Liebig dispenser

01 · THE LEGAL PART FIRST

What is allowed and what is not

Formic acid is used against varroa in several European countries, but only as authorised veterinary medicines, each with its own format and instructions. What is authorised changes from country to country, and this dispenser is designed for products sold in Germany.

In Spain it is worth being blunt: preparing a home-made varroa treatment with formic acid is unlawful — it is covered by the Criminal Code and may also be an administrative offence. Here treatment is done with registered medicines, which come in their own format and do not need this dispenser.

Before buying it, check which formic products are registered in your country and what application system they use.

02 · HOW IT WORKS

Drip onto paper, then evaporation

The principle is as simple as it is old: the dosing bottle sits on the base and lets the liquid fall onto an absorbent pad, and it is the pad — not free liquid — that evaporates inside the hive. The area of wetted paper is what sets the rate.

The unit goes on top of the frames and takes up little room: 15.5 × 15.5 cm and barely a centimetre and a half tall, so it fits under the inner cover of almost any format.

03 · WHAT IS IN THE BOX

Base, bottle and four pads

It comes with the base, the 200 ml dosing bottle — 112 mm tall — and four absorbent pads. The acid is not included: it could not be, and it would not be lawful to supply it that way.

It is simple plastic with no electronics, built to last seasons. The flip side is obvious: without the corresponding authorised product, the dispenser does nothing on its own.

04 · BEFORE YOU BUY

What you can do with this dispenser depends entirely on the country: