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Materials from August 22, 2020 Mite Management Workshop

As our beekeeping season winds down, now is the time to ensure our colonies are healthy enough to survive the coming winter. One of the most important parts of this process is mite management. VBA's workshop will teach you how to perform an alcohol wash, count Varroa mites, and treat your colonies. Fred Putnam, a Vermont Certified Beekeeper, will walk us through each of the steps we need to understand in order to maintain healthy colonies:

In this session, we:
 
  • Talk about why it is so critically important to the survival of your colony(ies) that you actively manage Varroa destructor populations.
  • Review several methods for monitoring mite loads.
  • Show a fool-proof way to avoid getting your queen into your mite count sample whether you use sugar, alcohol, or any other liquid.
  • Do an alcohol wash and demonstrate how a sugar roll is done.
  • Cover a method for documenting mite count results.
  • Review the latest recommendations on the action threshold and cover several ways to keep mite loads low including IPM and treatment options.
  • Talk briefly about mite management plans now required by State law.
  • Answer your questions.