Blythewood Bee Company NoVarroa Oxalic Acid Vaporizer Review

Blythewood Bee Company is reputed in the beekeeping industry. The company offers a wide variety of beekeeping tools and equipment. It also has many years of experience catering to the specific needs of beekeepers. The company is a Veteran-Owned Business and is categorized as a Wounded Warrior Project. It is based in the USA. In this article, we will be reviewing the NoVarroa Oxalic Acid Vaporizer, which is made by Blythewood Bee Company.

About Varroa Mites

Varroa mites attack bees in two stages of their life-cycle. The brood of bees can come under attack. The mite sucks on the fats and body juices of developing brood. This leads to bees emerging from their brood cells while weak. It is at this stage that they transmit the Deformed Wing Virus leading to bees emerging with deformed wings. The mites also climb onto adult bees and nestle on the upper side of the thorax behind the head. Here, they suck on bee fats and body juices further weakening your honey bees.

There are several treatment options for Varroa mites, each with its own effectiveness. The NoVarroa Oxalic Acid Vaporizer is one such tool.

Treating with Oxalic Acid

Detection of Varroa mites is done using a number of methods. Once you have seen them in your hive, you should immediately consider treatment. One such treatment method, the application of oxalic acid in vapor form, is a reliable method of controlling Varroa mites. It is quick and very effective. Oxalic acid is easy to apply via vaporization and mites rarely develop resistance to oxalic acid, allowing it to be used more than once in a hive or apiary. You may alternate treatment using oxalic acid with another Varroa mite control method. It puts you on the safe side when it comes to Varroa mites developing a resistance to control methods.

Purchasing Oxalic Acid

• 2 Pound Pail – click here
• 40 Pound Pail – click here

About the Blythewood Bee Company NoVarroa Oxalic Acid Vaporizer

The Blythewood Bee Company NoVarroa Oxalic Acid Vaporizer is an equipment used to treat for Varroa mites – which as we’ve stated above, are a significant threat to bee colonies. An infestation of Varroa mites leads to colony weakness and eventual absconding or colony collapse. Early treatment for Varroa mites is important in beehives so that you do not incur heavy losses in honey and hive products’ yields.

The NoVarroa Oxalic Acid Vaporizer is ergonomically designed. It features an excellent wooden handle for your safety and ease of handling. The vaporizer is made using high quality and durable materials. It is hardworking and performs well repeatedly, though it can become a bit inefficient when you’re treating a large amount of hives.

The vaporizer is easy to use, and can be utilized by both professionals and beginner beekeepers dealing with their first Varroa mite infestation. I would say however, that beginners would find it the better bet as it is more economical (it’s perhaps one of the most affordable vaporizers you can find) as they would have fewer hives to treat.

The vaporizer is powered by 12 Volts of direct current (DC). A battery is the best source of electric power for the vaporizer. Most batteries for home use such as for cars, motorcycles, lawnmowers and tractors are adequate to power it. All that is needed is that the battery be adequately charged and in good working condition. The vaporizer does not draw a lot of power from the battery. Furthermore, a single battery will power the vaporizer through a large number of beehives before needing to be recharged.

Using the Vaporizer

To treat your beehive with oxalic acid using this vaporizer, follow the steps below:

1. First put some oxalic acid on the acid tray.
2. Insert the vaporizer into the beehive through the bottom hive entrance and seal all other entrances, cracks, screens or spaces where oxalic acid vapor could escape through.
3. Once the hive is properly sealed, connect the vaporizer to a battery and wait for all the acid to be vaporized.
4. After all the oxalic acid you added is vaporized, disconnect the vaporizer from the battery.
5. Once that is done, you may remove the vaporizer from the hive or leave it in place.
6. Keep the hive sealed up for another 10 minutes or more to lock the oxalic acid vapor in the hive.

If you have another hive to treat, cool down the oxalic acid tray before placing more oxalic acid on it. Repeat the process with your next hive(s). Make sure to clean the oxalic acid tray of this vaporizer before starting new treatments. You should also clean it, removing residual oxalic acid between successive beehive treatments.

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Pros and Cons

Pros

• This oxalic acid vaporizer heats up fast to reach oxalic acid vaporization temperature. It does not take long and draw a large amount of current from your battery. It completely vaporizes all the oxalic acid you place in the designated tray.
• The vaporizer has a metal stopper strip. It helps prevent too deep insertion of the vaporizer into your hive. Inserting a vaporizer too deep into the hive can lead to contact with wax and other flammable compounds in the hive.
• The vaporizer has sufficiently long power cables to reach your battery with ease. If you have two or more vaporizers, you can easily and comfortably use them simultaneously in different hives.

Cons

• There is significant loss of time between one hive treatment and the next. Cooling the oxalic acid tray is also inefficient use of energy. It takes battery juice to heat the tray, and cooling it means you repeat the consumption of battery charge in the next hive.
• Beekeepers have to approach the hive from the front when treating beehives using this vaporizer. This causes more aggravation to bees than an approach from the rear as is possible with some vaporizers.

 

Conclusion

For those getting started, the Blythewood Bee Company NoVarroa Oxalic Acid Vaporizer is hardy and invaluable in the very important exercise of treating beehives for Varroa mites. This oxalic acid vaporizer is approved for use by the EPA in the USA – and the rest of the world in general. Beekeepers seeking Varroa mite treatment equipment should definitely consider oxalic acid treatment, and the use of this vaporizer.

Have you ever used the NoVarroa Oxalic Acid Vaporizer? Leave a comment below and let us know what your experience was like.

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