Treatment of bees with oxalic acid against mites

Diseases of bees can cause the owner of the apiary a truly colossal loss. Infected families weaken, significantly reduce productivity, and sometimes even die. Any hive is in fact a single whole, one biological unit. Therefore, a disease that affects at least one insect, immediately affects the health of the whole family. Of course, to fight any infection, you should start immediately after its detection.

What kind of diseases helps

обработка пчел щавелевой кислотой . Very often bees are treated with bees with oxalic acid . тоит это средство недорого, а эффект от его использования может быть значительным. With this tool is inexpensive, and the effect of its use can be significant. Oxalic acid is used to treat tick diseases of bees. Most often it is used for varroatosis. Varroa destructor. The latter causes a very artful mite Varroa destructor.

One of the characteristics of the Varroa parasite is that it, as a representative of the same kind of arthropods, as the bee, copied its ontogeny. That's why it's almost impossible to get rid of this mite without side effects. The processing of bees with oxalic acid is one of the safest and most gentle methods. This is why the popularity of this inexpensive means is explained to a large extent.

What is

To combat varroatosis, acaricides are used mainly. Such funds can be divided into two main types - heavy and light (organic acids). The drugs of the first group are special chemical reagents - fluvalinate and amitraz. Organic acids - oxalic and formic - are considered sparing not only for families, but also for consumers of honey. After all, these funds are inherently natural, and consequently, their use does not reduce the environmental friendliness of beekeeping products.

Oxalic acid is a colorless crystals of a dibasic carbolic (phenol). Its features, among other things, include the ability to quickly dissolve in water and weakly - in ether or alcohol. For the processing of hives it is allowed to use exclusively acid, which meets the requirements of GOST 22180-76. Store the product in a hermetically sealed container. Use it can be within 3 years from the date of release.

Advantages and expediency of application

In addition to relative environmental friendliness, the pluses of using oxalic acid are:

• High processing speed;

• Low labor input;

• Speed of action.

— процедура несложная прежде всего потому, что при использовании этого средства со вершенно необязательно разбирать улей. Treatment of bees with oxalic acid is a simple procedure, primarily because using this tool it is not necessary to disassemble the beehive completely. The mites begin to fall off already on the 10th-12th day. The effectiveness of the action of oxalic acid, depending on the method of application, is 80-93%.

Methods of treatment

использования такого средства, как щавелевая кислота, для обработки пчел . There are several techniques for using a tool such as oxalic acid for processing bees . обработка паром . The main methods include spraying and steaming . The first method is considered safer. Steam treatment has a better therapeutic effect (about 13%).

How to make a solution

For the treatment of bees by spraying, the oxalic acid is diluted with water. In the end, you should get a 2% solution. When preparing it, consider the following factors:

• Water must be sufficiently clean;

• The resulting solution should be kept on bees for as long as possible.

To test the water for cleanliness is quite simple. To do this, it needs to add a little powder. If after a while in the tank will precipitate, then water for processing the hive is not good. The fact is that impurities of various kinds can greatly reduce the effectiveness of the action of the prepared solution and even harm the bees. It is believed that distilled or bottled water is suitable for processing beehives using oxalic acid. You can also take a boiled. In any case, the water should be warm. Spraying the hive is allowed with a solution of a minimum temperature of 30 degrees.

была как можно более успешной, следует дополнительно использовать сахар. In order for the bees to be treated with oxalic acid to be as successful as possible, sugar should be used additionally. Add it to the solution in a small amount. When using it, the medicine is much better kept on bees. кислоты делают, растворяя 20 грамм порошка в одном литре воды. A 2% solution of acid is made by dissolving 20 grams of powder in one liter of water. получившееся средство следует как можно быстрее. Use the resulting tool should be as soon as possible. Only two days after the preparation, the oxalic acid solution becomes unusable for treatment.

Preparatory activities

As already mentioned, no complicated manipulation with a hive in performing such an operation as treating bees with oxalic acid solution is not necessary. Preparatory activities in this case will include only the removal of honeycombs with honey and perga. This procedure will lead to the fact that the location of the bees in the hive will be more crowded. And consequently, the medicine will work better and faster. Before processing from the hive, among other things, you should remove the uterus.

How to spray

The processing of bees with oxalic acid can be carried out using both a mechanical sprayer and equipment with electrical pumping of air. The smaller the drop, the more effective the spraying will be. Most often, beekeepers use the "Rosinka" device to process the hives with oxalic acid. Spraying is allowed only if the air temperature in the location of the hives is at least +16 degrees. The weather on the street must be dry.

The consumption of the solution according to the rules is 10-12 ml per one frame. Spray the drug should be made from a distance of 30-40 cm at an angle of 45 degrees. If desired, the frame of the hive can not be pulled out. In this case, you just need to sprinkle the streets (10-12 ml per one). Of course, when processing it is worthwhile to ensure that the solution falls on the bees. Trying to sprinkle every insect, of course, is not necessary. Bees crawling along the hive, in any case, wipe each other. If the solution is properly consumed after some time after treatment, it will in any case be present on each insect.

After spraying the frame should be covered with a polyethylene film. This is necessary to create a corrosive environment for the tick in the inside of the hive.

It is possible to process families with a solution of oxalic acid when there is no brood in them. Effectively spraying only when there is a tick is only on adult bees.

What you need to know about

Use oxalic acid for processing bees can only with not too high air temperature. Do not use a very hot solution for spraying. If these conditions are not met, oxalic acid can enter the body of the bees themselves and harm them, affecting the metabolic processes.

