So we gassed the bees

Early January and finally the weather got cold , which is perfect for gassing the girls in the beehives.
At this time of year there should be very little bee babies in the hives , so its a good time to gas the girls with oxycylic acid which is made from rhubarb .

We were gassing the girls because we wanted to kill off any bugs that might be in the hive , the bugs we are after are varroa destructor .

varroa mite

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Varroa destructor is an external parasitic mite that attacks the honey bees , and adding the gas to the hives at this time of year means we can kill the bugs , and not the bee babies .

Needless to say - the girls were not happy