After fooling around quite a bit and testing the limits, it seems clear 
to me that varroa has very drastically restricted our management options 
to fit the varroa control methods now that the easy controls like 
Apivar, Apistan, Checkmite+, etc.have lost efficacy or where they are 
banned.

All the so-called  'soft' methods place constraints on hive volume, the 
timing of honey removal and many other factors that otherwise would not 
be limited.  It is interesting to see how beekeepers have accepted these 
limitations and assume that the rigid schedules, the limited hive 
configurations and the reduced profitability are normal and make their 
recommendations based on these implicit assumptions.

My personal experience with the alternatives has been disappointing 
compared to the strong controls HTML clipboard , since I have not been 
willing to accept the limited management options each such method 
demands, even if I have met the schedules.

Without embracing the limitations and extra work that go with each, 
these 'soft' methods simply do not work.

However, when we have access to a working product like Apivar, we see 
what beekeeping can really be and have at least temporarily, a return to 
what many of us remember as being 'normal'.  Without such products, we 
are being steered by varroa, and many are not even aware of the fact.

What we really need is more methods which are less constricting than 
most of the currently advocated controls so that we can go back to 
beekeeping rather than playing "Whack a Mole' with varroa.

Where is that magic bullet?

It has to be out there, probably right in front of our faces.

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