Grease patties containing Wintergreen and Salt. Formula: 1.8 kg of sugar, 0.68 kg of hydrogenated vegetable oil, 0.113 kg of honey, and 0.113 kg of salt, and 45 ml of natural wintergreen oil, one batch will treat about 8-10 hives, depending on number of brood chambers, size of patties, etc. The idea for using salt came to us from Monte Smith, Alberta, Canada. We placed 5 small patties (about 59.2 gr each) on top of each brood chamber and a 1.27 cm “roll” across the entrance, pushed about 1.9 cm back in (rain will wash it away).
Considerably greater mite drop can be obtained by using paper towels soaked in canola oil or Crisco, to which 7% wintergreen or 25% menthol is added. We initially started with 15% wintergreen, which was too strong and caused some balling of queens and supersedures. When the essential oil-laced towels are placed on brood chambers, large numbers of mites drop off; by repeating the treatment in 10-14 days, most varroa mites can be removed from the colonies (90-95% reduction) and honey bee colonies saved. The timing of this treatment is best in August or early September.
Adding salt to the patties doubles the rate of consumption by the bees; we used to change the patties monthly; with the addition of salt, the patties are often gone in 7-10 days. We believe the addition of salt enhances the effectiveness of the patties; the grease gets onto the bees and inhibits or kills the mites. Tracheal mites have not been a problem with any of our colonies that have grease patties on them. The wintergreen irritates the mites, making them turn more often and run more quickly and we believe they lose their grip on the bees and then fall through the bottom screen. We find that putting the grease patties on in June and leaving them on all year gives good reduction of mites, doubling or tripling the natural mite fall through the screened bottom boards, and prevents the mites from building up to such high levels. When the grease patties are used consistently, replaced every 2 weeks or so during the summer, with screened bottom boards, we see no tracheal mites and varroa mites seldom exceed infestation of 5 cells per 100– in colonies that consume the patties at a rapid rate. We keep the grease patties on all winter; they need to be checked monthly or so.
Different conditions in different geographic areas with different nectar flows and climate may affect the efficacy of grease patties alone with the screened bottom board. This is why we developed our HBH-FA fumigator: we believe it works consistently, independent of variables. Albert Yoder had a consistent two-year control for both tracheal and varroa mites using only the wintergreen/salt patties and the screened bottom boards in Orrville, Ohio in 2000 and 2001; no other treatment was needed. A drawback to using salt with the grease patties is that moisture is absorbed by the patties and salty water can often be found dripping down onto comb and onto the bottom board; using less salt and honey and more granulated sugar will reduce this problem. This is more of a problem in the fall when evenings and mornings are very damp with dew and condensation; it is less of a problem in July and August.
Grease Patties containing both wintergreen oil or tea tree oil and mineral salt appear to have an effect on varroa mites and tracheal mites. These effects can be seen when brood is present, and has a devastating effect on mites when brood is not present. However, grease patties with essential oils should not be used during time of honey collection for human consumption. During this time, grease patties without essential oils can be used to a lesser effect. For any noticeable effect, a grease patty of some form should be used at all times. Replace any consumed patties.
Simple Grease Patty
1 part (by volume) solid vegetable shorting (such as Crisco) or coconut oil
2 parts (by volume) white sugar
Mix sugar and shortening until well combined. Split into approximately quarter cup (~6 centiliters) portions and store excess in the freezer sandwiched between sheets of wax paper.
Grease Patty With Mineral Salt
2 lbs solid vegetable shorting (such as Crisco)
3 lbs whites sugar
1 lb 1:2 Syrup or High Fructose Corn Syrup or Clean Honey
1/3 cup pulverized mineral salt (~1/5lb Depending on mineral content)
Prepare the same as you would a simple grease patty recipe.
Grease Patty With Mineral Salt and Essential Oils
2 lbs solid vegetable shorting (such as Crisco)
3 lbs whites sugar
1 lb 1:2 Syrup or High Fructose Corn Syrup or Clean Honey
1/3 cup pulverized mineral salt (~1/5lb Depending on mineral content)
3 table spoons wintergreen oil, Lemongrasss can be substituted for wintergreen.
Grease Patty with thymol and tea tree oil
5 ml tea tree oil
400 gr thymol
50 gr menthol
700 gr sugar
300 gr oil
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1.5 kg mix (40 hives single dose; 40 gr per hive)
Others:
3G Spray : You can grind 20 gr each of Ginger, Garlic and Green chillies, (3G) mix this in 100 ml vegetable oil cover and set aside away from sunlight for 15 days. Use 10-25 ml (depending on the plants and the intensity of the infestation) ml of this dispersed in 1 litre soap nut water and spray of the affected areas of the plants.
Optional: piretrin natural. https://amiti.org/insectiside/242-piretro-natura.html#/25-razfasovka-50ml