Peter Edwards said [in connection with making just monthy checks of trays
for varooa]:>
> Can't agree with this.  After a month there can be a considerable amount
of
> debris making it very difficult to estimate the number of varroa.  I have
> tried this in the past and then taken the debris home for a thorough
count.
> The estimate was always wrong.  There is also the matter of waxmoths - in
> this area your tray would be alive after a month!

Regular checks just to find the odd colony that has picked up varooa from
outside only need mites counts on a scale of two - 'few', or 'lots'.  If
there is too much rubbish to see even that, wipe clean and check again after
only a week.  I use yellow plastic tea trays  [costing 85p - say $1.20] from
the hardware shop, as mites show well against yellow.  Wipe the trays with
petroleum jelly so the rubbish comes away easily. If moth larvae are there,
wipe them away - and be glad they were there and not right in the hive - the
trays act as a moth trap.
Just before u think of annual treatments, certainly clean and check again
after a week as then u do need to estimate numbers as carefully as u can.
UK trays have handles at the ends - cut these off to reduce the total length
of the tray to 375mm - they then jam tight under the mesh floor [without
need for support battens] since the walls of the hive are 371mm apart.
Trays must be 2 inches or more below the mesh - mites are then unable to
sense the bees above and do not crawl back even without an oil barrier.

>
>Isn't Varooa one of the most serious problems we have? Peter said: >
> I am not sure that it is!

We must not forget that varooa mites are in every single hive once they have
arrived in an area, and every hive dies out with say 5 years at most if not
treated effectively.  Most other diseases affect only a few colonies and are
not so deadly.  Varooa is only controlled so effectively because of
Apistan - scientists have not had as much success with thymol as Peter or we
would all know of it. Even Vita [who make both Apistan and Apiguard which
contains thymol] do not advocate using only Apiguard.  So until another
treatment as effective as Apistan is actually on the market, surely varooa
remains a major threat and we need to promote methods of use that will delay
[inevitable] development of resistance for as long as we can.

Robin Dartington

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