OxaVap.com – Oxalic Acid Vaporizers
Instruction Manual
What you require:
- Oxalic Acid crystals
- Oxalic Acid vaporizer
- Timer
- Measuring spoon for crystals
- Mask approved for Oxalic Acid fumes, one type from 3M is OV/N95
- Acid resistant gloves
- Eye protection
- Cloths or foam to block entrances
Safety first
- Always wear your mask, eye protection and gloves, you don’t want to breathe the vapors from the vaporizers. Breathing the fumes can cause severe irritation and burns to the throat.
- Avoid skin contact with the crystals as OA can cause a burning sensation.
- Always keep a smoker lit and stand up-wind.
Steps
- Add 1 gram per brood box, no matter the brood box size, of Oxalic Acid crystals to the head (pan) of your Oxalic Acid Vaporizer. You can use a ¼ of a teaspoon (which is the equivalent of one gram) as a measuring tool. For example, a colony with two brood boxes requires 2 grams for treatment or ½ a teaspoon. For a nuc box, you would use a ½ of a quarter teaspoon.
- Insert the vaporizer about ½ to ¾ of the way into hive from the front entrance.
- Seal any openings with cloths or foam.
- Don your respirator.
- Connect your vaporizer to the power source (12 volts) for two and a half minutes (Maximum three minutes – depends on battery capacity.)
- Disconnect power source.
- Wait 2 minutes and remove the vaporizer to prepare for the next hive.
- Reseal the hive a further ten minutes. If you wish, you can leave the vaporizer inside the hive for the full ten minutes (after disconnecting from the power source after the initial 2.5 minute connection.)
- Removed all cloths or foam.
- Ensure the vaporizer is cooled down before reusing or storing. If you have the Varrox model, you can dunk it in water. With the Varrocleaner or VarroVap, use a wet cloth.
- If you have brood repeat these steps every five (5) days for four (4) weeks. A total of 4 treatments are required, as the vapor doesn’t kill mites in the capped brood cells and you need to vaporize those mites as they emerge with the brood during this time frame.
- If you have a broodless period then only one treatment is required.
What’s next?
Always store Oxalic Acid crystals in a dry air tight container. If OA gets damp it will take longer to vaporize!
If your hive bottom opening is too small to insert the vaporizer, you can vaporize from the top down! Just make a two inch shim the size of your brood boxes. Cut a slot along the bottom of the shim slightly larger than the rod of the vaporizer. Remove the top cover(s). Place the OA filled vaporizer directly on the frames. You may want to use a small piece of plywood or sheet metal a little large than the size of the vaporizer pan between the vaporizer and frames to prevent scorching. Place the shim, replace the top cover, cover the bottom opening(s) with cloths or cut pieces of foam, whatever is handy, don your respirator, connect the terminals to the battery and vaporize! If you’ve a screened bottom board, just make a slide in cover out of coroplast (political sign material) OR use your sticky board OR your plastic slide.
Although you can purchase Oxalic Acid at many places such as EBay, Amazon and Ace Hardware (where it is sold as wood bleach in the paint section under the brand name, Savogran), Api-bioxal is the oxalic acid Varroa destructor treatment designed specifically for honey bees.