Varroa Mite Infestation, After OAV

[@BugFarmerBees]

Wow! Look at all of those thumbs up. Great video and holy cow that was a lot of beetles. The battle continues. I will be treating with OA again on Sunday night. I have been checking the bottom boards and the mites are still dropping from last weeks treatment. I hope you are going to be logging your 2021 bee season too.

[@MikeBarryBees]

Well, let me recommend at least 4 treatments. I think that is where mine differed from last year and I bet I missed some brood that overlapped, thus a significant mite count on that strong hive. It is recommended 4 times every 5 days for best results, but I normally did 4 times every 7 days. This year only three, and I went 3 weeks early (3's were not good to me). Beetles are slowly getting under control. Was in that hive today following up on the beetle jail and it was much better. #2 was still atrocious, but the blaster caught well over 50. I'm not sure what I will do next season. I watch a lot of farming videos and honestly, I have gotten all my youtube ideas from them. They log their entire year and in winter come up with creative stuff. So we'll see. Thanks for keeping up with my channel!!

[@gwtill]

Hi Mike, I reuse the Beatle busters. Once they are full of beetles I use a garden hose with nozzle and spray directly in the top at one end and then the other. The force of the water forces all dead beetles and trash out of the slots. I then wash in hot soapy water and reuse. The condiment bottle is a good idea. I will give it a try.

[@MikeBarryBees]

I see that working as well. I tend to leave them in the hive so long that they are terribly gooey and solid when I finally get them out. I think the beetles just decay and get solid. Probably a sign that I leave the in too long. I think if these work, I will like them better because of how they sit flush between the frames. But let's see how well they do first.

[@brucesbees]

Another nice video Mike!

[@MikeBarryBees]

Thanks Bruce!! Watch them yellowjackets!!

[@southeasthomestead6093]

I like the way you do your videos..just illustrating up information

[@MikeBarryBees]

Thanks!! Just an average guy trying to keep bees alive.....

[@israeltorres8603]

mike,, like to shake your hand and say thank you for taking time to make your videos. I live outside of houston and last year the hive beetles cause me 2 or 3 hives I had to burn entire hives, but this year I haven't seen that many maybe 4 or5 per hive , I have not check the bottoms but what I did was to make a screened bottoms , bottom part window screen and sweffy cloth and on top 1/8 screen hoping the beetles would get chased by the bees as they enter the hive, im about to change my bottom boards for solid boards,, I hope that is the reason there were so few beetles. thank you and GOD bless you all . im from mexico but GOD bless America.

[@MikeBarryBees]

Israel, I surely thank you for following my videos. It has been fun. Your design sounds like a good one and is quite possibly a good reason the beetles were down. Beekeepers are so imaginative!! That's how we all solve problems together!!

[@israeltorres8603]

@@MikeBarryBees it din't work ,,I just change the vented bottom boards and there were just a few beetles .

[@MikeBarryBees]

Israel Torres a few dead beetles is better than none dead. Never know until you try. That’s how all of the products in beekeeping that we buy came out, even the actual langstroth hive. Someone tried something different. Thanks for the follow-up!!

[@stufarnham]

I like your Karate Kid look, Mike!

[@MikeBarryBees]

Thanks Stu...lol!!

[@martenapperloo1055]

Thanks for the video Mike ,really appreciate it ,good eye opener about mites

[@MikeBarryBees]

Thanks so much for watching Marten!!

[@scrappinbig2239]

Hello Mike , I look forward to watching all of your videos when you post them and always give a thumbs up after watching it . Hope you have a great week and kill all the mites and beetles !

[@MikeBarryBees]

Thanks a whole lot for following and liking!! Just trying to be real and show all aspects and issues that I encounter with my practices. I'm going to get after those mite again in about 2 weeks.

[@konstantinosar7769]

Really nice video. Greetings from Greece!

[@MikeBarryBees]

Thank you very much! Ahh Greece. Wonderful place. I enjoyed Rhodes and Corfu year ago. Quaint little café in Rhodes where the couple that owned it treated us so nicely. We stopped in every day to enjoy a sandwich and drink...

[@konstantinosar7769]

@@MikeBarryBees next time visit Crete island!

