Varroa Mite Management - Honey Bee Pests, Parasites & Diseases Part 4 - Beekeeping Crash Course

In this episode of the Beekeeping Crash Course I talk about crafting a varroa mite management plan, including alcohol washes, treatments and varroa mitigation management methods.

#beekeeper #beekeeping #bees

[kathyhathaway]

Very, very good video. I think there are a real problem when someone is getting into bee keeping they are not told about all the things that goes along with taking care of them and the money it takes for everything like Treatment, treatment equipment, feeding bees, adding boxes from spring splits, equipment for honey production, etc . I just think people do NOT have no idea about everything that goes along with bee keeping until after they have dipped their toe into it and then it is over there head . So to say all this you just put out a GREAT video . I hope this video goes out to everyone. Thanks

[BGgamesca]

Thanks for taking the time to make this series, it goes a long way in helping us new bee keepers.

[lynngramm]

I really like your videos, you are easy to listen to and understand. God Bless you

[stufarnham]

Measure your mite levels. Treat. Test for effect. Repeat every month. Change up your treatments through the year. Don’t take shortcuts.
FWIW I use Amitraz strips in early spring, thymol and formic acid at either end of the summer, and OAV late fall and late winter. Splits and brood breaks when the opportunity presents. Great video series, Brett, thanks for the effort and stay safe and healthy.

[scotthenderson]

Thanks for your time and effort you put into this I and I'm sure others learned so much. I might just take you up on the ask a ton of questions.

[stubbshomestead]

Thank you so much for this series, Im sure it will be useful for years to come!

[rogerbarnes]

Thanks for a great series. I get my first 2 nucs in May and look forward to putting the knowledge to practical use.

[JBEESHoneyJoelBrutcher]

Great series! I only used brood breaks last year, and lost two hives over winter. Upon realizing the mites where the problem, I treated all hives with OAV. While doing brood breaks this year I plan on treating on day 24, when there should be no capped brood in the hive. Thanks for all the info you put out.

[beesandtractors]

Another great series Brett
Thank you!

[nadiewiegand]

Fantastic series, thank you for taking the time to help us out. Just a suggestion - in Australia we use icing sugar (powdered sugar) instead of the alcohol and we mix longer but a little more gently. That way your bees live through the test. Cheers :)

[ressikanflute]

You made that so easy to understand from the life cycle to the treatments... Thanks

[rossg]

Thank for the effort Bret, it’s appreciated. Second year Beek in Connecticut.

[rogerkusabs]

A big hi from New Zealand , great series and looking forward to the next

[russellkoopman]

I am sure that this took a lot of time for you to put together and it shows. Thanks for sharing this info. The concern I have for new Beek is they rely on OAV to much. If the bees have brood you are only killing maybe 20-30% of the mites and within 2-3 weeks they will be back as strong as before treatment. Kamon Reynolds treated a hive with a 96 mite count 7 times with OAV doing it in 5 day intervals and did not get the mites under control until he finally used Apivar. Every wash he had the numbers were lower but not sufficiently low. I like the idea of using OAV after a brood break from a split just before the hive starts to cap the new brood, early spring and late fall.

[dianemarcellus]

Thank you for all of the videos. You have been very helpful to me.

[stvnsnyder]

You may not be looking at these old videos anymore but firstly thanks for the information hopefully this year will be my first successful year because of it. My question is that I herd about using menthol essential oil as a mite treatment in the spring. What are your thoughts on this?

[davidm]

Thanks for sharing your knowledge- I appreciate your efforts in creating videos!

[rab]

Another job done well. Thanks. Appreciate the knowledge you keep spreading.

[danielwagner]

You said in your video that drones often have the most varroa on them so why don't we use drones
for the alcohol wash ? or are the nurse bee more vulnerable because they can't fly ?

[taylorluckett]

have you ever heard of or tried using rubarb leaves inbetween your boxs for a mite treatment?