Powered Sugar Varroa Mite Treatment

[@noahriding5780]

When do you stop doing this for the year when are winding down in the fall? I've been doing stuff like this all year but now the bees don't like me in the boxes anymore and they are trying to do fall sealing of the cracks with propolis to get ready for winter. They are much more protective and the robbing risk is immense I'm in that limbo period where the aren't bringing in food as much, and have become much more guarded and more robbing, but its not cold yet. And I'm not sure if I should still be doing this now. (I'd done it monthly until now and it seemed to work.) This makes it hard to get in to do the powder sugar treatment much more than before. So I'm sort of trying to figure out should I still be doing this now or when you stop doing this b before the cold hits?

[@bradgoliphant]

Is there anything in powdered sugar that will hurt bees? Just a question. Also, do you have any other natural methods up your sleeve you might want to share?

[@robertthomas5648]

It doesnt work !!!!!!

[@joekolb3937]

scientificbeekeeping.com/powdered-sugar-dusting-sweet-and-safe-but-does-it-really-work-part-1/#:~:text=His%20research%20demonstrated%20that%20dusting,research%20was%20confirmed%20by%20Dr.&text=We%20also%20found%20that%20by,single%20or%20double%20deep%20colonies.

[@LukeTelff]

Do you perform this on your bees Robert? What have been your findings?

[@martinmuldoon603]

I've tried sugar dusting, it is quite effective at getting mites off working bees into the bottom board, you need a mesh floor to do counts. Problem there's are new bees emerging constantly from spring onwards, so I think it would take at least weekly treatment to have much overall effect as most of the mites are within the brood cells especially the drone cells. Probus help to put a short frame so need will produce drones at the bottom then before the drones emerge cut off the comb containing the drones and dump them, when away from hive check if there are many mites within the cells by uncapping

[@robertthomas5648]

It doesnt work !!!!

[@joekolb3937]

Why do you say that?