ChiefsPlanet - View Single Post

**Iowanian** · 09-07-2023, 01:38 PM

We've discussed in this thread the Thrill of victory and the agony of defeat.

In this installment, I'm going to present to you a tool I purchased that I only regret not purchasing a year ago. $500 seemed like a ton of money for an O-Acid Vaporizer when I had a $40 aluminum block on a stick with a glow plug to heat it. I've been doing some things to recover my time lately as I've determined my time has value.

I purchased the Lorab 18v vaporizer to hopefully speed up my Oxalic Acid treatments for varroa mites. It is AWESOME.

You drill a 1/4" hole into the back side of the hives, turn this on until it reads the appropriate temp. It has a plunger that you set the grams of desired treatment, you insert that into the vaporizer, stick the tube into the hole you drilled into the hive, hit the plunger and in 1.5 minutes....it's vaporized. You do place a towel or a cover over the entrance for 10 minutes....but I did all of my hives in about 2hrs. If I do 5 treatments, and save 2-3hrs per treatment...that's 10-15hrs of my time recovered in the fall and a couple of treatments in the spring.

I couldn't see this being worth the expense if I had 3-4 hives....but when you get over 10, it's a no brainer for me. It's awesome.

Now....I've been trying alterate methods as well. I used Formic Pro on one yard. I had 10 good hives when I started treatment with the Formic pro....and as of last night (2) had absconded...I have a friend who lost 6 queens or absconded hives out of 30.

In short, it might be really effective at killing mites....but that shit is hard on queens and bees hate it enough to leave. Going forward, I'll only be using that stuff on sick hives where I feel drastic measures are needed.

Now. the body count. So far, I've now lost 9 hives. That's too many dead bees for the end of summer. I'll do everything I can to get them ready for winter.

I'm also working on some new products...herbal remedy honey(infused with herbs for medicinal purposes) and also am looking at some new creamed honey flavors to include aronia and elderberry to target those health aware markets and make those berries palletable with the power of honey.

09-07-2023, 01:38 PM	#551
Iowanian Supporter Iowanian's Avatar Join Date: Aug 2000 Location: Utopia	We've discussed in this thread the Thrill of victory and the agony of defeat. In this installment, I'm going to present to you a tool I purchased that I only regret not purchasing a year ago. $500 seemed like a ton of money for an O-Acid Vaporizer when I had a $40 aluminum block on a stick with a glow plug to heat it. I've been doing some things to recover my time lately as I've determined my time has value. I purchased the Lorab 18v vaporizer to hopefully speed up my Oxalic Acid treatments for varroa mites. It is AWESOME. You drill a 1/4" hole into the back side of the hives, turn this on until it reads the appropriate temp. It has a plunger that you set the grams of desired treatment, you insert that into the vaporizer, stick the tube into the hole you drilled into the hive, hit the plunger and in 1.5 minutes....it's vaporized. You do place a towel or a cover over the entrance for 10 minutes....but I did all of my hives in about 2hrs. If I do 5 treatments, and save 2-3hrs per treatment...that's 10-15hrs of my time recovered in the fall and a couple of treatments in the spring. I couldn't see this being worth the expense if I had 3-4 hives....but when you get over 10, it's a no brainer for me. It's awesome. Now....I've been trying alterate methods as well. I used Formic Pro on one yard. I had 10 good hives when I started treatment with the Formic pro....and as of last night (2) had absconded...I have a friend who lost 6 queens or absconded hives out of 30. In short, it might be really effective at killing mites....but that shit is hard on queens and bees hate it enough to leave. Going forward, I'll only be using that stuff on sick hives where I feel drastic measures are needed. Now. the body count. So far, I've now lost 9 hives. That's too many dead bees for the end of summer. I'll do everything I can to get them ready for winter. I'm also working on some new products...herbal remedy honey(infused with herbs for medicinal purposes) and also am looking at some new creamed honey flavors to include aronia and elderberry to target those health aware markets and make those berries palletable with the power of honey.
Posts: 61,559	1 0