Hi Lloyd! And many others I've missed writing from Bee-L, Lloyd talks of using varroa mite treatments only during the fall vs. spring&fall. Taking this one further, I've experienced -reasonable- success with varroa treatments every other year. Like George (Imirie) I have great confidence in LATE fall treatments. You're treating an area - of brood and bees. That mass is smallest and tightest during cluster months. With the help of an assistant and good markings on your hives (where the strips are), those strips can be removed in 5 seconds during the cold days of December or early January (treatment of Nov-1 thru 15). The might kill is so effective I've reduced treatments to every other year. Varroa kills have never exceeded 25% (last year with exceptionally long coldspell) and usually run 10% (knock on wood). This isn't a management techique I would 'necessarily' reccomend for others - but it saves time and money here given a little flexibily and effort during December/early January. The treatment period is effective enough(!) to easily sustain hive numbers within the apiary. Less treatment = less cost, less chemicals, less chemical resistance - though not necessarily less work as you have to keep a careful eye during the season for hives on the verge of varroasis. Matthew Westall -- // Earthling Bees >8(())))- "Take me to your feeder" \\ Castle Rock, CO, USA Lloyd Spear wrote: > Jim said "In my view, spring treatments for varroa are useless. Think > about it - assume you have a single-digit mite fall using > whatever test method you wish. Since you have no chance > at all of killing all the mites in spring, you are exchanging one -- // Earthling Bees >8(())))- "Take me to your feeder" \\ Castle Rock, CO, USA