Varroa Mite: Get them under control Earlier

• #1- Getting Varroa under control. What’s the point?

• #2- High mite loads. What happens when they go unchecked?

• #3- The advantage of treating for Varroa EARLY!!

• #4- How to TREAT for mites…NOT tickle them to death.

Now let’s get into the core of each step.

Task #1: Why we need to manage Varroa mites.

Varroa destructor is well-known as a menace among beekeepers in modern days. There are a plethora of treatment options available on the market and some not available if you know what I mean 😉 (illegal and not approved for use on beehives).

It can be overwhelming, especially for beginners, to know what to use and to know if it is even effective or not. I have used almost everything out there and have even seen desperate beekeepers use “other means” as well.

However, the reason that we need to keep the mite population under control is simple: if left unchecked, Varroa will devastate a honey bee colony. Colonies overpopulated with mites will never be productive. The cocktail of viruses spread by Varroa affect honey bees in a big way, of which there is nothing on the market that I am aware of that treats for such viruses. (with one exception which I will save for another time 😉)

We not only have to deal with trying our best to eradicate mites from our colonies but we are powerless when it comes to properly treating and overcoming the viral aftereffects from which our colonies suffer. Let’s look at more specifics of what happens when left untreated.

Task #2: When hives go untreated for Varroa, this happens!

We have already established that a honey bee colony that is over-infested with Varroa will not be a productive colony. Here are some important points to understand regarding this:

• Do not expect to make a harvest from colonies with high mite counts.

• Colonies with high mite counts will display what is known as hygienic behavior in which they will remove mite-affected larvae and pupae from the brood nest. This may seem good at first, but it’s not! 

• 1) By removing the brood from the brood nest, now the colony is even more exposed to more viruses.

• 2) The queen simply cannot keep up with the loss and demand of the brood in order to maintain a growing and thriving population of worker bees.

• It is extremely important that each beekeeper learn how to recognize high mite loads, also referred to as high mite counts, in a honey bee colony.

Here are some of my YouTube Channel videos to help you with this:

• Here is my video on a non-lethal way to gauge mite loads within a colony: Here are six Non-Lethal ways to count mite loads!

• Here is why I believe beekeepers should no longer perform Alcohol Washes to count Mites: Alcohol washes, Why you should Stop!

Task #3: The Advantage of treating Varroa EARLY!!

By treating for Varroa as soon as possible in the spring, you give yourself AND your bees a head start on having a lower mite count throughout the season, thus opening them up for greater productivity and maybe even a larger honey crop for you!

These are good things of course, but creating and adopting a pest & disease management system AND implementing it on-time, every time, will give you and your colonies more consistent results and you a better peace of mind.

A head-start on treating for Varroa is going to mean larger colony populations, larger honey crops and better quality splits!

Task #4: How to kill mites…not tickle them to death.

Okay, so remember how I told you in the beginning that there are lots of different treatments for Varroa? There are several options that dictate in the directions-for-use that the product must be removed in x number of days, otherwise the mites will develop a resistance to the product.

Resistance?! What the HECK!! We don’t want to tickle mites to death! We want to eradicate them.

Why bother using treatments that mites can build up a resistance to? This makes absolutely not sense to me. Which is why I no longer use those weak A$$ products. I use something that not only kills mites within minutes and hours but the key ingredient is derived naturally.

I perform OAV treatments and have counted dozens to hundreds of mites dead within a couple of days of use on my mite drop boards. OAV stands for Oxalic Acid Vaporizer. I will link two here below based on how many hives you keep. The first is good for eight hives or less and the second is faster for 8 or more. Check them both out and go with what your budget allows.

• Wand style vaporizer: Amazon.com

• Nozzle style vaporizer (faster treatments): Amazon.com

• Don’t forget the oxalic acid crystals here!

And of course, I will show you how to use each different style PLUS how to keep them clean so that they’re ready next time you’re ready to use them.

Here are some of my YouTube Channel videos to help you with this:

• How to use the Wand-style OAV!

• How to use the Nozzle-style OAV!

• And of course, how to Keep them Clean.

STOP trying to coax Varroa from your hives with weak methods. Treat them with something that they cannot adapt to…death! 😅 

Get everything bee-related that you need this year from Blythewood Bee Company. Check out their inventory here! Blythewood Bee CO. Btw, the owner is the guy who invented Swarm Commander! Get yours and attract some free bees this year!

Thanks for reading all the way to the bottom 😉. I want to hear from you!

See you next time!

Jonathan Hargus//The Hive Doctor

/