Varroa Mite INFESTATION... Honey Bee Colony UPDATE!!!

[@JMK_Fam]

It’s been a yeah, hopefully you get a notification, what are the pros and cons of not using queen excluders??

[@BeesNTrees47]

Randy Oliver says he gets higher mite counts when he uses dawn dish soap. He said it has made him concerned that isopropyl isn't as accurate as we used to think.

[@sarashappyhives1828]

The dawn water also does not seem to upset the bees as much as the alcohol. Bees are already disturbed by your visit and the smell of alcohol multiplies their agitation.

[@hootervillehoneybees8664]

We use dish soap half the mites fall off without even shaking it .. rest with very little shake

[@SageandStoneHomestead]

Kaylee I was taught to run the yellow cup along the frame in a downward motion. It throws them off balance and they fall right in the cup. It's pretty slick.

[@MrThornbridge]

The yellow cap on the tester kit is also a measuring cup for the correct ratio of bees.

[@TheHoneystead]

That would be more helpful. Lol

[@seeyouonthemountainbeekeeping]

Treat the apriary as one so I would go and check the other colonies in the apirary. They spread from those close to each other.

[@mauriziogiordana8713]

Ciao, excellent method of varroa detection, I also use it in Italy, I will do it these days to evaluate the rinfestation before wintering .. the tampon treatment I did in July

[@Jamesjghome]

North Michigan greetings, thanks for sharing your life with us. You truly bring a breath of peace love and joy. Stay authentic love ya girl

[@derbaschdler4410]

Greetings from Germany! According to my knowledge Oxalic acid does not work in the brood. And this is where most of the mites can be found. After harvesting the honey in late July, 60% formic acid is used in a special evaporation device over here. This is basically the same thing as Formic Pro but it is probably a lot cheaper. Oxalic acid does not kill the mites in the brood, so we use Oxalic acid only after the bees stop breeding in early December in order to kill all remaining mites. After that productive hives will not be treated again until next July. Most hives in Germany have a base, which is just covered by a stainless steel screen. Below the screen, there is a board, which can be removed to the rear. Many beekeepers over here keep the board out all year and just put it in when they want to count the mites. At this time of the year the recommendation is that there there should'nt be more than 3 dead mites per day, if the last treatment was 3 weeks ago. 1 dead mite means there are 100 mites alive in the hive. I put the board in once the overnight temperature drops below 45°F. The board is commonly called diaper over here. It allows for easy checking mites before, during and after bee treatment. No need to kill some with alcohol to find out and no need for protection during checking either.

[@hassomat_wotb]

Very nice answer and that's exactly how it is. I take as thresholds a natural mite fall of more than 5 per day in economic colonies in September to initiate further treatment with formic acid. Otherwise, this year I have fully relied on dividing and treating to treat the colonies in the brood-free state with oxalic acid. Has worked extremely well. Many greetings from Lübeck

[@SageandStoneHomestead]

We used formic last year and got a 100% winter survival rate with booming bees. We used both formic and apivar this year on different colonies depending on the honey situation. Time will tell how each did.

[@brad2548]

Wish there was a save option for info like this.

[@jedw9496]

when did you use the formic pro?

[@davidvanderdussen2554]

Glad to see you are following an IPM program. The colony was well over threshold prior to your treatment but you successfully saved it, it is now robust and thriving, but now needs a cleanup of the bees that will make up the winter cluster. The Formic Pro label covers this under "Timing", and says under "Option One" to allow one month between applications. FYI, I treated once with two strips in the spring before doing splits, and did my fall treatment yesterday. The bees look great. 🐝😊

[@ShannaWatson1]

I really enjoy all your videos. We are on year 2 with Bees and 2 hives. I have had so many problems this year as well. The mites have been awful. I’m in zone 6A maybe the high heat and no rain.

[@andrewhammill6148]

Glad to see the colony is improving.

[@alanbiesemeier6930]

Always enjoy watching you work with your ladies.

[@charlesvaughn5055]

thanks for the content, and the information about the varroa mite infestatiion. hope all goes well. have a great day, and week-end.

