Oxalic Acid in Beekeeping

The varroa mite is the pest that most affects beekeepers, because it attacks the bees in the honeycomb, so far has not been achieved a weapon to kill them completely, the product that so far has proved more efficient and allows lower the maximum population of parasites, is the application of the oxalic acidwhich allows the growth of mite numbers to be kept under control.

How to apply oxalic acid in beekeeping

For the application of a mite eradication system, a number of factors have to be taken into account, such as the specific environmental conditions, the age of the crop and the particular characteristics of the mites. The number of mites doubles monthly during the brood rearing season. During the non-breeding season, the mites attack the adult bee population, and it is at this time that an oxalic acid-based treatment is most effective.

oxalic acid in beekeeping

There are different methods to apply tooxalic acid in beekeepingThe first would be by spraying, which is currently almost not used due to the difficulties of its application. What is currently used are drip and sublimation systems, these systems have an effectiveness between 90 and 95%.

A solution of oxalic acid, sugar and water is prepared with a weight ratio of 1:10:10. This treatment is very easy to apply, with a 5 ml syringe per hive, which makes it possible to cover a large number of hives in a day, unlike the sublimation system, which is much more expensive and complicated, but has the same effectiveness.

However, there is a current of beekeepers who claim that the sublimation method is more efficient and has less effect on the bees. This consists of a tool with an electrical resistance that generates heat, and does not negatively affect the bees. Studies have shown that in hives where sublimation has been applied, the bee population has grown by 20% after four months.

Regardless of whether any of the three methods is more economical or efficient, it is undoubtedly that the oxalic acid in beekeeping is the best way to attack the varroa mite, so it is the most advisable thing to use to solve this problem, as there are a number of products on the market based on other chemicals that have not given the expected results.

Oxalic acid is also commonly used to clean rust on metals, for example here we explain how to repair rust damaged bicycles: removing rust from chrome-plated parts or for the floor polishing 

Buy Oxalic Acid

Read more

Oxalic acid
Shopping Cart
Scroll to Top