Applying BienenWohl®

Preparation:

Time of day
Treat the bee colonies late in the afternoon or in the evening, and when the outside temperature is above +5 ºC but not above 28 ºC.

Shake well
Before applying BienenWohl®, heat through and shake thoroughly before trickling in the solution.

Remove brace comb
Before applying the solution, remove any brace comb to ensure that the beeways are clear.

Hive debris monitoring
If the hive does not have a mesh floor, or varroa floor, cover a sheet of white paper all over with Vaseline or milking balm and slide under the colony to serve as a sampling tray. The mites that drop off will adhere to the tray.

Dosage and Application:

How do I ensure the correct dosage?
Apply the BienenWohl® treatment using the swan-neck applicator nozzle. First screw the applicator nozzle on to the 500 ml flask. Then, using one continuous movement and without applying pressure, trickle the BienenWohl® solution into the beeways occupied by bees between the frames. The optimum quantity is 10 to 15 ml, depending on the size of the colony.

To ensure the correct quantity, apply the BienenWohl® solution as if drawing a line with a pencil. Applying a treatment takes only a few minutes.





Monitoring treatment
Monitoring treatment is done using a single trickled application of the product to the 5 or 6 beeways of the brood nest. The mite drop on the sampling tray can then be counted the following morning. If the hive does not have a mesh floor, or varroa floor, a sheet of white paper can be coated all over with Vaseline or milking balm and inserted to serve as a sampling tray. The mites adhere to this tray, and the mite count provides an indication of the level of varroa infestation.



Photos showing examples of different infestation levels:

Critical infestation


Low to medium infestation




Less is more!
Take care to apply the correct dosage of BienenWohl®. Less really is more!

To ensure the proper amount is administered to the bees, just pass the drop bottle over the bee ways like a pencil on a paper sheet.





Winter treatment: trickle BienenWohl® only into the beeways in the cluster area.

A seasonal guide to mite control

Early spring
As the weather warms up and the bees start to bring in pollen, apply a monitoring treatment of BienenWohl® and record the mite drop. The Mite Statistics table - see the Varroa Mite page - shows how mite numbers develop from an initial infestation.

Additional treatments: treat queen/brood nuclei if they still have unsealed brood.

Best results will be achieved in a colony that is queenless for 9 days

• When colony shows signs of preparing to swarm, remove the queen and break down queen cells
• Day 9: cut out emergency queen cells. Insert some brood comb.
• Bees will create new queen cells. Select one premium-quality cell, and allow this cell to hatch.
• Once all the brood has hatched (colony is broodless), treat twice with BienenWohl®.

Barrier comb method:
Once the colony is broodless, treat the brood chamber twice.

Swarm / artificial swarm:
Apply treatment between day 5 and day 9, while brood is still unsealed.

Heavy mite infestation:
Remove several brood combs from the affected colony and transfer to a large collecting nucleus. Allow the bees to hatch, and treat several times. If combs are very badly infested, they should be destroyed, as they may be infected by a virus.

August / September / October: greatest risk of reinfestation
Reinfestation still presents a major risk. Bees from colonies affected by varroa stray into neighbouring colonies. These straying bees carry clinging varroa mites. If these colonies collapse, there is an even greater risk of mite infestation, due to robbing.

November / December: eradicating residual mites for best results

A bee colony in winter should not have more than 50 mites. A single treatment of approx. 8 to 10 ml of BienenWohl® applied in winter, when there is no brood in the colony, will ensure the best possible start for the coming beekeeping season. Efficacy: eliminates 95 to 98% of mite population.
Repeated or excessive dosing with BienenWohl® (e.g. 50 ml or more) at this time of year can result in bee losses.

Winter treatment: trickle Dany's BienenWohl® only into the beeways in the cluster area.

More tips for mite control

Brood combs in heavily infested colonies:
Dispose of heavily infested brood combs (see picture, right). If there are still sealed areas of brood, collect the combs in a brood nucleus and apply a treatment of BienenWohl® every six days. Once all the cells have hatched, replace with light-coloured drawn combs. Apply a final BienenWohl® treatment shortly before the young brood is sealed.

Nuclei:
Treat before new brood laying starts, and check the varroa monitoring tray. If there is a drop of 30 or more mites, it will also be necessary to treat the parent colony.

Swarm, artificial swarm, 'shook swarm':
Wait until there is unsealed brood visible before treating. Monitor mite drop on the varroa tray.

Other important control measures:
If migratory beekeeping is practised, or if bees are bought in from an external source, it is important to check the colonies from time to time. Migration of hives to out-apiaries can be a cause of reinfestation.

Note:
A single treatment - whichever product is used - will reduce damage in the short term, but will never be adequate on its own without the use of other control measures.