Cost-effective Organic Varroa Treatment
Necessity is the mother of invention, so the old proverb goes, and it has been the case at Hunter-Reilly, where we were faced with a shortage of regular formic acid varroa treatments; hence, we were forced to look elsewhere. That shift in gaze only needed to go as far as a couple of sample boxes of Nassenheider evaporators in the corner of their shed left over from Hive Doctor product development days. It turned out the Nassenheider pro units have been so effective in trials that we are planning on supplying the system to the New Zealand beekeeping industry.
Hunter Reilly beekeepers were so impressed by the effectiveness of the German-made Nassenheider applicator and its ability to offer extended varroa control, by distributing formic acid to his hives over a three-week period, that combined with our other varroa control practices it was now possible to reliably operate hives using organic varroa control principals.
We had some hives that were prone to high re-infestation rates and could not get on top of it without using a formic solution. “We got some great results in the season just gone, but that’s just us doing our own thing on a few trial apiaries as very much an own-use system.” However, we are so confident in this system that we could not help but want to share our discovery with the rest of New Zealand beekeepers who are strugglingg with effective varroa control.
In recent seasons, the Formic Pro product was utilised as a get-out-of-jail card in Varroa mite problem areas, with the pads sitting directly on the top bars of the frames. However, when we had trouble sourcing a cost-effective Formic option, we decided to use the Nassenheider applicators we had been given to trial some years ago. They now became the best option to do a ‘very’ cost-effective method to apply Formic acid in a sustained manner. We ran out of our Formic-Pro in January just as we needed it the most, so we had no option but to reluctantly trial the stored Nassenheider units that we had no experience or feel for.
There are several forms of Nassenheider applicators available, some of which hang into beehives in the place of frames, but we decided to use the most widely used and mature design…since 2015, the “Professional” model, which is placed on top of the hive as shown in the picture above. We cut down old honey boxes to 75-80mm in hieght to house the applicators in. The Nassenheider unit contains a sump that holds around 240ml of formic acid solution, which then drips down a wick and onto a pad, from where it evaporates over a period of three weeks.
“If we use the correct wick for the time of year, three options available, we can get 20 days out of a single dose of 240ml, so almost a whole brood cycle,”
“We are so impressed.” We had a couple of areas that were loaded with mites and were getting reinfested by neighbouring hives. We couldn’t get on top of cost-effectively controlling mites in these areas, and it was causing headaches. Now, it is like a light has been switched and we are on top of the mites for under $1 per treatment in highly infested areas where synthetic treatments would be overwhelmed and other Oxalic treatments would require three to four treatments several days apart.
“Varroa is the number one threat to bee health; it keeps a lot of beekeepers up at night, so I thought it only fair to share our experience and offer the opportunity for others to be part of a collective effort where we opened up the opportunity for beekeepers to get the units at the lowest possible price by getting beekeepers to register how many units they wanted, and once a container load was full and pre-purchased, we organised bringing them into New Zealand.
The devices offer New Zealand beekeepers the hope that the industry can continue to run cost-effectively and gather honey using organic varroa treatment principles to share with the world. It is up to the individual beekeepers to do their own research and determine how the applicator can best assist their beekeeping, however we have received assurance from the Ministry for Primary industries that import of the Nassenheider applicators is above board.
We understand that dealing with formic acid can be very dangerous and urge beekeepers to understand what they are getting into and that they educate themselves about strictly adhering to personal safety procedures when handling acid solutions.
FOOD FOR THOUGHT….
We believe a system could be developed to hugely mitigate health and safety issues by purchasing an enclosed pumping system that accurately measures each dose of formic and applies it without fear of spillage or contamination. https://www.crpumpshop.com/Peristaltic-Pump-Filling-Handle-Dispenser-Pump-Filling-Handle-p3749692.html
The silicon tube could be placed in a sealed 10 liter container and the user has a gun applicator that pushes into a rubber gland on the bottle, hence the formic would never be exposed to the user...
We state 10 litres as this would be the amount required to treat 80 hives or a days work.
Hunter-Reilly plans to carry out three or four treatments a year (two after honey harvest, autumn, and one or possibly two in spring) alongside other organic methods.
“This is not something Hunter Reilly plans to make money off,” and we understand there is a lot of negativity around formic treatments and queen loss, however we did not observe this with the Nassenheider system and believe we can play a part to ensure every beekeeper has the best opportunity to keep their hives alive at the lowest cost available.
“I figure if I am going to be bringing some of these units into the country for my own use though, why not try to help other beekeepers along the way by offering them the opportunity too?”
Please contact contact Stu Ferguson to express an interest in the units stu@hunter-reilly.co.nz
Note we are very aware of the Health & Safety risks and can talk through ideas to mitigate these.
Please check out the following links to discover more about the Nassenheider units:
https://www.nassenheider.com/public/en/verdunster-fuer-ameisensaeure/8-verdunster-professional.html
http://www.dave-cushman.net/bee/nassentest.html