Hi Katherine:

1) At present the Varroa mite is the greatest problem in my area.

2) I treat for Varroa with vaporised oxalic acid. It is cheap and effective. 
Unfortunately it takes a lot of time to apply and is only effective in late 
fall and early spring when the bees do not have a lot of brood for the mites 
to hide in.

3) I have only used regular Langstroth type equipment, so I can't compare 
with other types.

4) In my area the farmers use Roundup to control weeds. It is very effective 
for them, but it has reduced the amount of pollen available to bees to only 
that available from commercial crops. The problem with mites and mite borne 
diseases is probably more serious than the lack of pollen, which can be 
fixed by feeding pollen supplements.


                                    Best regards

                                    Donald Aitken

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