... but I know my bees will die. Finman says so ...
Erm, they all shall die! as do we! In defence of Finman I see much merit in making life more simple, you might call it blanket micro management as opposed to micro management, either one works! that's why bees is bootiful peeple
[/QUOTE]
Actually - at the risk of wasting more words as HM's blue pencil fodder - I'll just put a few things straight.
1. I don't COUNT mites on the inspection board daily - I used to but the drop is so low (and consistently so) that my records graphically over the last few years have shown very little but a straight line - daily drops from all my hives - being only one or two mites - some days none at all. There have been occasions where there have been 'spikes' on some hives with the most drop I ever saw being 47 in a day. I was a bit worried at that (last season) and I was ready to treat that hive (nervously twitching with my hand on the OA) but it rapidly dropped down to its normal level where it has remained ever since.
2. So these days it tends to be a look at the inspection boards every two or three days, a quick clean off (they are dry correx - not greased) and off we go again. There are mites in the hives but not excessive amounts. There is a 75mm drop from the mesh floor to the inspection board and with regular cleaning I don't get problems with wax moths - it's also interesting to see what debris is coming down as well as a look for any dead varroa. I do watch bees on the landing boards and through the clear crownboards and you can tell a lot by just knowing your colonies and seeing what they are up to.
3. I have done four sugar rolls this season - March, May, July and September. I took bees from the brood frames and in all cases there was at most one mite and generally none at all. I've done alcohol washes in the past but these only yielded the same results and killed the bees so I just stick to sugar rolls now - the bees don't seem to mind too much.
4. I don't spend an inordinate amount of time 'counting mites' - with six hives, two allotments, a large dog, large garden, woodturning, a wife and a full time job there is not the time available. With one or two hives more was possible but all that I discovered was that my bees seemed to be coping with the level of varroa in the hives, they are healthy (never seen a sign of any brood disease, DWV etc.) and I got a honey crop of over 30lbs per hive from the two strongest colonies. In my area most beekeepers are reporting lower average yields than that this year (and some none at all) so I'm happy with what they have produced.
Despite Finnie's comments I'm not a 'let alone' beekeeper - I'm prepared to treat if the colonies look as though the mites are getting the upper hand but, at present, they're not. So ... treatment free they are going to be again.
