>On 18 Mar 97 at 16:47, Steve Pearce wrote: Re: Grooming/ mite >resistance
 
> This may be a very long shot,
> Now, has anybody tried to dump a particle which of a similar size and
shape to a Varroa on the
> bees, would this entice them to clean off all the particles, including the
mites in the process,
> maybe it could be slightly sticky. Presumably bees groom each other,
especially when the
 
David Eyre <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
>I read somewhere that 'icing sugar' had been dusted onto the >bees
>and mobile Varroa couldn't get a grip.
 
I heard about use of another powder-like substance - starch with mint or
thimol. About 2 teaspoon of this mixture were dusted on bees into gaps
beetween frames. Author said it worked. Hives are to have mesh at the
bottom. Irritated bees start to cleane themself and each other and remove
starch with mites. Author said that mites' windpipes will be corked up with
particles of starch and they (mites) will have problem with breathing and
fall into bottom.
 
Regards,
 
Vladimir Obolonkin,
Minsk, Belarus