I've been following some of the arguments on to treat or not to treat.  I agree that a lot of polarization in the issue hinges on wether you are a hobbiest or commercial beekeeper.

I applaud those purists that have the time and resources to experiment with their hives.  I wish them the best of luck and hope that they have carefully thought out their procedures and methods.

I do not have the luxury of toying with my bees.  I am currently back in university and can not afford to lose the income from my bees.  I understand that most chemicals have a limited lifetime as the pests they target become adapted to withstand them, but I do not have the resources to experiment and can only hope that somebody else will come up with a solution.  I do what I must to ensure a good honey crop.

I find it appalling the amount of chemicals required to keep my bees alive through the winter.  Fumagilin B, Oxytet, Formic Acid and Apistan.  We tried menthol for some years, but switched to Formic after some bad winters.  We only started with Apistan last year after a 30% mortality rate, 80% in one yard.  This year we decided that we would not wait for a resistant strain of mites to decimate our hives and are treating with Checkmite.  The combination of Apistan, Formic and Checkmite will hopefully break any chance the mites have of adapting to one chemical.

I would like to reduce my reliance on all of these chemicals, but only when my livelihood no longer relies on the bees.  Until then,  I will do all that I have to to keep them alive and healthy.  It's not a hobby for me, its a living.

Peter Moody
Edmonton, Alberta

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