> A last word : pay attention ... if a few hives are infected, then ... > all your hives are infected ! Um, I don't have varroa, and I hope I never will, after all, they havn't reached this continent yet, but I thought that it was not a good idea to treat for mites unless their presence was confirmed. I may be wrong, but that is the impression I got from reading sci.agriculture.beekeeping. A problem I do have however, is European brood disease. This was found in ONE hive of ours , and has not been found in any others of ours yet. I know that the spread of bacterial and viral problems is controlable through good management...can mites be contained the same way??? Just curious. Adrian.