Mite count went up -- treat?

[Splatt]

A cold snap gave me the opportunity to do another mite count (I had the insert in my SBB), and my count came out at 20/day. A little over a month ago I got 8/day. Most of them this time around were light brown in color, which was interesting.

I have a couple of questions:

1. Is this count a concern going into winter?
2. Do I have time to take action?

I'm brand new, so any advice is appreciated.

[kilocharlie]

Yes, they don't stand a chance. 20 mites per square inch overnight it's amazing they are alive. Whack them with a harsh treatment this late in the year and feed them a patty, essential oils, fumagilin-B, and a fondant board.

If you go treatment-free right now, you sentenced them to death. You can go to light intervention, mild treatment, IPM next year. If they do well and hive strength comes way up, you could try "treatment-free" later. It appears that mites should be dealt a severe blow earlier in the season, like before mid-August.

[rsjohnson2u]

As a newbie myself, I'm wondering, 20 mites TOTAL per day, or 20 per square inch. I'm guessing the former. Regardless, you should treat. Might have to use something that is not temperature sensitive, depending on the conditions at your location.

[Splatt]

Yes, they don't stand a chance. 20 mites per square inch overnight it's amazing they are alive.

Sorry, I should have been more specific. It was 20 per day total, not per square inch, up from 8 per day total.

[KQ6AR]

Personally I don't get concerned until the number is over 50. A lot of people say my number is too high, but its worked well for us.

[Belewsboy]

You should use the IPM sticky boards for three days. Count the mites and divide the total by 3 to give you the 24 hour count. 50 or more for the 24 hour total requires treatment. I tried the sugar roll on 4 hives and had a low mite count. Used the IPM boards and 2 of my hives had over 100 for the 24 hour count. Here is some info on IPM boards. http://www.njbeekeepers.org/Site_Doc...m%20Boards.pdf

[Splatt]

You should use the IPM sticky boards for three days.

Thanks. That's what I did. I see that my original post was a little vague.

[Lburou]

The count is relative to the size of the colony. How big is your hive? I recommend reading here to see what some use as a threshold for treatment. You can decide for yourself. Mites per 100 bees is a bit more specific than mites per day. Read here.

[Splatt]

The count is relative to the size of the colony. How big is your hive?

At it's peak, about 50-60,000. Those links are cool! Thanks!

[Splatt]

Personally I don't get concerned until the number is over 50. A lot of people say my number is too high, but its worked well for us.

That's kind of what I was thinking. Part of the problem is that I look at some of the possible side effects of the treatments and I'm reluctant to use them right before winter.

[sqkcrk]

Sorry, I should have been more specific. It was 20 per day total, not per square inch, up from 8 per day total.

This might be normal attrition for this time of year, since the mite load should have peaked about two weeks to a month ago. So, I don't know if that really is a lot this time of year. I would like to know what kind of count you would get were you to do an ether roll from the middle of the brood nest area. I don't know what mite drops per day say, except that mites are dying. whereas an ether roll tells how many live mites are on the bees.

[Splatt]

This might be normal attrition for this time of year, since the mite load should have peaked about two weeks to a month ago. So, I don't know if that really is a lot this time of year. I would like to know what kind of count you would get were you to do an ether roll from the middle of the brood nest area. I don't know what mite drops per day say, except that mites are dying. whereas an ether roll tells how many live mites are on the bees.

That's good advice, thanks. I'm not sure I'm going to get the chance to do a roll before I need to close up the hive (temperature's been bouncing up and down), but I'll do one next year.

[sqkcrk]

How cold is it? Warm enough to fly?