USING ESSENTIL OILS FOR HONEY BEE CONTROL

[steve]

Has anyone tried using essential oils to control mites such as wintergreen,patchouli,tea oil, spearmint or pennyroyal.
The study conducted by Jim Amrine,Bob Noel, Harry mallow, Terry Stasny, Robert Skidmore on using essential oils have listed a few ways to interduce it to the hives.
One method was to make a greese patty.
Another method was to make a tracting strip and put it to the entrance of the hive in a wax paste form.
And the other way was to add it to water and sugar and feed it in a boardman entrance feeder.
The latter of the 3 was said to be the best method, in the article it said that the results were satisfing, that it did get rid of most of the verroa and tracheal mites on contact.
This study was done in december of 1996.
The study is updated now with Amrine and J.W. with a start date of 10-2002 and ending 9-2007, project number WVA00317.
It sounds interesting, does anyone have any comments on this.

[Thom]

Notions and potions have been know to work but only in limited circumstances. This is how they came up with menthol and thymol treatments. Essential oils I've found only make honey taste bad. There haven't been enough studies to show the kill rates over X periods of time at what temperature... Experimenting may be a bad idea since if it doesn't kill the mites it may make them stronger. However if you do want to experiment it will be best to iscolate the hives you will be testing, have a control group and several other hives to which you administer differing doses over different periods of time.

[steve]

On the oils it wouldn't be used when the westerns are on.
would it still make the honey taste in the spring?

[Thom]

Being non toxic you can use most essential oils at any time. That doesn't mean that they will ever work.

[HarryVanderpool]

I'm constantly thinking up ways to ruin varroa's day.
I've never experimented with essential oils but here is my 2 cents:
Set aside a dozen hives and follow their mite numbers close.
With your paperwork in order, hives numbered etc,, introduce the oil into a couple of hives along with fresh sticky boards.
Check the boards after 1 hour. Then after 4. Then 24. Have a fresh board to replace the first on with. There should be a fairly decent initial knock down that tapers off.
Try different methods of introduction in the other hives using the same proceedure.
Eventually you should land on the best result that the substance can provide. (If any results at all)
Careful, attention to procedure and uniformity between tests is important.
My opinion? I'll bet with the right introduction to the hive you will get some good results.
Varroa are very sensitive. Almost anything out of the ordinary in their day throws them off.
But like any of the other treatments, if things are not done properly, you will not arrive at the end result needed. Initially, these things take work and time.

[steve]

Thank you harry for the information, I will try differant ones and test to see if they will work.
Will keep you posted with the results.