Varroa Mite Monitoring with Screen Bottom Boards - Scale Hives June 6-10

Explaining how I use the screened bottom board and sticky board as a monitoring tool for understanding varroa mite infestation levels.

[whothatswho]

I am not a bee keeper, but if you want to make sure you see all the mites, I would recommend drawing some grid lines on the file folder before you coat it in shortening, Then just scan each zone prior to clearing it. Just a thought.

[maximilianandi]

Hey, your videos are very helpful! Thanks a lot!
I hope you continue to film.

[honigtrailapiary]

Devin, not sure that counting the mites on the sticky board to see the level of mite investation a colony has the way you described is very accurate.. I live in SE Ariz. And I was doing the same thing as you and not seeing hardly any mites on the sticky boards and thinking that my hives had very few mites. (another beekeeper nearby was doing the same) But on December 1st I started a Apivar treatment in my hives and after just 6 days of a 42day treatment period I counted about 85 mites on one sticky board and on the sticky board of another hive there were over 200. Luckily all dead. Perhaps a powdered sugar or alcohol wash is a more accurate way of monitoring the level of mite infestations a colony has. I plan another treatment in the spring before the honey flows. This will be an annual treatment regime for me. Enjoy your videos! 🐝

[brettlong]

Devan really find your videos informative! Thanks for sharing all of your experiences!

[dennisarterburn]

Here is a MACTAC....I at one time was a hobby beekeeper....till a neighbor figured out I had bee hives in my back yard. That ended that. But I was also a printer, and a product we kept on hand was called MacTac. That is a brand name but other paper suppliers may carry the same stuff under a different name. MacTac was the stuff if someone wanted a bumper sticker, that was what we used. I cut it to size to fit the bottom board, peel the back off and put it into the hive. Sticky side up. Anything falling through the screen was captured. I would bet that anyone could go to any print shop and get it cut to size, pretty cheaply, and get a really good count of hive pest count.

[swordfishkind]

last year in the fall, I had 1 beehive with many mites a day more than 10. my other 3 beehives 2a 5 mites per week.
but with a treatment with oxalic acid. There are almost as many mites everywhere. so do not be fooled with the natural mites drop

[michaelrobinson]

Awesome! I've been looking forward to another scale hive video. Of course, monitoring and treatment of Varroa mites is irrelevant to this beekeeper, but I still find it interesting to see how others manage them.

[pavicadosenovic]

Great work Devan, I love your videos, they're always so informative! You're right on the money for treatment recommendations, though if you're gunning for accuracy, nothing beats an alcohol wash of 300 bees to determine your level of infestation, which is what you really want to know. However, stickyboards, if used often, can be a useful indicator for determining mite levels over a long period of time. No excuses everyone, monitor your mite levels and your bees and your neighbours will thank you for it!

[navarra]

Hey anyone know why you wouldn’t leave the sticky tray permanently or have diatomaceous earth to help

[TheWinezen]

Super videos Devan. THank you for sharing

[branchman]

Thanks alot for the video! I really like your style of doing videos, great educational value for a beginner! Also refreshing to see other than elderly ladies keeping bees. Keep up the good work! :)
Greetings from Finland.

[carolinemannaerts]

What do you do if your mite counts are very high but it's too hot to treat with formic acid?

[camdenkingsley]

Can you always prepare for mites, or do you all wait until you get them? (I'm a noob)

[hootervillehoneybees]

Mite counts been really low here in Michigan this year so fare .. after last year we were down right under attack.. not sure what's going on .. why one year there bad .. did a mead wash found 1 mite
.. after treatment OVA only seen one or two on the sticky board

[StephenBiggers]

Love your videos. I tried the single brood box in Texas this spring. The bees were doing great but would not come up a draw wax on my medium honey supers. my best hive swarmed and I ended up adding double deeps to all 6 colonies. loads of bees but my wife is complaining that they keep all the honey. Is there a way to get them up and draw new comb. I even added a top feeder on a couple to see if that would work. The bees just hung out in the medium super space. Thanks for any advice.

[PlaceOfRob]

Hi Devan, your videos are fantastic. I've seen so many videos on YouTube where the presenter says "and we'll check back in a week and see how things are doing" and that's the end of the video and there is no followup video. As a novice beekeeper, I'm very excited to follow you and your scale hives through an entire season in real time. Unfortunately, in Vancouver we're a few weeks ahead of you so I'm learning too late everything I should have done. Next year I will have to be more diligent about swarm prevention ;-).

A couple questions: 1. Will you check all your hives using sticky boards or will you rely on the scale hives as an indication of general mite pressure in the area? 2. Can you recommend a source in Canada for the Mite Away Quick Strips?

Thanks.

[kotygorman]

What part of Ontario are you in? I’m keeping bees east of Kingston. Thanks for the videos !

[dalesman]

I’ve a feeling this is a dumb question, but here goes anyway.
Does the threshold count depend on the number of bees - ie with double brood boxes you’d surely get twice the count for the same infestation percent?

[tpaige]

Hi Devan, thanks for the video. Is the sticky board the only way you do mite counts? No alcohol wash or sugar roll?

[Carniverous_Creations]

I've seen a couple videos of using vaporized mineral oil to control mites naturally. Have you looked into or tried that method?