[@billbo520]

That a good drop from the previous wash I laugh with you doing the wash it looks just like me tools flying everywhere as the bees are all running up the container LOL.

[@TheHoneystead]

😆😆😆

[@CastleHives]

Great results. Would have been curious to see the bottom boards to see the dead varroa. Happy to see the FP worked and your count is much better. I'll be pulling supers very very soon, checking my counts, and treating as needed. Appreciate you sharing Kaylee. . #beethelighthouse

[@joybochsler7160]

Great job

[@johnbenzinger3338]

I have a colony in the same condition, I had commented earlier. 21 mites on first test. I did oxalic dribble. Most of brood was out. Tested yesterday 5 weeks later. 27 mites. Ouch! I put 2 Formic Acid pads on. I’ll check again in 14 days 🐝🥲

[@dawnmeeks1420]

Everything gone work out beautiful ❤️❤️❤️❤️

[@litecoinbull5129]

oxalic acid extended release works great i use shop towels for 20 day knocks the mites down nicely and very easy on the queen and colony

[@catchemalive]

I’ve had way better results with Apiguard in the fall than anything else!! I also do about 3 OA dribbles thruout winter, spring, and then early summer also. Just did my annual alcohol wash after 3 rounds of 33g Apiguard 7 days apart. All 4 colonies washed a ZERO after that!! 👍

[@offshoot1008]

We finished harvesting our honey yesterday and checked for voroa . Its our 2nd year. We lost last years bees to mites and because we received a poor hive and didnt know it at the time. So this year we have 2 healthy hives from someone else. My son who helps me with the bees gets anxiety. I try to get him to watch some videos but his heart is not in it much . His heart is in helping me . When it came to checking mites after we robbed them of the honey my son started to get anxiety. Im dealing with him and the bees and i forgot the video i watched to shake the bees into a box. Instead i tried to scrape some off a frame which did not work so i brushed them into the mite container. The bees of course were angry. So i got 88 bees to test from one hive and 78 from another . There were no mites in either sample of bees . I will still treat for mites but going to give them a couple days to cool down. After the mite treatment we will know what to do to recheck for mites.

[@SageandStoneHomestead]

Gopro's are NOT easier in the heat. Mine craps out very 20 minutes or so when it's this hot out.

[@bottomupbrewz8981]

Great vid! I’m almost done with FP now. I have one hive with a screen bottom board, been interesting to pull the board and seeing all the dead buggers. Looking forward/nervous in checking after treatment.. the hive was like yours with a mite bomb thinking of vaping them after for a follow up( if needed). Looking forward to seeing your next steps! Good luck!!

[@TheHoneystead]

I’m hoping to do my OA very soon!!

[@badabing68]

Use a shop clamp light, aluminum. For a funnel.

[@TheHoneystead]

Hmmm I might have one of those!

[@FreeRangeArtFarm]

That was quite a mite count drop over the few weeks. It sounds like a good success with the Formic Pro. OA should be good to keep the mite count stable...

[@TheHoneystead]

I agree!!!! I’m thinking OA will do the trick! It’s came in and now time to film and do the thing lol!

[@fullscale4me]

Would zapping most/all the drone cells help the remaining mite issue? Other's have said the mites lay their eggs in the drone cells more often.

[@hassomat_wotb]

You have a really great brood nest, but what you need to know is that more than 2/3 of the mites are in the capped brood. This means that firstly the method of washing with alcohol is not meaningful and secondly the number of mites increases exponentially now in autumn. Treatment with oxalic acid works only in the brood-free state, because it is a contact poison and is absorbed by the bees. It does not work in the brood. I would suggest a short-term treatment with formic acid.

[@TheHoneystead]

Yep you are right I will be doing multiple treatments of OA over a period. The way I looked at it even if I saw a small number of mites I would more than likely still be treating. I probably should’ve showed that frame a little bit better but it had a ton of young bees on it so I made the decision to use that one.

[@beesandseas]

You made me feel so much better my mite inspection (collection of bees). Looks like a train wreck and panic. Lol. You did good.