Periodicity

The processing of bees with oxalic acid in the spring is performed immediately after a mass flight. If the family is severely affected, the second spraying is performed after about 12 days. In summer, the treatment is performed twice with an interval of 12 days (before fertilizing the insects with sugar syrup). Use honey from the sprayed beehive for food can be safely, on general grounds.

Mandatory treatment of bees with oxalic acid in the fall. At this time, the use of a dibasic carbolic acid can be even more effective than in the spring. In the autumn, the bees are smaller in the hive. In this case, most of the insects are carriers of ticks. If the parasites remain in the hive, this will lead to a significant decrease in the strength of the family. As a result, the bees will not be able to winter well.

The advantages of processing by sublimation

When heated, the dibasic carbolic acid decomposes into 2 components: formic acid vapor and carbon dioxide. The process begins at a temperature of 180 degrees. Therefore, the processing of bees with oxalic acid vapor does not require the use of any special heating equipment. In most cases, it is also quite common for a conventional gas burner. Formic acid during the melting of oxalic acid is released as a very volatile vapor. The last one on the tick works extremely detrimental. Since it is fed to the beehive hot, a huge shock wave acts simultaneously on the parasite. As a result, the processing efficiency is increased.

For the qualitative treatment of bees by sublimation, only 2 grams of dibasic carbolic acid is sufficient. Pure liquid formic acid for the same purpose would have taken 12-25 times more (up to 50 g).

Steam treatment of the family: instruction

The bees are treated with oxalic acid smoke using a special quartz tube 500 mm long and 20-25 mm in diameter. This device is previously strengthened horizontally at the level of the hive. Then a special boat of rectangular shape is inserted into the tube. Its width is usually 15 mm, height - 10 mm, and length - 35 mm. Preliminary, the boat is filled with crystals of oxalic acid (2 grams).

At the next stage, the tube from both sides is closed with rubber plugs of conical shape. Clog the inlet and outlet openings they need as tightly as possible. In each stopper, metal tubes with rubber hoses on them are pre-inserted. Completely mounted device start to warm up with the lamp blowtorch. One of the hoses is pre-connected to the pump, and the other is introduced into the chute. Melt oxalic acid begins very quickly. The resulting vapors are pumped into the hive by a pump.

Gutter and tube

If desired, a little different device can be used for steaming the hive from the mite. It represents a tube 30 cm long and 6 mm in diameter. There is a slot on one of its sides. When processed into the latter, oxalic acid is added in an amount of 2 grams. This part of the tube is inserted into the chute. The pump is not used in this case. The rod is strongly heated by a blowtorch (before contact with oxalic acid). Processing of the hive using this device is almost instantaneous.

In addition to the tube, a special groove, bent from the roofing iron, can also be used to treat the family with acid vapors. Oxalic acid is also poured onto one of its ends. On the groove in this case a strongly heated metal plate is advancing.

Both the tube and the groove are simple devices, but they must be used with caution. Insert them into the tray as neatly as possible, so as not to spill the crystals. Actually, the pairs themselves, when using this method of processing, are not evenly distributed over the hive. They concentrate mainly in the lower part of the case. All this somewhat reduces the efficiency of the treatment.

Also, sometimes instead of a tube or a trough, the beekeepers use a flask as an evaporator. It is suspended on a metal stand in a horizontal position and heated with a gas burner.

Smoke

The methods of processing bees with oxalic acid using the simplest evaporators are quite convenient and effective. However, the best tool of all the beekeepers used to treat the family is smoke. In this device, the coals are pre-heated beforehand. Further inside the smoke put a metal jar. The distance between the walls of the tanks should be 1.5-2 cm. Two grams of oxalic acid are poured into the can. Then close the smoke and inject its spout into the lower hive tray.

Treatment of bees with oxalic acid smoke gun with a burner

This device is also often used in apiaries. It represents the same smoke, but more directional action. The design of the gun, among other things, includes a special tube, coiled into one of the sections. During operation, it is heated by a gas burner (also included).

Treatment of bees with oxalic acid smoke gun allows you to get rid of the tick as effectively as possible. In addition, this device, if desired, can be used to treat families using many other means, including chemical ones.

Medical syringe

The treatment of bees with oxalic acid by a smoke cannon in spring, summer or autumn can be very effective. However, some beekeepers use a simpler technique for treating families in pairs. In this case, a normal medical syringe is used. From the acid, make a solution (20 g per 100 g of warm water). 10 ml of the obtained product is dialed into a syringe and passed through a copper blanket heated on a Primus. In the latter, the medical needle of the cannula is first soldered to the outside. On the other side of the bar, a rubber hose is attached. Pumping pairs into the hive when using such a device should be as smooth as possible.

Security measures

Oxalic acid at a high concentration can adversely affect the skin of the hands. Incorrect processing of bees by a smoke cannon in the spring or summer can often lead to poisoning in pairs. The same goes for the other evaporators. Therefore, when processing the hive from the mite, among other things, it is necessary to observe safety precautions. Requirements in this case are:

• To process a hive it is necessary in the rubberized apron with gloves on hands;

• Eyes should have glasses, and on their feet - rubber boots;

• When using steam, a respirator is required;

• At the end of work, the protective equipment should be removed, and hands and face thoroughly rinse with soap and water.

Keep the dibasic carbolic acid itself away from water. Otherwise, it absorbs evaporation and takes up a stone. Of course, it is forbidden to smoke and when processing the hive.