Battling varroa mites

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Day #4 mite numbers decreased further and became more centered on the drop board, almost oval shaped under brood frames. Still hundreds of mites.
 

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Day # 5 mite numbers and drop zone similar to yesterday. Liking what I see so far. Looks like some/quite a few lighter colored mites are now dropping. Wonder if those are newly hatched.
 

Happy Chooks

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Interesting hive comparison. I treated all 3 of my hives for mites, using Apiguard. (2nd treatment last week) My 2 established hives (the 3rd is a captured swarm from this year), one is dropping mites like crazy. The other, virtually no mites. 2nd hive was a split off of the 1st hive a year ago, but they never raised a queen, so I purchased a queen from the same beekeeper that the 1st hive was from. I will be interested to compare honey production between these 2 hives next year.
 

babsbag

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I am going to do the oxalic acid dribble this year, but need to wait until there is less brood, probably end of Oct. I also need 3 screened bottom boards...I never intended to have 5 hives.

I am going to feed the Dadant winter pattie to all my hives. Better safe than sorry and they are easy to use.
 

NadineBurch

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Varroa mites are the dangerous enemy of honey bees. It weakens the bees and eventually kills them. My neighbor does beekeeping and has faced an infestation of these harmful mites. He has used a special screened bottom board with a sticky floor. This approach did not eliminate the mites but kept their numbers down to an acceptable level. But after few days his beehives were infested again, this time badly. Analysing the urgency, my neighbor decided to consult pest control services to help him protect his honey bees.
 

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Greetings and welcome to BYH @NadineBurch :frow from NE TX! So glad you joined us. I hope you'll consider taking a minute to visit the new member's thread and introduce yourself so folks can welcome you properly. https://www.backyardherds.com/forums/new-member-introductions.17/ There's a wealth of info, knowledge and experience shared in the multitude of threads. Browse around and see what interesting stuff you can find. By all means post away when the desire strikes you, especially if you have questions (provide as much detail/info as possible and pictures truly help)... With all the great folks here, generally someone will respond in no time at all. Please make yourself at home!

PLEASE put at least your general location in your profile. It could be very important if/when you ask for or offer help or advice. You know, climate issues and such. I recommend at least your state as most folks won't be able to figure out where if you put anything more specific (county, town, street, etc) by itself. Old folks like me will never remember & look there first. To add it, mouse hover over Account top right and a drop down will appear. Click on Personal Details and scan down. You'll see the spot for Location. Then go to the bottom and save changes. Thanks! Hope you enjoy the site!
 
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