Peery,
Api-life Var and Apiguard, are basically the same thymol based product. One is in wafer form and the other in a gel. It sounds the same.
Remember, any treatment should really be on in time to knock down the mite levels PRIOR to fall brood being raised. No sense knocking down mites after the damage to the winter bees have already done their damage. Not to say that knocking down mites anytime is not good, it is. Just that doing it later after the damage has been done is a bit of throwing your money away, and far less effectiveness or chances of truly helping the colonies that needed it.