> >Despite all counter measures our Governments can devise, and in this case a
> >20 mile water barrier, mites still spread.
>
> This sounds very much like the attempts at keeping varroa out of the UK.
> The last I heard, it had spread all the way up to Scotland. When will
> governments learn that such schemes can only be relied upon as a
> delaying mechanism at best?
> --
> Paul Walton
> Bedfordshire, England
> [log in to unmask]
 
Hi Paul:
 
These are indeed only delaying measures, but very valuable delaying
measures. We closed our borders to importation of U.S. bees due to mites
some years ago, and have saved ourselves years of expensive treatment. Our
production is much higher than it would otherwise have been and we have
benefited from the high honey prices caused by the mite infestations.
 
It is only in the last year or two that mites have started to show up in
our area. We now have access to the expertise developed by those in the
infested areas, and our response to the problem is made immeasurably
easier.
 
I do not believe that there has been any significant downside to
the border closure other than the initial hardship caused to beekeepers
who routinely killed their bees in the fall and bought package bees from
the United States.
 
 
Donald Aitken
11710-129 Street
Edmonton Alberta Canada
T5M 0Y7