Hello friends, from Long Lane Honey Bee Farms. Sheri and I (David) welcome one to another basic beekeeping lesson. Feel absolve to share these lessons with others. We recently heard in which a beekeeping association designs off each lesson and places them in a binder because of their associates. We are thankful to have an opportunity to help others in the beautiful field of beekeeping. Today, I wish to demonstrate how to control your varroa mites without medication. I’ve a video below that show me dealing with an entire hive in about 5 minutes.
I have previously (Lesson 28) written an entire lesson explaining the annals, reproduction cycle and how to recognize mites. You might like to review that lesson before proceeding through this lesson about how to properly treat for mites with powdered glucose. Powdered sugar will not get rid of each single mite, but it greatly reduces mites in a colony if treated properly. Along with green plastic brood comb and screen bottom boards, powdered glucose treatments can reduce your mite insert.
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Maybe you should consider moving away from the medication fitness treadmill and approach mites with an IPM (Integrated Pest Management) method without chemicals. We sell a complete kit that includes a screen bottom level panel, two green drone combs and a powdered sugars sifting screen which you can see found in one of my videos below.
39.00. These one piece green drone combs allows the bees to improve only drones on these 2 frames. The mites choose the drone cells since they stay capped longer. When sealed, freeze the frame simply, killing all mites in the sealed drone brood. Return the body to the same hive and they’ll clean out the frame and repeat the procedure. You will want to get rid of as much mites as it can be given that we are into past due summer. USUALLY DO NOT carry a mite infestation into winter. Many mites bring infections and can kill your hives through the cold winter season.
But, when you can lessen your mites then the winter era of bees will emerge without having to be bitten by a mite. How will you carry out the powdered sugar drop? WITHIN A NUT SHELL: Pour one cup of powdered sugars onto the very best of the frames in a single deep hive body for at the least 3 consecutive weeks on the same day every week.
A six week treatment is even more effective. The powdered sugar falls between the frames, coats the bees and causes the mites to reduce their suction cup grasp on the bees and then falls through the display bottom plank, or from the bee on their next airline flight. I strongly suggest a six week application which means you can be certain to break the mite’s brood cycle. If you treat only once, but the bulk of your mites are within the capped brood, then that treatment will only help with the mites that are away and on the bees or comb.
But as soon as the other bees emerge, the mites again spread. That is why a six week application is so effective. A FAR MORE DETAILED EXPLANATION First, purchase some powdered glucose. There is a debate on whether the corn starch within most store bought confectionery sugar may or may not be best for bees.
Most of us aren’t too concerned about the small amount of corn starch in comparison to how effectively it can help reduce mites. However, if you have a good blender and some right time, consider taking granulated glucose and milling up your own corn starch free powdered sugars. A good blinder can do it very fast, but retain in brain that the glucose will become pretty warm when you grind it up into powder.
The volume remains the same, to make 2 mugs of powdered glucose use 2 cups of granulated sugar. Use 1 glass (8 oz) of powdered sugar per hive body and I do not treat my honey supers because I really do not need powdered sugar in the honey. But, if you time things right, you can treat as as you take off your honey supers soon. Year my bees are still attracting nectar enjoy it is July This, so I’m treating a few that still have supers as in the video below.