Diseases of the bees can cause a tremendous damage to the owner of the apiary. Infected families weaken, significantly reduce productivity, and sometimes even die. Any hive is essentially 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, the fight against any infection should begin immediately after its discovery.
What diseases does it help
Very often in apiaries, bees are treated with oxalic acid . This means it is inexpensive, and the effect of its use can be significant. Oxalic acid is used to treat tick-borne diseases of bees. Most often it is used for varroatosis. The latter causes a very insidious mite Varroa destructor.
One of the features of the parasite Varroa is that he, as a representative of the same genus of arthropods as the bee, copied its ontogenesis. That is why it is almost impossible to get rid of this mite without side effects. Processing bees with oxalic acid is one of the safest and most gentle methods. This, to a large extent, explains the popularity of this inexpensive tool.
What is a
To combat varroatosis, mainly acaricides are used. Such funds can be conditionally divided into two main varieties - 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 essentially natural, and therefore their use does not reduce the environmental friendliness of beekeeping products.
Oxalic acid is a colorless crystals of dibasic carbolic acid (phenol). Among its features, among other things, include the ability to quickly dissolve in water and slightly - in ether or alcohol. For processing hives, it is allowed to use exclusively acid that meets the requirements of GOST 22180-76. Store the product relies in a hermetically sealed container. It can be used for 3 years from the date of issue.
Advantages and appropriateness of use
In addition to relative environmental friendliness, the advantages of using oxalic acid include:
high processing speed;
low labor input;
speed of action.
Processing bees with oxalic acid is a simple procedure, first of all, because when using this product it is not necessary to completely disassemble the hive. Ticks begin to fall off already on the 10-12th day. The effectiveness of oxalic acid, depending on the method of use, is 80-93%.
Treatment methods
There are several methods for using a tool such as oxalic acid to treat bees . The main methods include spraying and steaming . The first technique is considered safer. Steam treatment, however, has the best therapeutic effect (approximately 13%).
How to make a solution
For the treatment of bees by spraying, oxalic acid is diluted with water. Ultimately, you should get a 2% solution. When preparing it, the following factors are taken into account:
Testing water for cleanliness is easy enough. To do this, you need to add a little powder to it. If after some time a precipitate falls in the tank, then the water for treating the hive is not suitable. The fact is that various kinds of impurities can greatly reduce the effectiveness of the finished solution and even harm the bees. It is believed that distilled or bottled water is best suited for processing beehives using oxalic acid. You can also take boiled. In any case, the water should be warm. Spraying the hive is allowed with a solution with a temperature of at least 30 degrees.
In order for the treatment of bees from the tick with oxalic acid to be as successful as possible, sugar should also be used. Add it to the solution in a small amount. When using it, the medicine is much better kept on bees. A 2% acid solution is made by dissolving 20 grams of powder in one liter of water. Use the resulting tool as soon as possible. Just two days after preparation, the solution of oxalic acid for processing becomes unusable.
Preparatory Activities
As already mentioned, no complicated manipulation of the hive when performing an operation such as treating bees with a solution of oxalic acid is not necessary. Preparatory measures in this case will include only the removal of honeycombs with bread and honey. This procedure will result in more crowded bees in the hive. And therefore, the medicine will act better and faster. Before processing, the uterus, among other things, should be removed from the hive.
How to spray
Bees can be treated with oxalic acid using both a mechanical sprayer and equipment with electric air pumping. The smaller the droplets, the more effective the spraying will be. Most often, beekeepers use the Rosinka device to treat hives with oxalic acid. Spraying is allowed only if the air temperature at the location of the hives is at least +16 degrees. The weather outside should be dry.
The flow rate of the solution according to the rules is 10-12 ml per frame. Spraying the drug should be done from a distance of 30-40 cm at an angle of 45 degrees. If desired, the frame from the hive can not be pulled out. In this case, you just need to spray the streets (10-12 ml per one). Of course, when processing, it is worth making sure that the solution falls on the bees. Trying to spray each insect, of course, is not necessary. Bees crawling along the hive, in any case, wiping against each other. With the correct flow rate of the solution, it will in any case be present on each insect some time after processing.
After spraying, the frames should be covered with plastic wrap on top. This is necessary to create a corrosive environment for the tick inside the hive.
It is possible to treat families with a solution of oxalic acid when there is no brood in them. Effectively spraying only in the presence of a tick only on adult bees.
What you need to know
Oxalic acid can be used for processing bees only at not too high air temperature. Do not use for spraying and a very hot solution. If these conditions are not met, oxalic acid can enter the body of the bees themselves and harm them, affecting the metabolic processes.
Periodicity
Processing of bees with oxalic acid in the spring is carried out immediately after a mass flyby. If the family is very affected, the second spray is performed after about 12 days. In summer, treatment is carried out twice with an interval of 12 days (before feeding insects with sugar syrup). You can use honey from a sprayed hive for food without fear, on a common basis.
