Another menace to bees can be reduced....
http://www.goodnewsnetwork.org/one-dogs-certified-nose-saving-bee-colonies-disease/
http://www.goodnewsnetwork.org/one-dogs-certified-nose-saving-bee-colonies-disease/
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Dog detects foulbrood at early stages
- Thread starter GntlKnigt1
- Start date
Awesome idea. Foulbrood has a distinctively nasty smell to it.
Though, for those new to beekeeping, Varroa mites are the most common and destructive problem facing US beekeepers right now, and hives infected with foulbrood are torched not treated (for hobbyists and non-pollinators, at least). The foulbrood spores are mighty resistant to treatment, and can be dormant for decades. If you keep an infected hive alive, you're treating with antibiotics permanently, and risk infecting the rest of your apiary by leaving the contaminated hive intact.
Nasty stuff, foulbrood.
Though, for those new to beekeeping, Varroa mites are the most common and destructive problem facing US beekeepers right now, and hives infected with foulbrood are torched not treated (for hobbyists and non-pollinators, at least). The foulbrood spores are mighty resistant to treatment, and can be dormant for decades. If you keep an infected hive alive, you're treating with antibiotics permanently, and risk infecting the rest of your apiary by leaving the contaminated hive intact.
Nasty stuff, foulbrood.
Basically. The spores are just so hardy that, aside from special irradiation equipment, this is the only way to eradicate them.
There are two types of foulbrood if not mistaken. European and American. And the American has two variants, one that is extremely fast and one that is not so fast in their destruction of the brood. Since the bee hive is an super organism they are dangerous in two different ways. The fast one kills the brood before it has been capped and therefore are very deadly at an individual level, and the bees themselves takes care of the dead brood by take it out of the hive. And as a beekeeper you will not notice this one if it hasn't contaminated very many broods. The slower one is a much bigger threat since it can infect very many broods due to its slower acting. They keep reproducing them selves until they attack the brood and kills it. This is more dangerous to the whole hive society. But the faster one is more dangerous, but on a individual level. And yes, you have to kill them all by fire. And your equipment that has bern in contact with the infected hive. I live in Sweden and here its illegal to keep hives with foul brood. Maybe it is in other countries as well don't know. However another issue is that hunters sometimes use honey to lure bears when they hunt. And honey is a source of spreading dormant foul brood spores. And bees that searches for nectar or food will prefer already done honey. This is also a source of spreading.
Regarding varroa I assume that you also use oxalic solution directly into the hive just before off-season?
I love this dog. This a huge step to eliminate, or at least control the spreding. Great!
I use MAQs just prior to the fall flow. They've worked well for me so far, and if there's any queen loss then I have a chance to requeen or combine before the weather turns.
No, just the MAQs. I'm pretty happy with the genetics of my hives, and I want those drones out there sharing those genetics.
Ok, does that work well? I have been doing drone cutting and it works good together with oxalic almost no varroa. How many hives do you have?
It has worked for me so far. I'm working with eight hives at the moment. We'll see what happens in the spring...
