Fall mite treatment

[treeoflife]

I'm hoping to get some collective advice from folks who know far more than I do. I am a mere first yearling at this.

Heading into fall, my bees are healthy and happy. I purchased Apilife-Var, understanding the importance of preventing mites in my hive next year. I have a general aversion to harsh "chemicals" of any kind, although I know this product is made from thyme oil.

I've read some pretty negative things about this product since purchasing it, and was wondering if it is as scary as some of the things I've heard (related to absconding, fighting, dying, aggression.....). If I had my druthers, I'd much prefer to simply dust them with powdered sugar and manage any mites that way.

Will I be doing my bees a disservice by using Apilife-Var, - or by NOT using it?
Are there better alternatives? Thank you in advance.

[beemandan]

absconding, fighting, dying, aggression.I've used it and haven't had those problems. I would advise you to be extremely careful handling this product. If my memory serves me its about 75% thymol. While thymol may be a naturally occurring compound it surely never occurs naturally at that concentration. It will burn your skin, especially sensitive areas i.e. nose or mouth. And keep it out of your eyes!!! The label says that it can cause 'irreverseable eye damage'.
Otherwise it seems to work fine.


Will I be doing my bees a disservice by using Apilife-Var, - or by NOT using it?
Are there better alternatives? Thank you in advance.Boy oh boy....will you ever get some 'opinions' to those questions.

[KQ6AR]

The only comment I have, is you should first know you're mite level. That way you'll know whether or not you need a treatment.

[Noelle]

So what is the right number of mites to treat or not to treat? could one of you experienced beeks run us newbies through a typical drop?

How to? what to look for? what to expect?:popcorn:

[bradkeskey]

I'm a new beek as of April, tonight I JUST put a home made sticky board down today, and am going to see how bad my mites are to see if I need to treat or not. I know I've got em, just wondering how bad. Gonna do a few counts and go from there. Looks like I may end up with 4-5 gallons this year, not bad for starting fresh w/ a 5 frame nuc and drawing out foundation!

Brad

[beedeetee]

I have been using a 25/day drop from a hive that has bees on all 20 deep frames in the middle to end of August. I have never had to treat a first year hive. I am going up to 40/day this year to see what happens. That was only two more hives for me.

So a weaker hive will need to drop less than that. I still have the occasional hive die over winter, but I can't always blame mites for it although they might be part of the problem.

[bradkeskey]

Once I figure out my count I'll see if I need to do anything, thanks for the input.

Brad

[indypartridge]

So what is the right number of mites to treat or not to treat? could one of you experienced beeks run us newbies through a typical drop?

How to? what to look for? what to expect?:popcorn:
Ideally, you don't just do one 24-hr count and decide, but instead you monitor regularly throughout the season so you can see trends. Late summer is when you'll typically see a significant increase in mite counts. When I see mite counts climbing, and they get into the 40-to-50 range in a 24-hour period, I treat. I use powdered sugar, 3 treatments about a week apart. Then I count again, to make sure that the count has been knocked down significantly.

For a new colony, I've never had to treat the first year. And colonies which have had interrupted brood cycles (either made themselves a new queen, or went queenless and I re-queened) often don't need to be treated.

[spieker]

I am a new beekeeper. I have seen several posts in the past saying that if there is an interrupted brood cycle that the mites are basically gone. If that is the case, wouldn't most of the mites die during the winter?

Also, what would happen if a person used a bellows duster and would dust bees after going into a cluster? Would that clean the mites out? or would it hurt the bees?

Thanks for help.

Mary

[beemandan]

if there is an interrupted brood cycle that the mites are basically gone. If that is the case, wouldn't most of the mites die during the winter?An interrupted brood cycle also interrupts the reproductive cycle of varroa. It doesn't eliminate them, it only temporarily slows their population growth.


Also, what would happen if a person used a bellows duster and would dust bees after going into a cluster? If its cold enough for your bees to cluster I wouldn't do anything to disrupt that cluster. Also, you'd likely only get a sugar dusting of those bees on the outside of the cluster. Powdered sugar dusting removes some of the mites but not all. I wouldn't depend on it alone for mite control.

[Dave W]

Here is where it would be very helpful to many if several of the small-cell beekeepers would come forward w/ their mite counts. Not to create a debate, but to offer a "gauge" for others to strive for.