Oxalic Acid Varroa Mite Treatment: Shop Towel Method

Treating bee hives for varroa mites is critical. We use paper towels to soak in a mixture of oxalic acid and glycerin. We are using the recipe from Randy Oliver. Watch as we take you through the process of creating these shop towel varroa mite treatments from start to finish.
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Special thanks to the following people for freely sharing their knowledge and expertise in helping us grow:

[JamesEdington]

I do 32 fl oz glycerine, 32oz oxalic. Use immersion blender to speed up mix.

[robertramsey-turner]

Hi Guys, I've read through the Randy Oliver material with care, and I think maybe your ratio Oxalic Acid to Glycerin is a little off.
Randy states 505g of OA to 400ml of Glycerin. (note, 400ml of Glycerin = 505g weight)
So it appears to me the mix by weight is 1 to 1, (1g OA to 1g Glycerin)
The objective is to deliver 18g of OA to the hive on the towel, so your towel should weigh 36g when ready for install. This looks like a rea;;y good system and importantly its considered "organic" with no known negative side effects

[virginiafox]

Thank you for posting this video.. it is so helpful. I did look on the Scientific Beekeeping site and theres a lot of information to read. I saw that in 2017 he was using water...but in the 2019 field test he was using 1:1 OA Glycerin.

[PaulOtis]

I am really interested in seeing the next video! Also, the one after that where you are going to show all the dead little critters (aka mites)

[josephvogel]

Thank you for sharing your video. It was very helpful in preparing my treatments. I am curious though what results you and others hav had using this. I have three hives and I used the towels for six weeks. There was virtually no change in two hives (3%) but they did not increase. The third hive went from only one mite in the wash to 4%. I have to say for me this was not effective. I wonder about success for others.

[stevesoutdoorworld]

Wow that seems like a lot of acid( 25 grams) because we only use one gram in our vaporizer for a single hive. What do you think?

[noahriding]

How many days in the hive will one shop-towel-w-treatment last for?

[honeyspoonbeewrangler]

I think the sponges don't bleed color like the shop towels.

[jenniferhill]

I am a bit confused at the comments about ratio amounts. If it’s 1-1 would you then use 31-31 or 25-25 (per your measurements)? Do you still use this 3 years later?

[josephvogel]

Has anyone used these towels ready to make a report on the success or failure. Is it effective?

[noahriding]

I'm curious what you think the average survival rate of colonies treatment free is, compared to using treatments? (You could state what you hear from others, knowledge, and not your own rates if you want.)

[loefflerg]

... wouldn't it beneficial to just warm the glycerol in the microwave first. Seem like the crystals would dissolve faster, more thoroughly.

[shaunbarker]

Great work, we used a vaporizer last year and it worked fine.
On the treat or not to treat, please take a look for Philip chandler he makes a Eco floor and Eco top section for a hive.
There's all kinds of dead wood soil, etc etc in the sections.
In the soil he got from around the hive there's a mite in the soil that eats varroa naturally.
Thus it keeps the hive basically disease free.
The idea behind the Eco floor and roof are to replicate the hollow of a tree where the bees would naturally live.
Along with wood lice and earwigs etc.

[shaunbarker]

I'm not promoting any thing for anyone channel or product wise, I just thought you might find the Eco floor interesting.