We at Sleeping Bear Farms tend to look at varroa mites as our #1 hurdle every year. All the rest....baby stuff. ;-))  My partner Dave and I are always lecturing our young  guys to do mite rolls.

Varroa mites are the tail that wags the dog. I don't expect to see any change in my lifetime in regards to letting our guard down. 

Rule #1 for success- Kill the mites.
Rule #2 for success- See rule #1

If we include our Florida operation with our Michigan operation, we are treating just about year around. The mites are *always* just around the corner from exploding in population and you have to beat them back every chance available. Even during the honeyflow we may treat if necessary with formic, oxalic, or some other soft control....if we weren't successful in reducing the population before we put on the honey boxes. 

We field test with ether rolls and don't like to see 5 or more mites. Rolls vary from hive to hive and even from the same hive. Even so, one can get a feel for the general condition overall. If in doubt, treat.

I would suggest multiple treatments with formic, oxalic (in the spring build-up), hopguard, and other soft treatments. One won't do it. Better to keep at them with every hatch of bees and catch the females before they enter another cell. Hard kills are better if used more sparingly to avoid too much exposure and have resistance build in the gene pool to a particular miticide.

This year the honey crop is very poor, so we are getting the honey off quick and focusing on killing the mites and getting the conditions right for a big fall hatch of healthy young bees.That means feeding to the bees syrup to compliment fall pollen flow to stimulate the queen to lay up a big nest of youngsters to go into winter. The ratio of mites to healthy young bees will decrease and the bees will be in good shape for California. Hopefully. 

Kirk 




 

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