sticky boards, mites, and my continuing inexperience

[randydrivesabus]

i sticky boarded 4 hives on wednesday and i just pulled the boards. will mites be obvious to me? do i need some sort of magnification to see them?
i just remembered where i have a small magnifying glass so i'll try it now.

[Cindi]

Randy, when I count my mites, I think that I look like something from outer space or something.  I sit at my kitchen table, I have a device that I attach to my head that has a little magnifying glass that helps to magnify the mites.  The mites are very obvious.  But, a little magnification certainly does help, along with some good light. 

You will see them easily.  They are rather shiny, flat, kind of ovalish, can range from reddish brown to darker.  Count only the larger brownish ones, they are the females.  The ones that appear smaller or not so brownish, but more of a beige are not the mature females (the ones you need to focus on).  Good luck and have a little fun while you are doing it.  Tell us about your mite counts.  Have a wonderful day, Cindi

[randydrivesabus]

once you know what you're looking for its smooth sailing....so heres my 4 day drop results....
hive 1=70
hive 2=15
hive 3=50
hive 4=23

so my highest 1 day drop is hive 1 with 17.5. This seems pretty low to me. my attitude is to treat as little as possible. any advice and comments are welcome.
thanks for your help Cindi.

[annette]

I must quote Michael Bush about this once again.

"The thing to do is measure the mite drop in 24 hours BEFORE you treat.  Then measure it WHILE you treat.   Then in a few days measure it AFTER you treated.  Then you have a better idea what kind of dent you put in the population.  15-20 natural drop in 24 hours is not bad."

Hope this helps you

Sincerely,
Annette

[randydrivesabus]

  15-20 natural drop in 24 hours is not bad."

thats the part that makes me feel like my count is not bad.

[DayValleyDahlias]

That is exactly what I plan on doing too...sticky board goes in tonight, thenI will countin 72 hours divide by 3...hopefully the count will be acceptable...hope hope yes

[rdy-b]

yes bees can survive with small mite load and yes some keepers have gotten to a pinnacle of no treatment the problem is not the mites it is the viruses they vector even with small mite load some kind of natural treatment could make the difference  ;) RDY-B