Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
Some commonsense management tricks will help your colony deal with mites all the
time. Using screened bottom boards is one. Some claim they actually help reduce var-
roa populations while others say not. Either way, a screened bottom board will improve
ventilation, reduce the need for fanning, allow more bees to forage, and the honey will
ripen faster. (Screened bottom boards were used by beekeepers more than 150 years
ago for improved ventilation. Beekeepers replaced them with solid bottom boards in the
winter, and over time the expense of having two pieces of equipment fell into disfavor,
and the screens went away.)
There are a variety of screened bottom boards on the market. This plastic model needs
no paint and is robust in its holding capacity. Remember, there may be several hun-
dred pounds (or kilograms) sitting on this bottom board when there's a full honey flow.
Choose one that has a sticky board option that is accessible from the rear, that is solidly
built, and that has screen covering as much of the area as possible. More than an inch
(2.5 cm) of support on the sides will begin to defeat the purpose of having mites drop
through the screen.
Dusting with Powdered Sugar
Cats and dogs do it all the time: roll in the dust to rid themselves of fleas, ticks, and
mites. Why not bees? The same trick works, believe it or not. Very fine powder will dis-
lodge mites from the adult bees they are hanging onto. They fall down and out through
the screened bottom board. Dust the bees with about ½ cup (60 g) of powdered (105)
sugar for small colonies, 1 cup (150 g) for large colonies. The bees will clean them-
selves and each other. In the process a few more mites will fall below. All told, 10 to 25
percent of the exposed mites will be dislodged. It is a small percentage of the total, but
if you do this every time you are in the bees, it adds up. There's no residue, no poison,
and no hungry bees when you're done. What could be better?
You can use any number of appliances to apply powdered sugar to your colony—a flour
sifter, an adapted garden duster, or by hand—then brush it off the top bars so it falls
between frames and coats the bees.
