Thymovar

[Parksguyy]

Hey everyone,
Recently did a mite count on my four hives and it would appear that they are over the exceptable thresholds for going into winter.
Two hives are marginal, while one is like 200-225 over three days (75 per 24hr).  So, the question is do I treat or not.  I am trying to be treatment free, or at the very least organic with any of the treatments.  I did purchase a package of Thymovar and was wondering if anyone else had used this product and what their experience was.  It is organic by nature and certified as such, its not harmful to brood either.  They say to treat all the hives within the same yard at the same time to avoid robbing.  Just looking for some guidance before I venture down this treatment road.
thanks   

[Michael Bush]

If there is brood in the hive treating is pretty much a waste:

http://www.bushfarms.com/beesvarroatreatments.htm

75 mites in a 24 hour drop heading into late summer isn't all that bad, but it's slightly over the normally accepted "economic threshold".

[Kathyp]

if the treatment instructions are the same as for apiguard, you are doing two treatments 2 weeks each.  it take you through an entire brood cycle.  the down side is that you have to do it according to the temps required. for apiguard, i believe that's + 60 degrees, so i would have to start now for my area to have the most effective treatment.

thymol is my choice when i treat.  i have never noticed an adverse effect on the bees.  last year was the 1st year in several that i have treated and they came through winter well and built up well. 

[Parksguyy]

Thanks Kathyp,
We want to remain as organic as possible ... but realize that some form of treatment(s) may be needed at times.  The more one reads the more questionable some of these treatments become.  I'm glad to hear you have never noticed any adverse affects on your bees.  These are second year hives, that wintered well their first year and virtually had no mites going into the winter.  This season has been alittle different, pretty sure two hives swarmed, was given some poor advice on one occassion, but after my latest inspection, those hives seem to have corrected themselves.  We have been using the green Drone frames all summer, but its abit of a pain with our double chambers ... despite this, one hive has a high count, the others are marginal.  I would prefer to only treat the one hive, but the instructions are telling me to treat all the hives to avoid robbing? 

[Kathyp]

that i can't answer.  i only treated 3 of mine.  the others were fine and were hives i had picked up last year from survivor sources.  i'm not sure why it would cause robbing.

maybe Michael or someone else has some insight?