[@MikeBarryBees]

Konstantinos Ar ahh, but I have. I forgot about that port. I spent a week visiting in Chania. Beautiful little harbor.

[@BlanchardsBees]

Thanks for the video Mike. Need to get me one of those mite checker things.

[@MikeBarryBees]

Thanks. The mite check cup does make thing very easy and not messy.

[@julieenslow5915]

Mike. This was a fabulous video. Good catch on the mites, great lesson learned on the before and after checks. Do let us know what you do to fix this mite situation - this would be a great follow up video too. I continue to learn from you sir, and I do appreciate that!

[@MikeBarryBees]

Thanks Julie! I am going to re-treat in a couple of weeks with the OAV and will incorporate it in another video, but the same as before. I will monitor the screen boards this time though for a mite drop. It's usually an hour later to really see what drops. I will decide later if I want to kill 300 more bees with a follow-up mite check. Hate that part of it and since I don't feed through the dearth going into this golden rod, the nests aren't huge. They really never are. I let them go with what they do on their own since we stay warm so long. So for that reason, another 300 winter bees will be a game time decision for me.

[@julieenslow5915]

@@MikeBarryBees Ah. That makes it a tough one too. I know you will do your best, and we both know even that won't guarantee the outcome we want. Mites. Hate em. Not apologizing for that either.

[@GEEZBEEZ]

Great video. Let us know how you like the beetle traps. I like how they sit flat. My beetle blasters do not sit flat and beetles hid under them. I ordered some guardian entrances and will try them out to keep the beetles in check. Thanks for the information as always.

[@MikeBarryBees]

I'm going to take a look at them this weekend and I will do a video or include it in a video. I agree on the sitting flush aspect. That in it of itself is a great thing right of the bat!! Thanks for the comment!!

[@henryrogers8173]

great point..maybe best to put beetle busters in corner of hive boxes...my biggest catch of beetles was in a beetle buster between frames in a corner..BUT what do I know...I'm new and a wanna b keeper..thanks again for you efforts..with your videos..

[@MikeBarryBees]

I sure appreciate you watching Henry!! That's what is recommended, corners. My boxes are so propolized and the outside frames seem to be stuck worse, so I usually go one or two frames in. But I normally never go right in the middle. Working on a video today to check on the beetle jails.

[@sentimentalbloke7586]

Its always a pleasure to watch your clips Mike. No mites here so far (touch wood) I shudder to think of keeping bees when they finally arrive, I think that it might just take the fun out of bee keeping.

[@MikeBarryBees]

Thanks so much. I wanted to say that you guys didn't have them, and actually stated some countries don't, but I edited it out because I couldn't remember. That's really good news for you guys. And I hope it's a long time before they do arrive. And would be great of they never do!!

[@sentimentalbloke7586]

@@MikeBarryBees We have only had shb for a few years and they are bad enough, they seem to love our hot dry conditions, and last year I had to discard a few honey frames thanks to them.

[@russellkoopman3004]

Washing the queen scares me. I still struggle finding the queen anytime I look for her. I only have 7 hives, so I only did one wash on my strongest hive and I washed 3 mites in the same kind of container you have (like mine also). I went ahead and treated all the hives with Apivar because I still had a lot of brood (mid-August). Now I just got to get them off before the snow flies. LOL I love giving you a thumbs up and very seldom miss the chance. Have a good week Mike.

[@MikeBarryBees]

I appreciate you watching all the time and liking Russell!! Yea, not a bad idea to treat them just to be sure. With your winters being so long, you really need robust, healthy hives to get thru. Here we need to make it a couple months and the queen's back to putting in new bees.

[@russellkoopman3004]

@@MikeBarryBees But your bees expend so much energy and time fighting SHB. That has to strain the hive. I'll take snow over SHB all day long.

[@jesshowe4591]

I would be interested if you oxalic the bad Hive again with the screen board on and see what varroa drops I was wondering about how old your oxalic acid is whether you bought a bad batch whenever I buy some new I always test it with a screen bottom hive to make sure there's a good drop in case somebody sold me some white powder that's not oxalic at all. Love your no nonsense beekeeping 👍 thumbs up as always.

