Warning: Do not use Formic Pro when temperatures steadily exceed 85°F. See use instructions below for details.
Varroa destructor mites can reproduce rapidly in a honey bee colony. A female mite enters a brood cell with a larva, and once the cell is capped, gives birth to male and female mites, who then mate with each other. All of these mites feed on the vulnerable, developing pupa sharing the cell with them and pass along any diseases and viruses that they may be carrying. As you can imagine, this can lead to exponential growth of varroa in colonies – one mite goes in and up to four come out to repeat the process all over again. Every colony has varroa mites – even if you can’t easily see them on your bees.
The main way a beekeeper can combat varroa mites is by keeping an eye on the number of mites in the hive and treating when the mite count exceeds a certain threshold. Choose from three different methods of counting your mites: mite monitoring boards; sugar roll; or an alcohol wash.
There are many treatment options out there, but a great spring through early fall option is Formic Pro.
Formic Pro is a polysaccharide gel strip treatment containing formic acid. There are two main benefits to using Formic Pro over other treatments: it is the only treatment that penetrates the cappings of brood cells to kill the mites reproducing within, and it can be used with honey supers on the hive. It has a two-year shelf life when properly stored (out of direct sunlight and in a dry location). Check the expiration date before using and do not use it if the product has expired.
NOD, the manufacturer of Formic Pro, claims an efficacy rate of 83-97% at killing varroa mites in a colony. In line with this stat, a 2019 study showed an 82-89% efficacy rate depending on which treatment method was used.
There are two Formic Pro treatment methods: laying one strip across the frames for 10 days, two consecutive times (for a total of 20 days), or laying two strips across the frames for 14 days. The 20-day treatment is intended to "knock down" mite levels while the 14-day treatment will virtually “knock out” the mite population.
Here are some helpful tips on using Formic Pro:
The Formic Pro strips should be placed in the middle of the brood nest. Regardless of whether you are running double deeps, all mediums, or 8 frame equipment, locate your hive’s brood nest at the time of treatment, and place the pad(s) as close to the middle of it as possible.
Generally, this means placing the pads in the following locations:
NOD tested the use of Formic Pro with polystyrene hives, such as Lyson and BeeMax, and found no indication that contact with formic acid causes any melting or chemical reaction. However, entrances on polystyrene hives may need to be modified to meet label requirements (at least ½ inch height entrance that spans the full width of the hive).
As a rule of thumb, adding an empty super to allow the bees to move away from the vapors may be helpful.
Check out NOD’s Formic Pro application video here.
Have you done your mite counts and discovered that they are higher than they should be? It might be time to apply Formic Pro and attack the issue before it grows into a more lethal problem.
The Betterbee Product Corner is written by Quinn Korzeniecki, Betterbee’s Marketing Manager, and aims to explain the history and how-tos of products that Betterbee sells. If you have any ideas for future product overviews, please email them to newsletter@betterbee.com.