Varroa: how are people getting on?

[TryingToLetThemBee]

So we have had the FERA warning, and odd stories on here of heavy drops. I have started to notice one or two crawling drones, one with DWV, and even the odd worker following orientation flights (from my new nuc; I suspect the supplier mistimed the OA like a lot of people).

So I am a bit worried; hoping the Demaree helps the big colony, but will set a third drone trap (first already set in the new nuc as it builds).

How are others getting on; is there a general problem?

 

[madasafish]

I have seen 10 varroa this year from my hives.

 

[drex]

After the fera warning, I monitored for a week, and very few varroa. I use thymol and OA and OMF and some drone brood culling.

 

[madasafish]

I have seen 10 varroa this year from my hives.

I forgot to add: thymol treatment in autumn only. In retrospect a waste of time and money.. minimal drop.

No oxalic or IPM...never.

 

[SireeDubs]

Monitored following the FERA warning, but saw nothing on the sticky boards. Planning to icing sugar them next inspection, just to make sure...

 

[Fraise]

Put monitor boards into 3 hives for 4 days. No varroa on two boards and only 2 varroa dropped from the big hive (double brood Langstroth packed with bees).

Problem - what problem?

 

[beecology]

After noticing a drone with deformed wings last month, I applied a dose of Beevital Hiveclean (same principle as icing sugar?) and have now got them on mesh floors. The 1st week of monitoring resulted in a drop of 10 mites per hive....

As both hives have just had virgin queens, I intend to carry on monitoring and then treat again after mating flight and egg laying. This will again be hiveclean and drone culling.

 

[TOBY-3652]

very few. not seen many on boards up to now

 

[mbc]

As both hives have just had virgin queens, I intend to carry on monitoring and then treat again after mating flight and egg laying. This will again be hiveclean and drone culling.

If you insist on tickling varroa with hiveclean then your swarmed colonies have presented you with the ideal opportunity to use it to its maximum efficacy once the existing brood has hatched but before the new queens first brood gets sealed as there will be no where for the varroa to hide.

 

[Dishmop]

I think that Fera is a computer somewhere (formally known as a non geographical location) which is programmed to activate at random times and send a message of approaching doom to all registered beeks.

 

[mbc]

I think that Fera is a computer somewhere (formally known as a non geographical location) which is programmed to activate at random times and send a message of approaching doom to all registered beeks.

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

I think that Fera is a computer somewhere (formally known as a non geographical location) which is programmed to activate at random times and send a message of approaching doom to all registered beeks.

It seems that regardless of present weather conditions, known bumper springs etc. etc. they still every year fire out the annual 'unseasonal' spring starvation warning, the June starvation warning, unseasonal varroa warning ad nauseum

 

[Bob Bee]

I monitored the spring drops on 6 colonies, low counts on all. Last week I let a university researcher capture some live mites from two of these 6. He did it by rolling in Icing sugar in a jar. he picked up 200 live mites.
3 of the six , all having shown low drop are, in reality, heavily infested and all three will have further treatment, first time I've had to treat in between winter Oxalic and autumn Thymol.
Counting drop is very unreliable.