[@MikeBarryBees]

Thanks Jess. I thought about that, but then researching the subject tells me it should be fine even with age. But, what you said, about the OA being bad. That crossed my mind and is still there in the back of my mind. It has shown drops in the past and I had a hive this year that I left the board in by mistake and after a couple days went out and pulled it out and it had a really good drop. I got it I believe from chemistry.com and it is 99% pure. And you can tell by the way it scoops out. I think I should've done 4 treats every 5 days or at least a 4th treat in another 7 days. I normally do 4 treatments and I didn't this year. So I probably missed a lot that were in capped brood and on foragers. Thanks for following and liking!! Really appreciated.

[@donaltland7957]

Texas Bee Supply said that when they treat with Oxalic acid they treat day 1, then day 6, then day 12, so that the hatching bees are all treated. I had a hive that was still high after treating with Oxalic acid, so I used Formic Pro, really knocked them down.

[@MikeBarryBees]

Don, that is a more effective way than I did it. I agree, everything is treated doing it their way. It gives no space between emerging and capping. I normally just do 4 treats at 7 day intervals and that was based on the fact that I only had Saturdays to really spend time on the hives. Should've done 4 this year. Glad the Formic worked out for you.

[@donaltland7957]

@@MikeBarryBees This year I am trying Apivar. Still have about 2 weeks to go, then will do some more counts.

[@tprater65]

Don’t forget that OA only gets the mites above the caps. If you had a Queen that was really laying down eggs 3-4 wks ago, any treatment after that might not have gotten a lot of mites. Maybe making an artificial brood break via a push-in cage might help with you since you don’t have harsh winters where the Queen is laying very little. If you do a brood break, the mites will crowd cells and end up starving out before the bee emerges. Just my 2 cents... I like all your videos!

[@MikeBarryBees]

Thanks Todd!! Yes, I do understand that and I believe that is a good point to what could've been an issue. I usually do 4 treats, and I did 3 this time. So very good chance I missed some under the caps since this is a stronger hive, although the queens brood looked not so good. A 4th treatment would have covered it better. And I think I like the 4 treats every 5 days to cover the brood cycles. The brood break is something I've thought of. I do them with my splits on the hives that go queenless in the spring obviously, and I believe that has something to do with my losses being a tiny bit lower than average. But I know of a commercial outfit running 300 hives that do exactly what you mentioned. They do not treat. They rely on the brood breaks. They sustain similar losses to commercial outfits that do treat with strips. They actually do the break during the back end of the honey flow going into the dearth. But yes, something to think about in our mild winters. Thanks for the comment!!

[@petermurphy6216]

Hi Mike, I used apistan for the first time this season and I’ve got to say really happy with the mite drop and did do a sugar shake after taking the strips out and most of my hives are low on mites only found 3 mites out of 12 hives but all my queens stopped laying and a few other beekeepers said the same about apistan I will go back to apivar and apigaurd next season I also had 2 of my hives supersede there queens luckily the new queens came back mated so late in the season so will have to keep an eye on these colonies. Thanks mike for sharing your ups and downs in your beekeeping season I know you will get on top of the varroa mites and get that count down all the best and god bless Mike mate.

[@MikeBarryBees]

I've heard good things about Apivar so for you going back to that will be a good bet I believe. Scary when you lose queens for the fall treatments. That's when you can get into trouble for sure. Appreciate you Peter!!

[@brucesouthernsassapiaries8316]

Mike, thanks for the videos!!! This year I noticed a huge difference in the number of hive beetles compared to last year here in central GA. I noticed a huge difference between my hives in central GA and some hives I have in north GA! I went so far as to even start beneficial nematode treatments around my hives in central GA this fall to see if that helps next spring/summer.

[@MikeBarryBees]

I'd be interested in trying the nematodes. I have looked into them from the fella in Georgia. Just haven't committed. Hopefully they work for you...Thanks for the comment!!

[@donbearden1953]

Mike, sorry you have a mite let alone several. I know for a fact that Kelley’s sells the bailable beetle jail traps for $3.00 about twice as high as the beetle blasters. I finally got control over my SHB problems. You ask for a thumbs up 👍 and I have to say I’ve given you a 👍 on every video of yours that I’ve watched except one and I think I’ve watched every one that you’ve made this year. I’ve enjoyed riding along with you and if you do it next season and I’m alive and in my right mind I’ll ride it out again. Thanks!

