We love when beekeeping weather comes around again — getting out in the bee yard is such a thrill. Colonies that survived the winter have already begun to grow, while new nucs and packages will soon be installed in our waiting hives. Spring is springing, bees are flying, pollen is finally coming in... and so it's time to think about how to keep deadly varroa mites from killing your bees next winter. What?! Varroa? Isn't that a problem for September? Not if you want to keep your bees alive until next spring! Explore this guide to prepare your varroa management plan now.
Should I treat for varroa mites in the spring?
When it comes to how to prevent varroa mites, management is a year-round process — and even when you aren't treating for mites, you should still be thinking about them. If you don't make a varroa management plan now, you will perpetually be one step behind the mites, making it harder to control the situation. And if you don’t kill the mites, the mites will kill your bees. Have a plan of attack to keep mite populations as low as possible throughout the summer season — and not just hope to knock them back a little bit right before winter.
If some of your colonies died over winter, and if you think varroa mites (and the viruses they transmit with their bites) could have caused some of your colony losses, you should likely consider a new varroa management strategy for this year. And make that plan now, in the spring, so that you aren't surprised by high mite levels at the end of the season.
Harm caused by high mite populations comes mostly from the high levels of viruses that the mites are transmitting between adult bees and brood as they feed. While anyone can monitor mite levels at home, most of us don't have an advanced virology lab to monitor virus levels. Instead, we rely on the bee scientists, who tell us that virus levels climb from spring to fall, and climb fastest and highest when mite populations are high. The end-of-season virus levels can be roughly estimated based on the total number of mites that have been feeding in the colony throughout the entire summer. That means it's not just the "final" mite population before winter that you need to control. Handling "the varroa situation" in your colonies is a matter of managing both mite populations and virus levels.
Adapting as mite control recommendations change
If you follow the common mite-control instructions from a few decades ago and only treat your bees in the fall, you may kill most of the mites, but the dangerous viruses will still be there. If you only treat your bees in October, all of the winter bees — the bees that must survive through the winter — will have grown up with high mite and high virus levels. These virus-filled winter bees are likely to succumb to the viruses before the first flowers bloom next spring, meaning your colony will weaken and may die.
Instead of just waiting for the fall, you should be fighting mites throughout the spring and summer to keep virus levels low and your colony as healthy as possible. Making a varroa plan in the spring will let you order any supplies you will need, but it’s also a good opportunity to identify new techniques you need to learn so you can reach out to an experienced mentor (and explore our varroa mite treatment plan guide).
No beekeeper should have only one mite control technique in their arsenal: Using different mite treatment methods throughout the season (and over multiple years) may help prevent mites from evolving resistance to any one repeated treatment. It also allows you to choose the method that is best suited to the particular weather conditions and needs of your bees at any particular time.
Building your mite-control plan
Your personal varroa control plan can take many forms, and the different components don’t have to be set in stone right now. But, before the beekeeping season starts, you should be able to answer each of the following questions:
- How will I test my mite levels?
- How often will I test?
- What are the mite population thresholds above which I will treat my bees?
- What treatment(s) will I use? (And what other treatments will I have on hand, in case my first choice isn’t suitable due to the local weather, honey flow, or other factors?)
- If I had to treat right now, how long would it take me to put my hands on these treatments? Minutes? Hours? Days? Weeks?
- Will I treat all of my colonies at some point, regardless of their mite levels? If so: when and how?
How you answer those questions will depend on your location, your schedule, and your personal preferences. However, a good mite-control plan MUST include answers to each to ensure you're completely prepared for any mite-related trouble the upcoming season may throw at you.
Strategies for creating personal mite control plans
Because your location's weather, bees, and even local mite populations may differ from other beekeepers’, there is no perfect “one-size-fits-all” mite management plan. When you start making your varroa plan, ask your local beekeeping mentors and friends what has worked for them. A strategy that protected bees three miles away is likely to work on your bees as well. However, be selective in your mite-control strategy advice-seeking: Ask the beekeepers with the best overwinter survival rates.
Starting this conversation in April will help you and your bees, and it may also help other members of your club to start thinking about varroa early and often. And since varroa can spread between apiaries when bees drift and rob honey, your bees will be better protected from mites if your neighbor’s mite levels are also controlled.
Quick tips for creating a mite-control plan
You can explore our sample varroa management plans to start planning your methods, but remember: The specifics of your plan are up to you and your beekeeping mentors. However, there are some general principles you can consider as you develop your mite-control plan.
- One fall treatment is unlikely to protect your bees: Most successful beekeepers report that repeated treatments throughout the season are needed to keep mite levels low, and their bees healthy.
- A spring treatment when mite populations are at their annual low will kill mites, and by catching each mite early in the year you prevent the offspring that would have been produced over the whole season.
- Mid-summer treatments can sometimes be more complicated as mite levels may vary widely between colonies, and treatments like formic acid can harm your bees if used in weather above the product's maximum treatment temperature (usually 85 degrees F for the formulation that we sell, Formic Pro). Therefore, many successful beekeepers actively monitor their summer mite levels and only treat colonies with mite levels over the recommended treatment threshold (which will vary based on the test used).
Why is repeated mite monitoring so important?
Mite populations can climb very fast, even if they were previously low. Mites can reproduce quickly when there is plentiful brood (particularly drone brood) and they can also enter a colony by hitching a ride on drifting bees or robbers. Drifting and (especially) robbing can happen over long distances, so even if you kill all of the varroa mites in your colony, a week later new mites could have appeared and started to reproduce. Regular mite monitoring helps you keep an eye on the ever-changing mite population situation so you can treat more effectively.
Popular mite monitoring methods
You can passively monitor mite levels by collecting and counting falling mites on a sticky board underneath a screened bottom board. Active monitoring is more accurate and can be done with purchased monitoring tools or with equipment you make at home. The sugar roll (or sugar shake) and alcohol wash monitoring methods are two methods that are both accurate if done properly. (Study up to make sure you’re performing the sugar roll test correctly before attempting!)
Mite monitoring and treatment are essential parts of beekeeping. Early planning helps prepare you for when mite counts begin to rise — so you can help your colonies thrive all year round. For more information about mite management and beekeeping, explore our Beekeeper’s Guide.
