I'm always joking about our wet climate, trying to discourage others moving
into a beautiful part of the UK.
But when the ground was dryer last autumn I actually laid on the grass
trying to count the number of varroa mites that had freely, no treatments,
fallen through my Open Mesh Floors. Floors that are huge great gaping holes
simply covered with a piece of eight wires to the inch steel mesh, and as
far as I am concerned, and despite the inconclusive investigations at
Cornell, they ASSIST in controlling varroa mite infestations. Permit me to
explain.
Due to back problems I now use 15" high hive stands which obviously gives me
a good view under the hive. As a hobbyist (put that for fellows who work
1000+ colonies) I place the stands on concrete paving slabs, keeps the grass
and weeds down, gives a dry area underneath etc etc. Well it was the surface
of these slabs that I examined and saw mites, plenty of them. Collected them
and put them under a hand lens (I use what is called a 'linen tester', very
much like a watchmakers eyepiece), just to make sure. They were definitely
varroa mites.
Thought with the number I was observing there must be a serious infestation
within the hive and started uncapping both drone and worker brood (now
always part of a normal examination) and couldn't find mites. Know that I
should have put a solid floor back, placed a paper insert on it and put
either Bayvarol or Apistan strips in to monitor the mite fall.
But I didn't as the grass was growing longer at home and the paint was
peeling off the woodwork, so just put the strips in for the 6 weeks period.
But it will take a lot to convince me that mites do not fall the whole depth
of the brood frame to take the 15" drop to the concrete slab below. Some
years ago a product by the name of Apivar was registered in France, I was
sent the trade literature but then heard no more about this varroa
treatment. But I quote from that literature;
"Varroa mites breed very quickly : a female mite born on January 1st will
have given birth to 1,000 mites by December 31st of the same year."
If I can encourage just one solitary mite to take the drop through my sieve
like floors it is obvious to me that I could have prevented a serious
build-up of mites. And if you have read this far it must be obvious that I
do not use this method as the sole means of controlling varroa. I do not
like the acids because I believe them hazardous to both my bees and me,
relatively ineffective and extremely labour intensive. No it's chemical
strips, WHEN NEEDED, and good old Open Mesh Floors, that's my method of
Varroa Integrated Pest Management.
Ken steps off his soap box straight into a quagmire of Shropshire mud.