[@MikeBarryBees]

I surely appreciate it Don. You have been a faithful follower!! Yea, mites are just part of the deal in these times. I am glad to hear they are on Kelley's site. I just like the fact of how they rest between the frames and how wide open you can open the lids. I can see those in a hot pot of soapy water in January, clean and ready to be refilled. BUT, don't want to put the cart before the horse. Need to check them out this weekend or in the following weeks to see how they do.

[@CastleHives]

I like those beetle traps, can you find them still? I used to buy from Brushy also. Enjoy watching your videos, not a how to, just how you do. I’ll be wrapping things up in Ohio soon, feeders going on this week. Our flow got zapped by the cold.

[@MikeBarryBees]

Brian, they are still available One commenter found them on amazon and the actual beetlejail.com site is still selling them. Need to see how they work first before I buy anymore. I'll video the results this weekend. Saw you winter prep hive just a little but ago. Good words of wisdom. I still have a few weeks before I'm wrapping up.

[@CastleHives]

Mike Barry Awesome, thanks Mike. And appreciate the kind words. I tell folks I’m just a rookie and doing things that seem to work in my area. Wish I had more time, our goldenrod is all over, but temps are going to low.

[@MickyBellRoberts]

Mike I am going to start bee keeping in a few weeks time on my new property. I have a lot to learn.

[@MikeBarryBees]

Yessir, I remember your comment in another video. A good backyard beekeeping book and very limited KZbin will go a long way. That way when you read the book, you're getting good, raw info and then you bounce selectively around in videos and check things out. And that includes being selective with my videos too. So many beekeepers getting into your mind with their way can be overwhelming. Honestly, a very good guy for explaining basics on beginning beekeeping is David Burns on KZbin. Just his channel and a good book will have you on your way in no time.

[@MickyBellRoberts]

Mike Barry Thank you so much, I will take your advice.

[@RobertBrown-tx8xk]

I used aprivars strips correctly this year according to the label. I did spot check mites before I treated . And I checked them immediately after and I washed from 3 to 10%. After I treated. I fully recommend everyone check might loads after you treat. Have a nice day .

[@MikeBarryBees]

Wow, that's crazy. And you're right, check to see if your treatments are working. Opened my eyes for sure.

[@rebeccad5750]

I got those beetle traps on Amazon this year! I think a 12 or 15 pack

[@MikeBarryBees]

Very good to know Rebecca. hope to check on them this weekend. Have you tried them yet?

[@rebeccad5750]

@@MikeBarryBees yes I’ve had them in all summer. I have not gotten a single beetle in them though! But like you said, they don’t like full sun, I think that’s working to my advantage

[@m.scotthern6306]

I have the beetle jails and they do work but I dont have near the beetles that you do in LA. 6 is a lot for me.

[@MikeBarryBees]

Very good to know Scott. What type of bait, if any, do you use??

[@m.scotthern6306]

@@MikeBarryBees Actually you taught me something. I didn't realize that you needed bait. I just put oil in the large pockets. I know it's not a "How to" video but I still gleam a tidbit here and there. I did see a video a while back where a guy cut holes in the bottom board in the back corners and installed baby food jars, half full of oil, with screened tops. The bees push the beetles to the corners and the beetles fall through the screen and drown while the bees just walk across. looked like a sound principle but I never found a follow up video to see how it worked out. You keep making videos and I'll keep watching! Thanks. Totally unrelated but I'm so excited I can't help it. I am doing my first hive cut out in a home tomorrow!

[@MikeBarryBees]

M. Scott Hern I have seen someone do that that by inserting an oil trap screwed to the back of the hive. And like you, I never heard on a follow up. Well, have fun with that cutout. They’re adventurous and kind of fun until about the 10th or 15th one!! Take your time is the best thing you can do. There will be a lot of honey this time of year, so I would try to cut the brood out first and the wait until the end to pull the honey. If possible of course. Otherwise you will be skating in honey. Mr. Ed’s latest video is a good example for leaving the honey until the end.

