On each of my hives I have the white pullout inspection board, I hived four packages 4 weeks ago (two different suppliers) I expected to see a few mites come in on the packages, however so far not a one ?
Assuming I got lucky and they are mite free (bad assumption ?), I dont expect them to stay that way for long, when should I expect to start seeing them ?
Most packages are treated before you get them. In general, varroa is not an issue the first year. The 2nd year if where you will start running into issues. This is situation that gets new beekeepers in trouble when they try non-conventional methods of controlling varroa. They think their methods work and then the 2nd year get clobbered.
Quote from: Robo on April 28, 2009, 04:27:24 PM
Most packages are treated before you get them.
What are they treated with and how? Just curious.
that's the nice thing about a new hive, swarm or package :-). the brood break reduces the numbers, and as robo said, the packages have usually been treated.
when you do find mites, don't panic. you are going to have them. the key is to monitor mite load and have a plan for that time when your mite load is unacceptable. every board i pulled had a few mites on it. 1/2 a dozen or so. the one that got me worried, had many. that hive got treated with apiguard.
Quote from: eri on April 28, 2009, 04:33:13 PM
What are they treated with and how? Just curious.
Used to be Apistan, but that was years ago when that was really the only treatment option. I haven't purchased package in over 10 years, so have no clue what the norm is now, but I imagine it differs by breeder these days as there are many more options.
One thing that is often overlooked with packages is small hive beetles. If you don't have them in your apiary yet, buying packages increased your chances of getting your yard infected.
rob...