Winter Prep, Apivar Extension Strips. Marmalated Stink Bugs and Hives

I'm moving into final winter preparations, which includes feeding 2:1 syrup, and mite treatments. I kept blue towels/oxalic acid in all my hives this past two months, and saw a pretty good mite drop. But I still have a count higher than I'd like, so treating again. This year I am using Apivar again- though I don't feel like it did that great of a job last year. I feel like its going to be too cold for MAQS, though for both treatments, although I planned, I think I am later than I'd like to be.

I had a bear knock over 10 hives- all strapped so they ended up OK I think- up at my friends Jim and Barb's s house- so I moved 5 down to Denny and Meg's- 4 are in the photo above. These are this years queens- half filled 3 supers, these only filled 2. I have 15 hives at this location now, and on Sunday before the rain started, went to both feed them, and treat them.

I invented something new for the treatment. Apivar is like the old toxix Apistan, a 6 inch plastic strip you insert between frames in the brood area. However, you really are supposed to remove it after the treatment process, to avoid contamination, and to avoid mite's developing resistance due to the low strength of the spent strips. However, in November, I really don't want to break the supers open to get to the strips- and many people- including myself- get lazy and just take them out in Spring.

So what I did is shown below. I cut corrugated plastic cardboard (old mite boards) into 3/4" strips, split their ends with a knife about 1/2", inserted the strip into the split, and stapled it with two paper staples. I made up 70 (for 35 hives):

Then I poke a small nail through the top about a 1/4" down:

And I take a guess as to where the brood chamber is down below. Most likely its in the second super- though I don't open anything to find out- and it could easily be in the first (I stack three Westerns). The manufacturer says you're supposed to find it- and move them around in two weeks. That seems like an enormous amount of work. 

I don't fully undersand the strips- as in a tight space between frames- it doesn't seem to me that bees can walk on them. It seems to me that it would be better to lay them flat. I tried cutting them in half as well- thinking I might put 4 in- but they don't cut well- and I was concerned about the poison. Here's a picture of one being inserted:

I've  cut the strip extensions so the strip to  goes a little into the lowest brood box- but sometimes it gets hung up. Eventually it pushes through.

The bees glom onto it quickly. They don't like it- and start getting nasty if i leave the hive open to long. I think the chemical is just supposed to make contact with the bees body- though I wonder- what if these were dipped in sugar? Would ingesting this be a good or a bad thing?

When I am done with that, I use another invention- a scale- I've shown how to make it in an older post. I've tried lots of "weighs" (sorry)- but this is hands down the simplest and most accurate. And cheap to build. Most hives were weight about 100# (I pick up one end and then just double the value).

Then I set the Miller feeders I built on top, and pour in suyrup. Its amazing how quickly they will suck down 2 gallons- overnight usually. I made these feeders so the entrance is on one end- so all the syrup flows to it and gets used.

Finally, I set on a box of cedar chips that have a metal mesh below. Lots of chips fall through over time- the dust anyway- I am hoping this knocks off a few mites. This year, I left these on all mu hives all summer. They of course, sealed them up with propolis. Which comes off in sheets with a heat gun. I put them on top of the feeders to minimize condensation on to the tops- which makes mold, or ruins equipment.

One thing new this year that I am finding is barley visible here....

...its the horrible Marmalated Stink Bug. Its reached our town- and its everywhere now- in my house, in my car- I even found one in the dishwasher (the clean dishes- it survived a cleaning!). 

They are apparently coming in for the winter, and so these vent boxes are really nice- warm and dry. Dang it. I kill em when i find em. But they do stink. My apiary locations all have apple trees- and I wonder if that doesn't have something to do with it. They are really bad- not bad for bees maybe- but not good for everyone else, or apples.

This apiary is a lovely spot - one of my favorite places to go.