[@m.scotthern6306]

@@MikeBarryBees I watched Mr Ed's video. He should have put the veil on. I was hoping for that dreamy of a cut out. I don't have a flir or any honey robber. They were not in the wall like I thought but between the floor joists in the crawl space under the house. 8 hours later they are safe at home in a box with their comb and queen. "Thank you Jesus!" Here is the strange part so it was a basketball sized hive, healthy looking bees, only 4 hive beetles. 7 combs stacked with bees and zero eggs or larvae or drones. They had pollen capped honey and nectar all the resources of a strong hive. Can anyone explain that?

[@MikeBarryBees]

M. Scott Hern congrats on getting it done and home. And yes, Thank You Jesus!! Very strange about no eggs or larvae. If no queen, then why no drones. Unless she’s stopped for some reason due to the weather. Strange. Guess you’ll just have to give them a week or so and see if she’s there or any eggs.

[@alphaxanon]

Here's the seminar version of the Randy Oliver article in American Bee Journal kzbin.info/www/bejne/sInNdYZ6bpd8gtU Also, the tests of various liquids for mite washing on his website: scientificbeekeeping.com/refining-the-mite-wash-part-1-treatment-threshold-and-solutions-to-use/

[@MikeBarryBees]

Thanks for the link! I haven’t been to his site in some time!!

[@hockinghillshoneyfarm9273]

I always like your video's Mike start hammering them mites you might want to get some apivar strips

[@MikeBarryBees]

Thanks so much David!! Not quiet there yet, but if I get there, I really would like to try HopGuard.

[@wadebarnes6720]

I had some of mine of them to fail lid pumped up and it filled up with bees

[@johncook3178]

Question for you. Did you do one treatment in August, or two OAV treatments five day apart?

[@MikeBarryBees]

I did 3 treatments each 7 days apart. I normally do 4 treatments 7 days apart.

[@carolyngildonjones64199]

Yes I meant Mention

[@davidshupe3266]

I use ISO heat in the red bottle. 99% Isopropyl alcohol ....works good and can get it most places.

[@MikeBarryBees]

Yea, the higher the better form what I read. We're finally getting some 90% plus on the shelves here. But that ISO Heet should be plentiful at the auto parts stores. Need to keep that in mind, although as you heard, I really don't do as many checks as I should. Might need to start next season...Thanks for the tip!!

[@charlesthomas5737]

Mike, do get any cold weather in the deep south and does your queens stop lay brood in the winter months?

[@MikeBarryBees]

We get cold Charles, but not for sustained periods. The bees won't be in a tight cluster for long periods of time. The queen will normally stop about December into January, but most of the time, not a complete shut down for very long. I have capped brood in the hives, tis past winter matter of fact, at the end of January. If we get some sustained 20F nights for a week or so, my bees do so much better as most pests are killed of, except what's in the cluster with them. Last year we had 2 hard freezes and that's it.

[@charlesthomas5737]

@@MikeBarryBees I didn't think that you got that cold where you live, I though that your temperatures might get down in the upper thirty's. I would think that spring come early for you probably early March.

[@kellyjones2550]

What made you start treating? You said in the beginning that you didn’t treat.

[@MikeBarryBees]

I have been treating with OA for about 4 years. Only in I’m my first 4 years was I treatment free. I have never treated with miticides. I still don’t treat with them or with MAQS. That may have been what you heard. I don’t want to get into the expense or the chemicals. But I have never said I am treatment free. OA is considered an organic compound, so I’m at least able to keep the harsh chemicals out. Plus the expense is crazy for the strips. And not all strips are harsh chemicals these days, so I’d go to those first if I ever change my mind.

[@wadebarnes6720]

You did treat after finding that many right

[@MikeBarryBees]

I have not re-treated yet. Two were within thresholds, so banking that more than not are likely within thresholds, so I’m going to re-treat closer to December.

[@wadebarnes6720]

@@MikeBarryBees I had a box of bees that was doing really well then die down just about to nothing and I treated them for Mites then three days later treated them again in less than a month I thought they were swarming but they was doing their first flight so I looked inside the box that girl had to lay every frame after that second treatment because that colony really took off

[@privatebubba8876]

The only way to do a mite check.

[@MikeBarryBees]

Yes, it always stinks to kill the bees, but 300 is better than 30,000. I did a sugar shake I think my 3rd year and in addition to not being as accurate, it’s not as easy either. I’m noticing a lot less people checking and treating with powdered sugar. When I first started it seemed like everyone was on the sugar.

