Oxalic treatment

The cold spell of the last few weeks is about to break, so this is probably the last chance this year to carry out the oxalic acid treatment on the hives.  I measure out the acid using a jewelers scales.  The recipe for this is clearly stated on the back of the pack of crystals and should be adhered to, absolutely.

The crystals are mixed into a 1:1 sugar syrup solution, 5ml per seam of bees is the recognized dosage, so I use 5ml syringes, ten of them are filled before taking the top off the hive.

One 5ml syringe full is drizzled along each seam of bees.  As each seam is completed I leave the empty syringe at the end of the row of bees, so I know which have been treated.

The whole operation should only take a few seconds, the crownboard and roof back on as soon as possible.

The empty syringes are refilled, and the routine moves on to the next hive, hopefully the bees have minimal harm and they will be carrying a lot less passengers.