Oxalic Acid

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First batch made. No splashes but I'm glad I went for the full face shield. Pig of a stuff to get out of the bag and measure as half of it was in solid lumps and the rest was powder that stuck to everything. Next time I think I will make a brew that uses the entire bag in one go.
Note to MPI. It would be so much easier and safer if we could just buy ready-made strips.
Anyone interested in joining me a letter writing campaign to whichever minister is in charge of this little piece of bureaucratic idiocy.
 
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I was having a think about this yesterday.
Part of the reason for using O/A is economics. If we were to buy them ready made, Iwonder how much of a costing saving it would be over synthetics ?
I lke synthetics ..... set and forget !
 
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Mummzie

Staff member
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I suspect there is a lot more impacting the lack of being able to sell these strips pre made.
The purchaser has to be protected from a rogue producer. What is the lifespan of the product. The producer needs to be not responsible for the misuse of the product. How is it packaged and produced and distributed safely? Do you fancy your mail arriving covered in Oa that seeped from someones poorly packaged delivery of strips? etc.
By the time all there factors have been sorted and the rules set, I suspect there will be very little cost saving- particularily for the smaller consumer.
 
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Whakatane
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I am about to make my first batch of staples using a 27 L tub with a stainless steel rack that I got from beequip . It comes with instructions but there is no mention of how much oxalic\glycerin you need to make to do one batch. I have tried to ring them but couldn't get through.
Do you just need the bottom staples sitting in the solution or do the whole lot need to be covered. Most of the instructions are excellent when it comes to safety and mixing and they say how much is solution each strip should soak up but there is no instructions on how to actually soak the strips.
Thanks for any help you can give.
Kia ora John I have switched over to beequips stips etc this year for the first time.

Firstly I will say that I used to buy from Phil and got amazing service and advice.

I contracted him to soak my strips so they came ready to go into the hive.
I instructed him at what strength I wanted them soaked at. After the first time where I spelt out I was contracting him to soak on my behalf, each order was simply stated something along the lines of please send me 1000 strips as per the instructions of my original order. This covered him and me, every order he was contracted to soak my strips for me.

Being that we are one of the ones that sold honey at well below production costs I am still looking for ways to save money.
I will list this years journey.

I bought beequips tub and steel rack and their cardboard strips. These work out at 20 cents per strip roughly when the job is done. Would cost more if I paid staff to do it.
I was advised that as I have a wax Melter heat the glycerin in there then add the oxalic.

Yes the strips need quiet a covering as they swell and rise then the top ones are out of the solution.
I didn't separate the strips once the solution was soaked up to dry them, just left them.
Ended with gluggy but dry soaked strips, Not so easy to use but usable.

My wax melter is a very old Finlay one.
I take the back off the power box and change the temperature controls at will, for processing wax (and saving some honey)
The glycerin was heated to between 50-55 degrees, them the oxalic added stirred but got up to 50 degrees again, stirring until all is dissolved. ( I use 60% glycerin and 40% oxalic)

Trial and error
I have stopped using beequips bucket for soaking.
Throw half of the strips into the mix (the liquid now back at 50 degrees soaks quickly 2-4 hours
so may throw them in in the morning and when I come back at the end of the day, take out as many soaked ones as will fit on the top rail that goes from the center pole to the edge of the Melter.
next morning take those dry ones and lay them flat in a bin (they separate amazing are very easy to use)
Then hang over the rail the next lot that are fully soaked.

The process of completing a batch can take me upto 4 days but my system takes about 10 minutes total a day once the liquid is mixed.
I work on 1 box at a time, but not all in the Melter together (that doesn't work with the slopping Melter floor)

I like to keep the mix above 30 degrees as when things are drying this makes everything work more efficiently.
so I go to the shed in the morning and temp is dropping I turn the Melter back on while we get the Utes ready to go out on hives, (half to 1 hour) then turn it off, it raises the temp to keep things going efficiently. I check my temps with thermometers, the old Finlay seems to fluctuate within a range and I don't want my oxalic turning to formic.

I have my mask and gloves on hand ready. So now have a fast system,
we were nearly ready to go back to the efficiency of Phil's strips but have cut our costs in half by this system.

By keeping everything warm I never individualize the strips just deal in handfuls so this makes the process quick.

Other notes
up until this year have always placed strips hanging over frames. Sometimes straight down the middle, depending on hive strength and health other times alternating side to side (outside 1/3).
Started off the same this year but always loose some brood (used to with conventional strips at times as well)
so trialed laying strips flat on top of frames as does Randy Oliver with shop towels.

It seems to be working but must say are not doing so as standard practice yet, look at needs of hive.
If I see varroa then down the frames the strips go.

I am thinking there are fore's and against with both ways as far as efficiency of hive rounds and am still proving whether or not they work as well on the top of frames as down frames.

Hope this waffle is clear,

Sorry for two posts can someone fix I took to long to edit and got locked out. also pushed a wrong button and published halfway through. (old people)
 
349
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Bay of Plenty
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Yea its crazy. Varoa control has become the difference between a good and bad beekeeper. The least mpi can do is regulate the treatment and get on board with us. Could anyone tell me how per strip they work put to be? Cheers
Someone/a business has to go for the registration of the product or go import Allum ones from Argentine and pay for the registration.
Why would MPI do that, they aren't beekeepers.
 
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Why would MPI do that, they aren't beekeepers.
Perhaps they could do it from a sense of guilt because of the crap job they did keeping varoa out of the country in the first place or how about the complete mess they made of keeping it out of the South Island and their total lack of support for eradication when it did get there.
They might even do it because they could see the public good involved and that current methods of control are no longer working like they were and in many cases have failed but I doubt that will happen because A, they haven't noticed and B. No one in authority seems to have told them why tens of thousands of hives died last autumn.
 
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Perhaps they could do it from a sense of guilt because of the crap job they did keeping varoa out of the country in the first place or how about the complete mess they made of keeping it out of the South Island and their total lack of support for eradication when it did get there.
They might even do it because they could see the public good involved and that current methods of control are no longer working like they were and in many cases have failed but I doubt that will happen because A, they haven't noticed and B. No one in authority seems to have told them why tens of thousands of hives died last autumn.
Agreed ..... "A different life is only one decision away"

We know the O/A works, and we know it works well ..... the only yhing we are not so sure about is residue, but it can't be much worse than Glyphostae, or Lorsban , or Tordon and the stickers...... and we eat that residue in our food everyday.
 
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We just need some decent, peer reviewed, research into OA. But that takes time and money. And the net result is people/business need to see a return for that. And since OA is cheap and readily available, that won’t happen. So industry won’t put in the effort
 
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Gisborne Tairawhiti
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I advocated hard for the commodity levy, because half the money was going to research. You can believe me or not. . . . but my first research thoughts that needed to be done (as a member of the @ApiNZ Science & Research group) were to get fast results. . . and evaluation of the new oxalic/gly treatments was top of the list.
Now it’s up to individuals
 
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6,323
canterbury
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I advocated hard for the commodity levy, because half the money was going to research. You can believe me or not. . . . but my first research thoughts that needed to be done (as a member of the @ApiNZ Science & Research group) were to get fast results. . . and evaluation of the new oxalic/gly treatments was top of the list.
Now it’s up to individuals
You beat me to it @JohnF ..... I was gonna suggest APINZ make the move and pressure for some O/A research.
What's happening overseas ?
 


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