Should I place Apsian strips in my new package bees when installed? I had a mite and small hive beetle problem this year. I lost 2 hives to both. Any sugestions or comments.
T Boyd
Mites are not generally a problem with packages. Only treat when you have a problem, not before. Plus, I would look into Apiguard or one of the other soft chemical treatments...Apistan is pretty bad.
Go small cell and forget the chemical nastiness altogether. ;-)
i second the apiguard if you need something. as for small cell, do your homework. there are no good studies (that i know of ) proving it works. it won't hurt, but it is not necessarily a cure all for your bees. good management and good genetics!