• image of ad for BetterBee.com that says Your Partners in Better Beekeeping with the phone number 1-800-632-3379 and the link to betterbee.com

Thanks to these sponsors, you can enjoy this website without annoying popup ads!
You can show your appreciation by clicking on their banners above to go directly to their websites.


Treatments For Varroa


Mite Control While Honey is on the Hive: Part 3

Mite Control While Honey is on the Hive Part 3 First Published in ABJ January 2021 Randy Oliver ScientificBeekeeping.com   In my two previous articles in this series, I showed the formal results of my field trial comparing summer mite treatments.  We also have additional findings from other yards in which we applied extended-release OA.  […]

Read More

Mite Control While Honey is on the Hive: Part 2

Mite Control While Honey is on the Hive Part 2 First Published in ABJ December 2020 Randy Oliver ScientificBeekeeping.com   Last month I covered the setup of my field trial of summertime mite treatments, including experimental extended-release oxalic acid in glycerin.  I’ll now share the results.     The Results and Discussion Due to space limitations, […]

Read More

Mite Control While Honey is on the Hive

Mite Control While Honey is on the Hive Part 1 First Published in ABJ November 2020 Randy Oliver ScientificBeekeeping.com   During our hot, dry California summers most of our nectar flow may be over by early July, but if we’re lucky, our hives may still put on some harvestable honey.  In any case, to control […]

Read More

Extended-Release Oxalic Acid Progress Report #5 – 2019

Contents Background. 2 The 2019 field test. 2 Results. 4 Those danged outliers!. 6 Overall efficacy. 7 Could there have been mite immigration from other colonies?. 8 Fate of the applied towels. 9 progression of action of treatment over time. 13 Results from others. 14 Mexico and uruguay. 14 Southeastern States with high humidity. 14 […]

Read More

Extended-Release Oxalic Acid Progress Report #4 – 2018 California Field Trial

First published in: American Bee Journal, November 2018

Extended-Release Oxalic Acid Progress Report #4 2018 California Field Trial Randy Oliver ScientificBeekeeping.com Published in ABJ in November 2018 I’ve handed my beekeeping operation, still headquartered at my home, over to my sons Eric and Ian, with the provision that I have the hives at my disposal for research during my “retirement.”  This season I […]

Read More

Extended-Release Oxalic Acid Progress Report #3

First published in: American Bee Journal, January 2018

Extended-Release Oxalic Acid Progress Report #3 Randy Oliver ScientificBeekeeping.com First published in ABJ January 2018 As the synthetic miticides predictably lose their effectiveness across the world, beekeepers are turning more and more toward oxalic acid to control varroa. Unfortunately, oxalic is not a very efficacious treatment when there is brood present. To that end I […]

Read More

Extended-Release Oxalic Acid Progress Report #2

First published in: American Bee Journal, October 2017

  Extended-release Oxalic Acid Progress Report #2 Randy Oliver ScientificBeekeeping.com First published in ABJ October 2017      There has been a huge amount of interest in the extended-release application of oxalic acid for controlling varroa.  I and my collaborators have been working hard to collect the data necessary get this treatment approved for use by […]

Read More

Extended-Release Oxalic Acid Progress Report – Part 1

First published in: American Bee Journal, July 2017

Extended-Release Oxalic Acid Progress Report Part 1 Randy Oliver ScientificBeekeeping.com First published in ABJ July 2017 In January I wrote about an exciting extended-release application method for oxalic acid [[1]].  I’m currently collaborating with the USDA Agricultural Research Service and the EPA to get this application method added to the current label for oxalic acid.  […]

Read More

A Test of Late-Summer Varroa Treatments

First published in: American Bee Journal, June 2016

A Test of Late-Summer Varroa Treatments Randy Oliver ScientificBeekeeping.com First published in ABJ June 2016 Last summer, deep in extended drought, we California beekeepers struggled with varroa. And I realized that I had long been using (and recommending) a mite treatment application based upon hearsay rather than actual data—shame on me! By trial and error, […]

Read More

Oxalic acid Powerpoint presentation

Updated 15 January 2016   Updated oxalic acid ppt presentation Since the EPA registered oxalic acid for the use in beehives (as far as I know, Brushy Mountain has the only registered product to date), I’ve been flooded with questions about using it (since I’ve used it steadily in my operation for over a decade). Therefore, […]

Read More

Oxalic Acid Dribble and Sublimation Updates

  Update 28 Oct 2018 Beekeeper Nick Kingan let me know that there’s a nice livestock syringe available from Tractor Supply that can be adjusted to dispense 5 mL per squeeze.  I find the squeezing of this sort of syringe to be tiring to my hand if I’m treating a large number of hives, but […]

Read More

Simple Early Treatment of Nucs Against Varroa

First published in: American Bee Journal, April 2013

Simple Early Treatment of Nucs Against Varroa Randy Oliver ScientificBeekeeping.com First published in ABJ April 2013 Starting the season with a low level of varroa allows a colony to get a jump on the mite and its associated viruses.  I tested a simple method for incorporating varroa management into nuc production. Introduction When I try […]

Read More

Oxalic Acid Treatment Table

Table updated Dec 20, 2023. You can print this table directly from this page.  It is critical to mix and apply oxalic dribble correctly (5 mL between each frame of bees), or you risk seriously harming your bees!  Be sure to read: https://scientificbeekeeping.com/oxalic-acid-questions-answers-and-more-questions-part-1-of-2-parts/ https://scientificbeekeeping.com/the-learning-curve-part-3-the-natural-miticides/ https://scientificbeekeeping.com/oxalic-dribble-tips/ https://scientificbeekeeping.com/oxalic-acid-powerpoint-presentation/ Update Dec 20, 2023: We’ve experimented with using glycerin […]

Read More

An Early Summer Test of Mite-Away-Quick Strips(tm)

An Early Summer Test of Mite-Away Quick StripsTM First published in ABJ September 2011 Randy Oliver ScientificBeekeeping.com In the February issue of this Journal, I wrote about a fall trial that I performed with the new formic acid delivery method—Mite-Away Quick Strips (MAQSTM).  I had been impressed by their efficacy and ease of use.  Imagine […]

Read More

IPM 6 Fighting Varroa The Arsenal: Our Choice of Chemical Weapons

  IPM 6 Fighting Varroa The Arsenal: Our Choice of Chemical Weapons Randy Oliver ScientificBeekeeping.com First Published in ABJ in June 2007 I’m clearly in the “minimal chemical” camp, yet all my commercial buddies, without exception, depend upon “off label” use of agricultural miticides to keep their colonies alive. These are top-notch beekeepers, and I […]

Read More