mites again!

[tig]

i did an inspection yesterday in one of my sites and saw some mites hitching on the backs of returning foragers. i checked all the emerging brood for any signs of deformed wings and hanen't found any....yet!  i have a bad feeling another beekeeper moved near me who has mites and they're starting to infest my colonies. it couldn't have happened at a worse time with the honeyflow starting on full swing. now im in a quandry what to do.  i've put the site under quarentine and will wait about 2 weeks to have the brood tested. i hope it's only mites that i got and not some brood disease.  man this sucks.

[rdy-b]

treat them with formic or oxilac -blast method- by the time the two weeks  pass you will be good to go-dont let them latch on -RDY-B

[DayValleyDahlias]

Mites are truly disgusting, that is why I am making myself somewhat crazy over this small cell thing...I DON'T want the bees to have MITES in uncontrollable numbers...ugh...sheesh

[Kathyp]

tig, if it's time to super for honey you might want to try keeping the mites under control with the powdered sugar shakes.  it may be the best thing you can do and not contaminate your honey.  you can treat with something stronger after the honey is off.

a few mites are not a big thing.  most of us have a few.  the trick for me is to keep them under control.

[Michael Bush]

There are always Varroa mites.  The question is how many?  The answer would be to do a sugar roll or a drop count.  Then if you need to treat, there are several options.

[tig]

i'm keeping a close eye on the mites.  so far the brood isn't affected...YET.  if i treat, i have to forego the honey.  i think i'll try the powder sugar shakes to keep the count down.

michael, the count is low for now.  but since we don't have feral colonies, i know the mites come from another mellifera beekeeper who moved near me.  big question is....how badly infected are his colonies and can i stall the infestation long enough to be able to harvest.  i know at some point i will have to treat the colonies if the infestation gets bad which will suck since i hate chemicals in my hives!  my poor girls....

[Brian D. Bray]

Read the following article: Testing An Open Bottom Board, page 37 of the January 2008 Bee Culture.  You'll have a much better understanding of why I perfer SBB and slatted racks and top entrances.  No need for closing the bottom even in winter if the top is vented.

It also refers to the "dead air layer" at the bottom of the hive.  It's nice to see some of one's own discoveries verified, enough if not exactly in the same configuration.  On the "Build it" inset I would just make a 1 1/2 inch notch all the way across the 4X4 and run the cross bar all the way across--simpler, easier to build, and sturdier to boot.  Scientist, like Engineers, have a tendency to make things more difficult than they need to be.