[@bohemianrogue3170]

There's a mushroom that gets rid of the mites too!

[@dertythegrower]

Yeah bee fungi research by Jennifer, as well as Paul Stamets.. it stops the mite but not the bee.

[@TheHoneystead]

That is my goal this fall is to REALLY research fungi methods and make the jump!

[@dertythegrower]

@@TheHoneystead Jennifer Han is her name, very good bee researcher who found the fungus that works on the mites. Paul Stamets as well is big into it.

[@dertythegrower]

content hour long speech... Jennifer Han 2021 - Verroa mites without miticides. that Should bring it up

[@andikerr3809]

Love the bee shed

[@jaibusby673]

Thanks for the lovely videos, I have been testing if possible to do oxalic acid vaporizer and use the mite drop into trays as a count just seems easier to vapor them and i don't have to drown bees as with the washes, and if so how many before we need something harsher like formic? like 20+?

[@marlanalesage9049]

Hi, I'm a new beekeeper and lost my first hive over the winter. I also just read Dr Leo's books and articles about treatment free bees. Basically he says most beekeepers are producing honey full of chemicals and sugar water. I want to continue with a new colony but can't afford new equipment. He advocates the horizontal hives. And I don't want to risk losing more bees to mites. Are you familiar with Leo Sharashkiin?

[@sourwoodbranchbeefarm6515]

I had 1 with about 50 mites and 1 with about 75. I'm doing a trapping type varroa removal along with treatments. I'll post video on my channel when process is complete

[@dertythegrower]

You need a specific fungi and bacillus.. you can do it. Paul Stamets bee research has a lot of simple solutions. The fungi is from Japan that he found and now replicates here

[@valdirpereira5121]

*UM DIA MARAVILHOSO PARA VOCÊ 👏🏻*

[@keithlomas6107]

I understand the secret to healthy bee populations is a good percentage of bee colonies in the wild. Throughout much of the civilized world this is lacking. I guess it helps to keep the genetic integrity of bees intact.

[@danmartin2533]

I have tried raising bees for 3 years. The first year I had the best luck. Didn't treat for mites. The 2nd and 3rd year treated for mites with strips and the bees never recovered. I think they were a.p. strips in early may. Here in Kimball Nebraska we have been in 3 years of drought. Between the strips, drought and red ants my poor bees just are struggling. Wish I could get some suggestions what I'm doing wrong.

[@twspma3549]

I've heard that the lantana flower will be a natural preventative to the mite infestation. Can you confirm that you've tried them before?

[@TheHoneystead]

I’ll look :)

[@dawnmeeks1420]

I love your channel 🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝

[@FshHnt192]

Did you happen to count how many bees you actually had in the cup? Allot of times it ends up a good bit more than 300 bees making the actual mite percentage lower...

[@benjamindejonge3624]

Plant as well rhubarb in the gardens

[@shawnboutersebouterseurban387]

I think it was Better Bee that I bought a funnel kit with jars that screw to the side. You remove a frame lower it inside the funnel and shake the bees off. They go right into the jar

[@TheHoneystead]

Yeah… I need that hahaha

[@shawnboutersebouterseurban387]

Oh I forgot to say I bought it at Hive Life last year

[@shawnboutersebouterseurban387]

@@TheHoneystead Wow that was a fast response!

[@howardroe7515]

Try Api life var for the varroa mite.

[@drydenstewartenterprises]

Im starting my own little homestead up here in BC Canada in 2 yrs, I love honey and because I want to be as self sufficient as possible I was considering keeping bees for my entire sugary needs, However, I am/was allergic to bee stings as a child (I might have grown out of it??? Anyway) I have considered building a flow hive into the wall of the shop so I could drain off the honey with out actually interacting with the bee's but now realize I wouldn't be able to do the maintenance involved in the bee keeping end. I have heard of people getting stung threw the bee suits, but is there such thing as an actual bee proof suit? That one you wear seems pretty good!

