If the hive looks good, healthy brood; a strong, seemingly happy colony… And then the bees die weeks or months later, it’s usually due to varroa mites. If all else seems fine, that’s what you’re facing. Monitoring your hives is key. Treating them at the right time are important.
All of that is contained in chart. It breaks down mite life cycle, so you can see when treatments will be effective. It explains how to gauge your level of infestation (no more guesswork). It identifies both gentle-on-bees and accurate mite counting methods. And most critically, it synchronizes all major treatment by stage of honey super addition, weather and time of year, so instead of treating based off rumour, you’re making choices backed up by fact.
How to Manage Varroa Mites
The number of mites doesn’t increase linearally. Mites tuck into capped cells, which are inaccessible to most treatments. When there’s brood to hide in, they’ll explode. Colonies goes broodless in winter, providing an excellent treatment window. One application of oxalic acid at this time will eliminate most mites prior to their build-up come springtime. The chart shows this clearly, and explains why the treatment isn’t as effective when the brood nest start up again.
The best way to know if you have a problem is to know how many mites you actualy have. If you do a sugar roll (easy on bees, may undercount) or an alcohol wash (most accurate, involves some bee disturbance), you won’t panic and you also won’t over-confidently skip treatment. If you use sticky boards, you get virtually no disturbance at all, but will see only natural mite fall (not true mite load). This chart describes each method so that you can select what’s most important for any given month.
The constraints is: what will be effective in your region? What will work with today’s temperature? Can it be used with supers on (no contamination in the honey)? How do I apply it? Formic acid products reach mites in brood cells, which is rare among organic options, but you must manage the temperature carefuly. Thymol gels is effective in warm weather when they evaporate enough. Synthetic strips has a very high kill rate over a wide temperature range, but they require strict rotation to avoid the risk of resistance. The tradeoffs is well-illustrated in chart.
Some beekeepers follow a calendar, meaning they treat their bees based off the date regardless of whether there is any actual pressure. That accelerates resistance and wastes money. Some beekeepers don’t treat until the colony appear sick, and by then it’s usually already too late. Following seasonal guidance and checking regularly keeps you ahead: you anticipate problems instead of just reacting to them.
You should of checked more often. The key is to read what the chart says and read your own hives. When you get good at that, treating doesn’t feel like guesswork anymore; it just feels like maintenance.