- Joined
- May 2, 2018
- Messages
- 653
- Reaction score
- 645
- Location
- Nr Maidstone, Kent, UK
- Hive Type
- National
- Number of Hives
- 4
I can't really give you exact numbers. As I say, I tend to monitor through the year so mine's more of a comparative measurement. It varies through the season as mite numbers go up through the bee-working part of the year. So I'd expect mite numbers to be highest in my colonies sometime in the next 2-3 weeks, after a long period of brood rearing, and right before I start OA vaping. Whereas in spring, when the colonies have only just got going I would expect a lower number.
I treat for varroa by OA vaping towards the end of August, over a 3 week period, to make sure the winter bees aren't going to be affected by mites. And then I do a single vape in December, trying to mop up any remaining varroa whilst the brood nest is at it's smallest so that they start off in spring with as low a load as I can manage. If you read around you'll find plenty of info on the best times to treat - in fact The Apiarist (David Evans) just posted his latest blog last week on controlling varroa. Rational Varroa Control
But to try to answer your question, I guess I'm happy with single figure numbers of mites from 250ml of bees. Around 1 in 100 bees I think is ok - that's about 6 in my jar. But if you start hitting 3 or 4 per 100 bees (into the teens in my jar) then that's going to start affecting your colonies. And once the numbers start going up they can sky rocket pretty quickly.
I treat for varroa by OA vaping towards the end of August, over a 3 week period, to make sure the winter bees aren't going to be affected by mites. And then I do a single vape in December, trying to mop up any remaining varroa whilst the brood nest is at it's smallest so that they start off in spring with as low a load as I can manage. If you read around you'll find plenty of info on the best times to treat - in fact The Apiarist (David Evans) just posted his latest blog last week on controlling varroa. Rational Varroa Control
But to try to answer your question, I guess I'm happy with single figure numbers of mites from 250ml of bees. Around 1 in 100 bees I think is ok - that's about 6 in my jar. But if you start hitting 3 or 4 per 100 bees (into the teens in my jar) then that's going to start affecting your colonies. And once the numbers start going up they can sky rocket pretty quickly.