[@bunnyyoung3232]

I'm allergic and I wear a very similar suit and goat skin gloves 🤞🏻all's going well so far, just triple check suit zippers, before I start constantly check suit for tares rips etc and take your time, smoke is your friend and as I only have a small amount of hives I'm very choosey about weather conditions on inspection days if weather no good I cancel and do it on a good day! I love it. Good luck. My suit is triple thickness can withstand hornet sting 👍🏻

[@anrenes3459]

I wear a similar suit that is triple layer vented but I still get stung on my shoulder now and then, bc the suit lays so tight against skin there. I have also smashed a bee stinker through to my leg by supporting a hives box with my leg and a bee was there trying to sting. So you need to do venom thereby and carry an epi pen and Benadryl. I’m not allergic but I have those in the truck.

[@bunnyyoung3232]

@@anrenes3459 thank you for this I've always been so trusting of it, I do wear a good layer of clothes aswell so I guess I've just been lucky also the suit is quite big for me I could of sized down but I think the extra baggy material may help! But I sure will be more aware of this! I always have anti histamine to hand but where did you get the epi pen? my Dr wouldn't prescribe me one but I would feel safer having one! Many thanks

[@Alecia-Brown]

We just started having this issue here in Australia and our authorities r destroying hives to try and eradicate them

[@toddyeske9069]

how can I get in touch with you

[@stevehildebrand8448]

One of the best beekeepers in NC says "Mites are here to stay". Dang, but DUH they have been here for 30+ years. The other bad news is that they are now infesting your healthy hives. So..we gotta learn to live with them and the most progressive beekeepers are busy developing bees that are mite tolerant. But that's a long term action. So what to do in the short term ?? ?? I wish I had an answer. Keep up the good work, you might just be the best beekeeper in VA.

[@TheHoneystead]

I’m really hoping to fully understand the use of fungi for varroa and looking forward to trying that technique!

[@ningsojourning]

You seem like =that= beautiful Sicilian woman who (although never wanted to be, has learned) is a proud woman. And &of course& represents the epitome of the love, your 'gracious' (in God's terms) lovely mother, emanates. True that,

[@markbooth8458]

First I would have treated the entire yard. Varroa can migrate from one colony to another very easy. Especially within the same yard I would retreat with apivar. Oxalic acid doesn't kill the mites in the capped broad. The dribble method is really hard on the bees and you can only do it once. The bees that are emerging now are your winter bees.

[@seeyouonthemountainbeekeeping]

treat at leasr twice with oa

[@hobbyimkerarslan]

👍

[@GUAR45]

I use a Modified Perone hive. no verroa ever.

[@larrytornetta9764]

I don’t think you need the clumsy gloves. The strongest colonies crash the hardest.

[@bagifelu5481]

Tu devrais le faire au sucre glace au moins les abeilles ne meurent pas

[@dertythegrower]

Sugar? ha.. the solution in studies has been found, it is a special fungi that gets the mites but not the bees... learned this years ago

[@lilabrat]

@@dertythegrower No silly a icing sugar mite test, it’s were you use icing sugar instead of rubbing alcohol. You can do a full mite test without killing all the tester bees!

[@richardmitchell5369]

No need to kill hundreds of bees for varoa count,people talk about accuracy of count but this is very vague reason ,drop count on sticking paper is just as good and is easy to use, been using it for 10 years and have no problems with mite control. Oxalic acid three days apart over 5 , 2mg a time ,single brood box.works autumn and spring.

[@KajunHomestead]

❤👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻

[@dcsblessedbees]

Give them some OA, they are doing good. Amazon has it.

[@ValdirSilva-sz1ms]

*8*

[@garlonholder476]

Have you ever Heard of BeeWeaver? Their bees are really effective against varroa mites according to the videos I've seen. Additionally, I have a friend that uses their queens when he does splits. We are far enough south where the aggressiveness of feral bees could be problematic. So the need to re-queen a colony with a BeeWeaver queen instead of relying on unknown genetics could be real. If you would like, I can send you a link to a KZbin video that demonstrates the effectiveness of the BeeWeaver Queens.