When You Should Treat Your Bees for Mites

Bees and Mites have a longer relationship than you can guess, and how to get rid of them is also a very popular question. There are a number of treatments available in the market that you can use on the Varroa mites, but the major question is when should you treat the beehives for maximum effect? In this article, we shall discuss when to treat your bees to get rid of mites.

Why is ‘When to Treat’ Important?

The main question that we are going to address today is ‘when not how’. This is because you can learn how to treat your bees for mites, but without proper conditions, the treatment can be ineffective. For example, some treatment needs a certain temperature for maximum effect. When you do not consider the ambient temperature, the method won’t work properly.

If You Treat Early…

If you do not pay attention to when, and end up treating the beehives early, i.e., mid-season or just after the first honey crop, then you might undergo some side effects like tainting the honey, or preventing the queen from laying eggs or worse, losing the queen. If you treat early, it will only reduce levels of mites, and later with the season, they will grow again. The remaining mites tend to grow with the brood, and so eliminating them is important, which cannot be achieved in the early phases.

However, if your beehive is largely infected with the mites, then it is recommended to use the treatment early. This will reduce your mite problems for a temporary basis. But this does not eliminate the need of using the treatment later on again, as the mites will grow in numbers and reproduce again.

If You Treat Late…

If you treat late in season, i.e. in the midsummers, the treatment will still not work properly. The worker bees tend to live approximately for 40 days in the midsummers, and if they are infected with viruses – thanks to the Varroa mites, then their life will be shortened further. This will affect the colonies defending against the robbing and foraging capabilities.

The exact time for treating your bees depends on the area you reside and the level of Varroa mites’ infestation. It is ideally a good choice to treat your beehives twice a year for mites in Spring and late summer before the natural drop.

·       Treat your honey bees in late summer just before the mites cause any damage to the brood in the winters. Leaving the pads until spring for reuse is a better option.

·       You should also treat in Spring before building of extensive broods while you are preparing for the pollination.

·       If you reside in sub-tropical climates, then it is best to treat the beehives at the start and end of the driest spell of the year.

These are some of the important pointers, however, a regular inspection inside the hive is recommended to know if you need to get the treatment early. So, keep your honey bees safe from the mites and keep buzzing.