He was singing the blues about having to restart EVERY ONE OF HIS 50 HIVES this spring to the tune of about $2,500.00. yes - that's right - he said he lost EVERY BEE IN EVERY BOX?! I asked him WHY????
He said his beeyard was about 25 miles from his home, so he doesn't really check them regularly. I asked him - dead bees IN the box? he said - no...dead bees all over the snow. so that means they tried to get OUT. he suspected, TRACHEAL MITES.
oh yeh... (I thought to myself - I get my head so full of "gotta treat for varroa" this time of year - I forgot about this "little issue" too!)
so - here it is - a "natural treatment" for tracheal mites. If you've got your honey off - GET THESE GREASE PATTIES ON:
Product: Vegetable Shortening (eg. Crisco™)
Ratio: One part vegetable shortening to 2 parts white granulated sugar. Patty size should be about one-half pound (size of a hamburger).
Exposure Time: Continuous (except during nectar flow). Replace as often as needed. Most effective during spring and autumn.
Location within the colony: On broodnest top bars.
Comments and Suggestions:
- Vegetable shortening appears to disrupt the life cycle of the tracheal mite, thus suppressing mite populations.
- Vegetable shortening patties are considered to be more effective in controlling mites than menthol. However, menthol is still useful.
1 comment:
The word out from our bee tech team is to watch out for tracheal mites. The feeling is that we've been focusing so much of our attention on Varroa that Tracheal can creep up and do way more damage when we're not looking. I think whether going a more natural or chemical route one still needs to check on the health of their bees regularly.
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