Today is the first day of the 2017 Mite-A-Thon sponsored by the Pollinator Partnership. This event seemed like a great idea, so I planned my next hive inspection date to coincide with Mite-A-Thon week. I was pretty sure my numbers would be pretty good. I test for mites during the […]
Dr. Dewey Caron is the Principal Drafter on a publication entitled “Tools for Varroa Management, A Guide to Effective Varroa Sampling & Control 2017” “Every honey bee colony in the continental United States and Canada either has Varroa mites today or will have them within several months. Varroa mite infestation represents […]
In the PNW Winter Loss Survey this past April, 250 Oregon and Washington backyard beekeepers provided information on monitoring bee colonies for mites, including 12 SOBA members. Thirty-seven percent (37%) said they did not monitor for mites . Twenty seven (27%) sampled pre-treatment and 30% sampled both before and following treatment. Thirty-seven percent […]
Here’s John’s recipe for an organic, thymol based treatment for Varroa mites. This is a great treatment for summer/fall, after honey has been pulled. If you need to treat for mites when you have honey supers on the hive, Mite Away Quick Strips (formic acid) can be used instead. Old […]
Contributed by Dewey Caron Mite monitoring is good bee stewardship. It lets you know precisely how the bees are doing and how successful everything you may have done for mite management so far this season has helped the bees. Monitoring means taking the pulse of the colony – are they […]
Karessa Torgerson spoke at our December 8th meeting outlining the five most common beekeeper mistakes. Karessa is owner of Apicurious (www.api-curious.com), an EAS Master Beekeeper, co-founder of Nectar Bee Supply (www.shonnards.com/beekeeping), and board member of Tree Hive Bees (www.treehivebees.com). She serves on the Oregon Master Beekeeper committee and teaches and […]
Contributed by Dewey M. Caron August is not a month for much bee work. It is too hot and colonies can be a bit testy. Keep water nearby and give them some supplemental shade in the afternoon if you are concerned. August however is the month to determine how the bees […]
