3rd year- 6a. Everything we do this time of year determines whether our colonies are alive through winter. It's all about hammering the mites to as close to zero and fall feeding to get them to weight.
August- Finishing a series of OAV treatments until my 24 hour sticky board count is less than 1%. Once done, I'll feed aggressively to start backfilling the brood nest and stop just short of completely plugging it out. We need large mite free colonies in my part of the world going into winter.
The next round of OAV will come during robbing season- which really gets going end of September - October. Colonies with 0 mites can rob out a mite bomb and bring back an infestation. Will do another OAV series during that part of the year. This is the treatment series that takes people by surprise because it doesn't come from within the hive, but rather from an outside influence. So hives can have zero hives one day and hundreds the next.
Good luck to everyone as we start to button them up for winter.
August- Finishing a series of OAV treatments until my 24 hour sticky board count is less than 1%. Once done, I'll feed aggressively to start backfilling the brood nest and stop just short of completely plugging it out. We need large mite free colonies in my part of the world going into winter.
The next round of OAV will come during robbing season- which really gets going end of September - October. Colonies with 0 mites can rob out a mite bomb and bring back an infestation. Will do another OAV series during that part of the year. This is the treatment series that takes people by surprise because it doesn't come from within the hive, but rather from an outside influence. So hives can have zero hives one day and hundreds the next.
Good luck to everyone as we start to button them up for winter.
