This tool heats oxalic acid to form a vapour inside the hive which kills the varroa mite. This process has been proven by Scientific Beekeeping.com in the Jan 2007 article: Oxalic Acid: Heat vapourisation. Oxalic use has not yet been registered for use in the USA (many use it to control varroa but under the premise of cleaning the wooden boxes), but has been approved in NZ by the Minister of Agriculture, under section 62(2) of the Animal Products (Ancillary and Transitional Provisions) Act 1999. The oxalic sugar method shows varroa mortality rates of up to 93%, but unlike the oxalic sugar mix (and the harsh formic acid treatment), the oxalic vapor method will NOT kill the queen, or disrupt the hive: beesource.com forum. Our vaporisers are available in NZ and Australia via our Trademe Shop,
If you have some DIY skills, you can use your 12V car battery to power the vaporiser! You will need to get and make a longer lead. Make sure the wires in the extension lead are quite heavy duty (thick copper wire) so the power will operate the vaporiser properly at the extra distance. Only use enough length as you need, as there will be less power to heat the tray if the lead is too long. I'd estimate ten meters, or 1.5mm copper (a 10 amp lead) will be fine but thicker is better. Remember, DO NOT allow the two terminals wires to touch each other. A car battery has enough amps to melt the wire if they short together (but remember, there is not enough amps to hurt you from electric shock though). Be safe, be sensible.
Here is a video showing how quick and easy it is to use the vaporiser. Demonstrates how much oxalic acid to use, and on two different size hives. Also shows an example of batteries. There is also a second video on youtube showing the larger hive being opened after treatment.