Best time to treat varroa

[Wilco]

You are advocating that we should dose every colony of bees regardless of its level of varroa infestation. Rather than go on about it any further by giving superfluous reasoning why this may have negative effects on our longer term ability to manage bees successfully in the presence of varroa, I'll butt out here as we are way off-topic and I'm on a losing wicket anyway....

Blanket treatment regardless of level of infection is how we eradicated the Warble Fly from the UK. With parasites that have to be on their hosts for prolonged periods, even if only at certain times of year, this approach can be used effectively if you can get everyone to treat at the same time with an effective treatment. Unlikely I know and hampered by feral colonies but food for thought...

If using OA I suspect resistance is unlikely although with other treatments I agree blanket use, especially if not as per data sheet, can risk this in time.

 

[Boston Bees]

If your argument is to treat to protect winter bees you are way to early, I treat September as my earliest but probably October, dependant on weather and temps. October treatment gives us a 6 month old bee for March, we are more fortunate than most in south as the temperatures in the south allow brood rearing all year round.

I'll go with the Professor of Virology on this one, no offence meant

https://www.theapiarist.org/when-to-treat/
Treating when the winter bees are emerging from their cells, which is what you are implying, is by definition far too late. They are already infected. We need to knock the mite load down before the winter bee eggs are even starting to be laid. Given a 6 week treatment period, that means starting in August, or very early September at the latest.

 

[Patrick1]

We all try to second guess the seasons, its what we do. I have generally found in the south that Octobers are pretty good months, daytime temps are generally good with the start of cold nights, most treatments can still be used.

If we nock down in August we then need to use something when it gets cold enough as late as Feb, unfortunately it did not get cold in the south for long enough to get the bees to cluster, Oxalic dribble would have caused more harm than good.

 

[Patrick1]

I'll go with the Professor of Virology on this one, no offence meant

https://www.theapiarist.org/when-to-treat/
Treating when the winter bees are emerging from their cells, which is what you are implying, is by definition far too late. They are already infected. We need to knock the mite load down before the winter bee eggs are even starting to be laid. Given a 6 week treatment period, that means starting in August, or very early September at the latest.

Scotland may as well be another planet in beekeeping terms I think its each to their own,it also depends on what treatments you use I run around 300 colonies, I treat October and March if need and usually they do need treatment by then, they also need a small syrup feed and a pollen patties added 1st March regardless of weather, I always find eggs happy days

 

[Murox]

Scotland may as well be another planet in beekeeping terms I think its each to their own,it also depends on what treatments you use I run around 300 colonies, I treat October and March if need and usually they do need treatment by then, they also need a small syrup feed and a pollen patties added 1st March regardless of weather, I always find eggs happy days

I do not think that ignorance and confusion regarding the timeliness and appropriateness of a treatment is singularly scottish. Indeed much confusion arises from poor advertising information and contradictory information give by certain bee keeping organisations. My own treatment and winter regime is normally begun in August because of my specific location and weather. Like you I also give some feed and pollen early spring, though I only run a few hives for a hobby now; as you suggested "each to their own".

 

[Patrick1]

My apologies I only used Scotland as a reference because it is generally perceived to be colder than the south, I know a strawberry grower who gets fruit before most of the UK

Part of the problem is these treatments get authorized due to testing in any part of the world except the UK, Europe and Canada being a case in point, licensed on Langstroth and sometimes a double brood Langstroth, that’s really helpful to UK National or Smith hive users.

It is a far wider subject than most understand and too much for a few words on any site

 

[polymath]

The only varroa-free locations are the Isle of Man (which isn't even in the UK, to be fair) and the odd very isolated bit of Scotland (Colonsay?).

I am sure anyone on the Isle of Man who keeps bees will know about their special status (assuming they still have it) because bee imports into the island are famously banned.

And by definition, there aren't many beekeepers in those isolated bits of Scotland (though The Apiarist blogger just moved to one!).

I don't think there is a single part of England, Wales or NI that claims to be free of varroa.

So I don't think we need to worry too much about people inadvertently treating in varroa-free areas, given there are so few.

Believe also Scilly Isles are Varroa free