Originally Posted by
Jonathan Bridge
No varroa in Uist, so whilst it is good to know that Thymol will deal with acarine mite, I'm reluctant to apply a strong chemical treatment un-necessarily. Instead I'm getting together the materials to make a grease patty: shortening (aka Atora light), caster sugar, and menthol. It is certainly cheaper, and avoids build up of resistance, but whether effective is less certain. Though not mentioned in UK official bee health information I understand that grease patties are widely used in USA even though they have varroa and treat it with thymol. Incidentally I have decapitated a few recently deceased bees and inspected their 'tubes': everything nice and creamy white, not a sign of blotchiness, but then its the first time I've done it so not entirely sure I know what I'm looking at or for, and my magnifying glass would not look out of place in the hand of a philatelists hand. Anyone have any recommendations for kitting myself out to do this reasonably properly - but economically?
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