Speaking of medication. I have yet to see anybody on the forum mention using terramycin, fumigillin or menthol. Does anybody use this stuff? If not, then how do you protect your bees from foulbrood, nosema or tracheal mites
My intention is to treat with apistan, fumigilin, menthol and terramycin. I had thought to begin last week, but my bees made other plans for me. The queen laid eggs in the upper honey supper, crawling across much undrawn foundation in the lower honey super to get there. So I have a few remaining frames of partially filled comb in the sole remaining super, waiting for the brood to emerge so I can remove the honey. My concern was that Imirie says the menthol should be placed by August 15th, but then I read the material from the manufacturer that said whenever daytime temperatures are above 60 degrees F, and the menthol-map I found online put my area in and about the first week of October range. That time is within the right range for the other medications, and it should also give me plenty of time to feed the colony to ensure they have enough food for the winter.
I've been concerned that winter will come early this year, because everything else agricultural has happened so early this year, including the blooms on the mums. So naturally, I worry that I'm giving my hive enough time to prepare for the winter.
-- Kristine