[@privatebubba8876]

@@MikeBarryBees When we used to have meetings and training at our club, I would always do let them do a sugar shake and an alcohol wash for comparison. Man I miss those days.

[@Swarmstead]

Did my first mite count awhile back with the inspector and got 52. We're gonna see if a colony with that kind of load can survive without treatments.

[@VidKatMA1]

Wow. You're asking for viruses at the very least

[@MikeBarryBees]

Well, be interested to hear what happens. That's scary high. But you know, we have the majority of our club that does not treat. Here's how the mentor who ran the club for many years before he passed explained it. He used to treat hos 200 and 300 hundred hives. When hurricane Katrina wiped him out and he came back, he decided not to treat anymore. He accepted the losses as he refined the genetics in his yard. And he always gave this example (I edited this our of the video by the way). If I have 10 hives and lose 30%, I now have seven. I will spit 5 to 7 the next spring with one half making my honey and the other half growing (let the bees re-queen). That gives us 12 to 14 hives, plus any swarms caught within 2 miles (genetic pool integrity). So now he made his increases even with his losses and made the honey he needed to serve his clientele. Of course he was back running 200 hives and his losses weren't horrible. 10 to 20 percent. That's was just hos plan and it's not one that grows apiaries super fast, but it worked for him and works in a lot of member's yards.

[@Swarmstead]

@@MikeBarryBees thanks for taking the time for such a cool reply. It's true though. I had 75 last fall. 45 survived. Zero treatments. Split those into 90+. Then the swarm calls started coming in. 😆 I sold a bunch, but had to give away so many colonies this season but I'm having a ball. I settled at about 100 going into this winter. And I just do this for fun really. I hate dealing with honey, but I still do it when I have to.

[@Swarmstead]

@@VidKatMA1 I'm asking for selection, and I get it. Keep some bees.

[@MikeBarryBees]

@@Swarmstead Yep, that's exactly how Mr. Julian used to do it. You grew and lost, but still grew. Mr. Ed and I sat under Mr. Julien's teaching for a few years and Mr. Julien would get on Jeff so bad for bringing all those cutouts into his yard!! Told Mr. Ed it was like picking up stray, mutt dogs and mating them with registered pure breds!! LOL!! But he had something with the genetics and taking the losses. And he grew back year by year....

[@carolyngildonjones64199]

No I don’t mind if you Mentor my channel 🙂

[@MikeBarryBees]

You mean mention I am guessing, not mentor?

[@carolyngildonjones64199]

Yes sorry lol

[@peterlue9274]

Holy Jesus shirt!

[@MikeBarryBees]

I kind of thought of that when I was editing!! Thanks for watching Peter!!

[@peterlue9274]

@@MikeBarryBees I really enjoy your videos. Keep up the great work!

[@johnkasprak5707]

Mike - check out honeybeehealthcoalition.org there is a ton of great information on the site and a very good section on varroa. They breakdown all the options for treatments; what, when why, etc. Problem for us is temperature limits some of our options. I find those beetle jail traps work well and I do reuse mine. Good wrap-up! John

[@MikeBarryBees]

Thanks John!! Very good site. I'm glad to hear that the jails work. I really like the way the sit and how they can be cleaned. I will check them in a video this weekend and see what we caught.

[@rodneymiddleton9624]

First!!! The beetle jails stay flush with the frames. I bet it catches more beetles. Thanks for the video.

[@MikeBarryBees]

Thanks Rodney!! I agree, they stay flush and I like that for keeping the beetles from hiding underneath like the blasters. And I hope you're right, that it catches more beetles!!

[@MikeBarryBees]

Thanks for watching OBAMFSpike!!

[@wadebarnes6720]

Don't tell me it don't work I just bought the gun the acid to go with it and a little generator

[@MikeBarryBees]

Wade, I’m not saying it doesn’t work. But in my case it wasn’t as effective as I would have liked in this case. I should’ve done a fourth treatment and a day or so closer together.

[@lastphcm]

I figure you should be able to get another 20 years out of that t-shirt.

[@MikeBarryBees]

I'm hoping so Gerald. It's got almost 15 now so another 20 is definitely possible. LOL!!

[@billc3405]

Randy Oliver has a very good site called scientific beekeeping. Com