Time to Treat

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 I wish this was a perfect world and there were never any problems, but there are problems, even in the Bee world. The big problem right now is the Varroa mite, aka Varroa destructor. If not kept under control the Varroa mite can destroy your hive. There are several different treatments, depending on the time of year and your particular situation. To find out all about keeping a healthy hive I would suggest going to the Honey Bee Health Coalition web site. https://honeybeehealthcoalition.org/ You need to be a student of the Varroa and other health issues that can happen to your hive. Another great resource is the website https://scientificbeekeeping.com/ Don't think if you ignore the Varroa it will go away or will never happen to you.

This past week I treated my hives for Varroa. I have used a couple methods but lately have been using Formic Acid Pro. It is a natural treatment so can be used even right before harvesting honey and has been found to be very effective at killing the Varroa. It has to be used when temperatures are above 50F and below 80F though, so it may not fit your time table or where you live. Below you can see me and my wife treating our hive.


With Formic Acid Pro you are supposed to put two strips above the brood chamber for 14 days. They also say to open the entrance up and put in a bottom board. I started having some robbing going on so I closed my entrance back down and opened the bottom board up a little. I know this is not per the instructions but I don't want to have my hive destroyed by robbing bees either, which I have had happen. 

Open

Closed

 

You can 't just put bees out and forget them. Like any pet, you must take care of them!


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