Bees are treated with oxalic acid in the fall. At this time, the use of dibasic carbolic acid may be even more effective than in spring. In autumn there are fewer bees in the hive. In this case, most insects are carriers of ticks. If parasites remain in the hive, this will lead to a significant decrease in family strength. As a result, bees do not winter well.
Sublimation processing benefits
When heated, the dibasic carbolic acid decomposes into 2 components: formic acid vapors and carbon dioxide. This process begins to occur already at a temperature of 180 degrees. Therefore, processing bees with oxalic acid vapors does not require the use of any special heating equipment. In most cases, an ordinary gas burner is quite enough. Formic acid, when melted with oxalic acid, is released as a very volatile vapor. The latter acts on the tick extremely destructive. Since it is fed hot into the hive, a huge shock wave acts simultaneously on the parasite. As a result, the processing efficiency is increased.
For high-quality treatment of bees by sublimation, only 2 grams of dibasic carbolic is enough. Pure liquid formic acid for the same purpose would need 12–25 times more (up to 50 g).
Steam treatment of the family: instruction
Bees are treated with oxalic acid smoke using a special quartz tube 500 mm long and 20-25 mm in diameter. This device is pre-mounted horizontally at the level of the notch of the hive. Next, a special rectangular boat is introduced into the tube. Its width is usually 15 mm, height - 10 mm, and length - 35 mm. Previously, the boat is filled with crystals of oxalic acid (2 grams).
In the next step, the tube is closed on both sides with conical rubber plugs. They must plug the inlet and outlet openings as tightly as possible. Metal tubes with rubber hoses put on them are pre-inserted into each cork. A fully mounted device begins to heat up with a blowtorch. One of the hoses is pre-connected to the pump, and the second is introduced into the tap hole. Oxalic acid begins to melt very quickly. The resulting vapors are pumped into the hive by a pump.
Gutter and pipe
If desired, a slightly different device can be used for steam treatment of the hive from a tick. It is a tube 30 cm long and 6 mm in diameter. On one of its sides there is a slot. When processing the latter, oxalic acid is poured in an amount of 2 grams. This part of the tube is inserted into the tap hole. The pump is not used in this case. A rod strongly heated by a blowtorch is inserted into the tube (until it comes into contact with oxalic acid). Processing the hive using such a device is carried out almost instantly.
In addition to the tube, a special groove bent from roofing iron can be used to treat the family with acid fumes. Oxalic acid is also poured on one end. In this case, a strongly heated metal plate moves along the groove.
Both the tube and the groove are simple devices, but at the same time requiring caution when using. Insert them into the tray as carefully as possible, so as not to spill crystals. Actually, the pairs themselves when using this processing method are not evenly distributed over the hive. They are concentrated mainly in the lower part of the body. All this somewhat reduces the processing efficiency.
Also sometimes, instead of a tube or a gutter, beekeepers use a flask as an evaporator. It is suspended on a metal stand in a horizontal position and heated with a gas burner.
Smoker
The methods for treating bees with oxalic acid using simple vaporizers are quite convenient and effective. However, beekeepers consider the smoker to be the best tool of all used to treat families. In this device, the coals are preheated red-hot. Next, they put a metal can inside the smoker. The distance between the walls of the containers should be 1.5-2 cm. Two grams of oxalic acid are poured into the jar. Then close the smokers and introduce his nose into the lower tray of the hive.
Treatment of bees with oxalic acid smoke gun with a burner
This device is also often used in apiaries. It represents the same smoker, but more directed. The design of the gun, among other things, includes a special tube rolled into a spiral in one of the sections. During operation, it is heated by a gas burner (also included).
Processing bees with oxalic acid with a smoke gun allows you to get rid of the tick as efficiently as possible. In addition, this device, if desired, can be used to treat families using many other means, including chemical ones.
Medical syringe
Treating bees with oxalic acid smoke cannon in spring, summer or autumn can be very effective. However, some beekeepers also use a simpler method of treating families in pairs. In this case, a conventional medical syringe is used. A solution is preliminarily made from acid (20 g per 100 g of warm water). 10 ml of the obtained product is collected in a syringe and passed through a copper blank heated on a primus stove. The medical needle is pre-soldered into the latter with a cannula outward. On the other hand, blanks attach a rubber hose. Inject steam into the hive when using such a device should be as smooth as possible.
Security measures
High concentration oxalic acid can adversely affect the skin of the hands. Improper handling of bees with a smoke cannon in spring or summer can often lead to vapor poisoning. The same goes for other evaporators. Therefore, when processing the hive from a tick, among other things, safety precautions should be observed. The requirements in this case are as follows:
handle the hive in a rubberized apron with gloves on hand;
there should be glasses on his eyes, and rubber boots on his feet;
when using steam, a respirator is required;
At the end of the work, the protective equipment must be removed, and hands and face thoroughly rinsed with soap and water.
Keep the dibasic carbolic acid itself away from water. Otherwise, it absorbs vapor and takes up a stone. Smoking and eating while processing the hive is, of course, prohibited.