# best mite treatment for summer



## Dan the bee guy (Jun 18, 2015)

The dribble is hard on bees and only should be done when brood less. Vapor can be done if there is no honey on the hive. That high of a mite count I've never had maybe someone can tell you what has worked for them.


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## beemandan (Dec 5, 2005)

I wouldn’t treat with anything until after the supers were removed. Probably, for a hot summer treatment, Apivar strips would be the least disruptive.


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## Fivej (Apr 4, 2016)

Realistically MAQS is your best option if you feel you need to treat at this time of the year if you are going to have the supers on.


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## niki.nicole (Apr 30, 2016)

MAQS seem to have some really mixed reviews--some love it, some say it killed a ton of their bees so I will only use that as a last resort. Apivar says it has to be used with the super off.

If I were to use a vaporizer, could I just remove the supers for the few minutes that it is vapor-y and put them back on? Should I wait to treat? This hive has always been susceptible to mites. I'm hoping that eventually, this colony will merge their genetics with their mite resistant neighbor. I haven't had good luck with re-queening, although I've only tried it twice.


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## RayMarler (Jun 18, 2008)

You just now have queens laying again, so you are just now coming out of a broodless period, so that is why the mite count is so high at this time. Treating would be good, but I can't really give you a recommendation, as I myself have not decided on a good treatment strategy for my own hives. You've done your reading and now need to make a decision what path forward to take.


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## BernhardHeuvel (Mar 13, 2013)

Best summer treatment is to remove all brood and thus drain out some 60 % of all mites. Should reduce mites enough until end of season and supers coming off.

Removing brood costs you a bit of honey but saves your hives.

You either melt down the brood combs (easy&save) or you stack them in boxes and treat Thema with formic acid all the time until all brood is emerged after two weeks. You combine those bees (and some mites) back to the original colonies. Or add a queen and make a new hive.


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## BernhardHeuvel (Mar 13, 2013)

RayMarler said:


> You just now have queens laying again, so you are just now coming out of a broodless period, so that is why the mite count is so high at this time.


Agree. Only treat if really necessary.


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## shinbone (Jul 5, 2011)

Yes, you can remove or seal off the honey supers and then treat with OAV, which is what I would do if I had 40 mites per cup of bees.


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## emrude (Mar 23, 2015)

I would remove the brood and start a new hive. I would also use eggs from your mite "free" hive. The queen in that hive may have better mite genetics. I hope you have extra bottom, top, etc. You could also reduce pressure by removing drone brood. Good Luck.

Mary


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## msl (Sep 6, 2016)

The best summer treatment is a sold early spring broodless treatment and some biotech measures like drone trapping so you don't have to summer treat 

Was your count 1 cup, or the standard 1/2 cup? sugar or alcohol roll? 

They are not going to "merge their genetics with their mite resistant neighbor"... you have to do it actively
here is what I would do in your case if that is your gole. 
I would pinch the queen rolling 40s, wait a week and go threw the hive and cull all queen cells, add a frame of eggs/young larva from the better hive and let them raise a queen, 24 days after pinching the queen all the brood will have emerged and all the mites will be phoric, hit them with your choice of OA treatment. If I was not on plastic foundation I would consider cutting out cells breaking it in to nucs or at least in to 2 hives in case one queen fails 

or hit with MAQS, run for honey and worry about requeening after the flow
yes MAQS are ruff on bees, so is counts of 40 
ray makes the point what your hive is doing effects what the counts mean... ie rolling 15 (5%) with brood on is the same as rolling 24 bloodless. given you got poor knock down with OAD I assume you have brood on


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## SS Auck (May 8, 2015)

if they are just coming of broodless and there is very little capped brood. you can OAV with supers off. The re sample in 5 to 6 days and if they are still above limit then do anther round of OAV. Really to decide on a treatment, determine at what stage your hive is at. Time of year is only important if the treatment needs to be at a certain temp range.


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## niki.nicole (Apr 30, 2016)

# of bees sampled: 1 cup--about 600 bees, which, if my math is right is a bit over 6 bees per 100 and as I understand it, 5 bees per 100 is danger zone. I did a sugar roll which I know is not as accurate, so the count is probably even higher. I had been monitoring their mite numbers and it had been much much lower the last time I checked, which was May 27.

They aren't really coming out of a bloodless period. When I checked on May 27, there was a lot of brood but only 1 or fewer frames of eggs (but lots of larva). The queens must have started laying again right after this because there is a ton of brood right now. 

This hive has always been a bit week. It needed to be fed up until mid April. 

As for extra supplies, I have a nuc and a 10-frame bodies but 8-frame roof and base (received wrong item from Bee Thinking which is now out of business). I think I can modify it to work for 8-frame soon.

My thoughts on treatment: Do a cut down split as described here: https://honeybeesuite.com/how-to-make-a-cut-down-split-2/ For the hive with the capped brood and no queen, I will add either a frame of eggs from the mite resistant hive or order a new queen (I have had trouble in the past introducing a new queen, but the mite resistant colony is slower than the mite-prone Italians). When they reach the point of broodlessness (around day 20 according to http://scientificbeekeeping.com/scibeeimages/Oxalic-pdf-with-comments.pdf), I will remove the super and treat with OAV. 

I will move the queen and the majority of the supplies and all open brood to a new location and treat immediately with either a OA dribble or OAV (if the vaporizer gets here soon). I will keep the queen until I'm sure the queen the the original hive is laying. Then I will probably pinch her and replace her.

If they are not strong enough by winter, I will combine them back (keeping one queen in a nuc to over winter). 

Have I missed anything? THANK YOU to everyone who has commented. It keeps me on my toes and makes me evaluate what I'm doing.


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## emrude (Mar 23, 2015)

I think you are on the right path. Are you planning on staying with eight frames or ten frames boxes? I went with eight frame medium boxes. I have a few ten frame boxes from when I had bees before. I was going to cut the ten frames boxes to eight frames, but then I found that the paint on my boxes was lead based and decided just to burn the boxes. I don't want to get lead dust in my workshop. I have an Aussie who keeps me company, and I don't want to have her exposed to lead.
I believe that in my area (near St. Louis) the winter was not cold enough to kill SHB and the hives broodless period too short to ensure starting spring with zero varroa mites. 

Mary


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## niki.nicole (Apr 30, 2016)

Now a new problem. I ordered my queen too soon because I was afraid I wouldn't be able to find one in time. So she should arrive within a few days. I have an introduction cage coming too. She will hang out in her cage in her new home until the cage comes in and then she will be in the introduction cage until 14 days from when I split the hives. On day 20 (six days after releasing the queen), I will use OAV.  Is that safe on a new queen? Should I introduce her to a nuc and merge the two after I do the OAV?

Also, on the other split part--one brood chamber deep with the queen and all the open brood from the original hive--I treated it with an OA dribble on Sunday and the OAV arrived the next day. Should I treat it with the OAV while the brood is still mostly open? Should I wait until I do another count? I will most likely pinch this queen and merge the brood back with the original hive unless I decide to make a third hive. 

Thanks again for everyone's help!


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