At the end of July I did a 24 hour mite check (no powdered sugar treatment) and found 5 mites. On 8/21, I gave my bees a powdered sugar treatment , installed the SBB tray, and 24 hours later counted 55 mites. A week later, on 8/28, I did another count ( no further sugaring) and found another 50 mites.
My Question: I understand the sugaring will have an immediate effect of causing mite dropping, but does it also continue to act on them for some time?
Thanks, Ray
5 mites in July, a sugar shake in August with 55 mites. That should tell you how fast the mites will build up. a 10 fold increase in a month. The Shake knocked off a bunch but a week later more brood had hatched (along with more mites). The 50 mites a week after the shake shows you the amount of buildup was in the comb with the brood. In order to continue a decrease in mites you should do a sugar shake 3 times about every 10 days. If such a situation you will see a decrease in mite count. If you were to go back out and do another mite count it will probably be above 60 due to continued hatching. For Mites shake 3 times with sugar. And then do it again after a month or so.
Thanks Brian, I now have a good use of my Labor Day weekend. I will sugar again and check the drop counts. Your info is appreciated.
Thanks, Ray.