When/if/what to treat with for Varroa

[Birdie Wife]

Hi all, I started keeping bees this year in May with a prime swarm. The Queen was getting on a bit, and was superceded in July/August with the new Queen now back and been laying for just over three weeks now. The colony size is small but building now the new Queen is laying well.

My question is about whether to treat for Varroa, what to treat with, and when. My local association recommended Apistan but I read that there is often a break in the laying with this and I'm not sure about doing this with my hive now they have just started building again. I considered Apiguard instead but the instructions give a minimum temp of 15degC for this to work properly.

The colony seems pretty healthy with no sign of dwv and with a prolonged brood break I'm wondering if most of the mites may have died off already.

What advice would you give me?

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[Beefriendly]

If you have an open mesh floor you might want to check the daily drop.
But I would treat regardless of the number dropped... Apistan should be fine, but beware in some areas varroa are resistant to it.
Apitraz is good and was only available through vets, but this has now changed...although these suppliers seem to be out of stock.
Oxalic acid vaporization is another possibility, but involves more than sticking some strips between frames.

It can be very tempting to leave alone, but most will suggest getting on top of varroa with treatments before they get on top of your bees.

 

[Erichalfbee]

If you have an open mesh floor you might want to check the daily drop.
But I would treat regardless of the number dropped... Apistan should be fine, but beware in some areas varroa are resistant to it.
Apitraz is good and was only available through vets, but this has now changed...although these suppliers seem to be out of stock.
Oxalic acid vaporization is another possibility, but involves more than sticking some strips between frames.

It can be very tempting to leave alone, but most will suggest getting on top of varroa with treatments before they get on top of your bees.

Maisie's has Apitraz

 

[fatshark]

The last data I saw was that Apistan resistance was very widespread ... I'd only use it if you can demonstrate resistance isn't present. Isolated locations in the Highlands might be different but better to be safe than sorry. Search for 'Apistan resistance' or 'Beltsville pyrethroid resistance test'. NBU have a detailed description of how to conduct the test.