What medication are you using, and for what disease? AFB requires terramicine, EFB requires sodium sulfathiazole, hive beetles and wax moths require bacillis thuringiensis, or things like menthol and paradicholorobenzene can be used on wax moths, and the mites require either poisons, or other means of dealing with them.
The mites however can be dealt with by other means. Smoking with grapefruit leaves causes them to drop, so one can smoke frames over a catch bucket, and eliminate many of them. The use of lard cakes can help as well. Many essential oils have been found to be very good at killing them as well, and allowing drone comb to be laid in, then removed and frozen can also help. There are about 20 microorganisms that have been found to kill mites, and one, a fungus is being studied quite extensively. There has also been success with either sticky or fall through bottom boards, where when they fall, the get trapped or stuck. Marshall Wendy wrote: > Deb: > > My husband and I have 2 hobby hives for honey for our own use. I've > tried and tried to find information supporting not medicating them and > not feeding them sugar water but all of the beekeepers say there are no > bees in Canada that are strong enough anymore and that it must be done. > > I told my husband about Juliette Levy and how she says in her old herbal > books over the years says that they should NOT be medicated at all and > that they should be fed their own honey rather then the sugar water. He > argues that it is now 2006 and things have changed. > > I asked my husband what would happen if we didn't medicate and he said > we could jeopardize other beekeepers hives in the area, the wild bees > too if ours got infected, plus you would lose all the bees. > > What is one to do??? > > I wonder if bowls of CS were placed near the hives would they 'drink' > it?? Could it make them stronger to resist mites? > > Could you soak the hives in silver or spray them down??? > > Any thoughts? > > Musing..... > > Wendy > > > Problems with tracheal mites as well as other diseases can certainly > be > > seen as symptoms of a weakened constitution, the same sort of holistic > > > perspective we apply to human illnesses. In fact some observers of > > commercial beekeeping practices predicted as early as the 1920s the > demise > > of honeybees that has occurred in the last 15 years. All bees, > including > > wild ones, have most definitely been affected by big Ag. with it's > > pesticides and the overall degradation of their environment. Its > likely > > that the phenomenon of swarming has gradually affected wild bee > genetics > > as well. By the time mites showed up, the bees were already > struggling > > and thus less able to develop defenses. Of course, conventional > > beekeeping as taught at the agricultural extension services virtually > > > refuses to recognize environmental sources of harm, much less that any > of > > the methods they promote might be detrimental. > > > DByron > > > -- > > The Silver List is a moderated forum for discussing Colloidal Silver. > > > Instructions for unsubscribing are posted at: http://silverlist.org > > > To post, address your message to: [email protected] > > > Address Off-Topic messages to: [email protected] > > > The Silver List and Off Topic List archives are currently down... > > > List maintainer: Mike Devour <[email protected]> > > > > --
