Skip to Content.
Sympa Menu

ocba - Re: [ocba] too late for Mite-Away??

ocba AT lists.ibiblio.org

Subject: Orange County, NC Beekeepers

List archive

Chronological Thread  
  • From: Todd Walker <mtwalker AT imageray.net>
  • To: NC Beekeepers Orange County <ocba AT lists.ibiblio.org>
  • Subject: Re: [ocba] too late for Mite-Away??
  • Date: Mon, 21 Oct 2013 14:40:30 -0400

Jerry,

I think it is a little late to be treating.

You mite counts aren't scary especially if you don't have much capped
brood.

Let's do the math of the hive with 9 mites per 300 bees.

If you don't have any capped brood then that is only 3 mites per 100 bees
or a 3% infestation rate.
If you have equal capped brood and bees then that would double the
infestation rate (3 mites per 100 sampled bees and 3 mites per 100 bees in
the cell) which is only a 6% infestation rate. Both numbers are under 10%
infestation rate which is when it recommended that beekeepers consider
treating.

I would encourage you (and everyone else) not to use a treatment such as
thymol or formic acid unless infestation rate is 10% or higher. Also, when
treating this late there isn't any time to fix any problems that might be
caused by the treatment.

If you have little or no capped brood you might want to try a powdered
sugar dusting using the Dowda method. It doesn't carry the risk of
damaging the brood or queen, can knock off some mites, and gives the bees
a little snack.

~Todd


On 10/19/13 9:56 PM, "Jerry Schoendorf" <jerry AT schoe.com> wrote:

>Hi Everyone,
>
>I was in my hives a day ago and a sugar shake test noted 9 mites in one
>hive and 4 in the other. I'm inclined to treat both hives because it
>seems that 9 is a threshold number that could grow to be a bigger problem
>in the spring - and I don't want to treat them just before the spring
>nectar flow. My question is whether it's too late to treat now. I
>understand that, ideally, it's best for the hive to have time for one or
>two brood cycles before shutting down for winter. At 21 days per cycle
>and after a week's treatment, that takes us up to November 17 or December
>8.
>
>Any advice, please??
>Thanks,
>Jerry
>_________________________________________
>ocba mailing list | North Carolina Beekeeping| http://www.theocba.org/
>Manage Your Subscription: http://lists.ibiblio.org/mailman/listinfo/ocba/
>






Archive powered by MHonArc 2.6.24.

Top of Page