mite count?

[rgy]

18 hours on a sticky board and got about 20 mites, is this high?  should I treat?

[kbee]

your in a crucial time. going into fall soon got to get those #'s down i would treat. you got that many mites in 18 hrs i would be on it

Fall             20        30         40
Summer       20        30         40         <max #
spring         15        30          40           3 day period
           
                 small    medium     deep

Small:4 frame of bees and brood in 5-frame nuc

medium: 10 frame deep with 8 frames of bees and
brood, fully draw comb, and a honey supper partially full

large: 2 deeps full of bees and brood, and 2 honey supers
partially to completely full

that is coming out of one of my books "the backyard beekeeper" by kim flottum
look this book up very good for beginner very good  detailed

[rgy]

the hive is two brood boxes plus a honey super.  and now thinking obout it it was close to 36 hours.    I have been over to the bee yard so much lately I forget what I did.  I'll probably do some sugar shake on all the hives soon.

[forrestcav]

Let me ask a question here. I have a package I hived this spring. I have two deep broods, no honey super, SBB. They have built up great. Do you think first year package bees should be treated for mite? I have done a mite count. My girls like to hang off the bottom of the SBB.

[kbee]

to me 1 varroa mite is to many i always keep them in check even if its a new hive. it don't matter if its new or old you should always do a count here and there. those dang thing will destroy a hive specially if its not that strong

[11nick]

Approximately how often do you do a mite count?  Are there variables involved in when you do a count (other than 'when I get around to it')?

[indypartridge]

Let me ask a question here. I have a package I hived this spring. Do you think first year package bees should be treated for mite?

In my experience, new colonies, started from packages, rarely needed treatment the first year. But, you don't know if they need treatment or not unless you check.

For me, there's a significant difference if there were 20 mites in 18 hours versus 20 mites in 36 hours. I'd be more inclined to treat the the former but not the latter.  If you're going to treat with powdered sugar, you should do at least 3 treatments about a week apart. A single treatment doesn't accomplish much.

[kbee]

11nick when you say you'll get around to it doesn't sound like you are being a responsible beekeeper when you say " i would get around to it". when your dog, cat or any pet or live stock is in need of medication or needs to be fed would you say when i get around to it?  your bees are the same they are live stock and if you suspect that there is something wrong with your bees you act asap because thing can spread fast when not attended to and maybe spread to another hive. the powder sugar isn't really a treatment it is to get a count but if you do once a week for 4 week it dose take the # down a bit. if there's any drones cells open a few up with a uncapping pic or if you don't have one use a tooth pic and pull the drone out and see if there's any mites on them then you'll know if there's going to be a problem cause 75 to 80% of the mites that you don't see are in the cells and the remaining 20 to 25 percent are on the bees. you don't want a bomb to go off if that dose happen all of your bee will leave. so just try the simple powder sugar technique for a few weeks done right you will keep them in check without adding and chemicals. just remember that a drone larva is 6 1/2 days, pupa 14 1/2 days and total development is 24 days so keep track of when your drones are out then hit them with another dose of powder sugar. there's just so many way to keep them in check i could go on for hours :-D get yourself a book on diseases and (study) oh ya reduce that entrance to when you do the powder sugar this time of the year or there will bee alot of robbing 

                                                                                  happy beekeeping :bee:

[rgy]

kbee, what is the chemical to use?  do you mix it with 2:1 syrup?  learned to reduce the entrance the hard way after sugar dust!!!!  also need to block off the under the screened bottom board where the sticky paper goes, correct? (since the mites can't fall to the ground)

[kbee]

rgy: also need to block off the under the screened bottom board where the sticky paper goes, correct? (since the mites can't fall to the ground) yes

what is the chemical to use?  i have been lucky enough that i had not have to use a chemical yet but i heard that apilife var and apiguard works very well but i don't want to give you false information on that post new subject (what chemicals to use for mite?)  you will get lots of info good luck with those dang things. just remember that some of these chemicals that they have these days kills alot of the mites but at the same time it will absorb into the bees wax and your queen will produce less eggs and die younger. try to stay with essential oil products.

[11nick]

11nick when you say you'll get around to it doesn't sound like you are being a responsible beekeeper when you say " i would get around to it".

kbee: I don't have any hives.  I'm just reading everything I can at this point and asking questions as they come up.  But I do agree with your comments (other than me being irresponsible, of course!) on reacting quickly to a problem.  That was the point of my question: finding out exactly what is the accepted frequency to check the mite counts so I would be able to catch a problem in a timely manner.
Thanks for the reply. 

[rgy]

kbee, help me witht he assential oils and method of applying please.  beekeeping for dummies does not give the info.  thanks.