the temperature is right here in Ohio i don’t know what to do
That is NORMAL. As it says in their literature you can expect mortality of roughly a days worth of brood production on average. Compared to mite problems that is nothing.
@@BeekeepingwithTheBeeWhisperer Thank you
I added a half dose of mite away quick strips to one of my colonies yesterday and it's gotten up to 91° both days any chance the queen will make it?
Oh dear. Possible but take it off under those conditions, its not the one to use.
We used the same on three hives and all bees died. :(
Use of Formic Pro and all other mite treatments need to be applied correctly and at the correct time. When done right the hives do very well. So there is not a simple answer to say why your bees died. I would say the most likely reason however in order of therir likelyhood is that you used it after mites had already reached a critical level, you did not treat again later in the season when they got up again possibly by robbing out an untreated hive, or that they died from another issue.
I treated my hive with Formic Pro about 2 hrs ago. I just checked the hive. Normally there are bees going in and out of the hive. I just checked it and only saw a couple going in and out. Normally there are groups of bees outside the entrance and there are none. Should I be concerned?
That can not be answered without opening the hive. For example as populations go down naturally at this time of year traffic can appear much lighter, with or without treatment, on the other hand if a colony was sick from too many mites prior to treatment that treatment could have killed off the sick bees and more or less finished off the dying colony.
Can you just get a five gallon tank and 4 pounds of sugar and put the hive through a sugar bathtub 🛀
I do not understand!