Varroa Mites on Honeybees

Varroa mites on honeybees are fairly common, and while they can be reduced using pesticides, there are also several effective natural ways to try to control these pests. They look like little reddish bugs crawling on the bees, and one of the tell-tale signs are the finding of honeybees crawling on the ground with rumpled wings.

One of the easiest ways to control the mites was passed onto us by our bee inspector. Far from being an intrusive office-type bureaucrat, he has made our mandatory yearly bee inspections a time of teaching and learning. He enjoys getting the children in on these sessions, and loves to pop a drone bee in his mouth and then stick his tongue out at the kids! He also taught my husband how to trim bee wings, and talks about the newest ways to manage bee hives, etc. And...he taught us a simple non-toxic way to treat varroa mites on our honey bees. Get powdered sugar. Sprinkle your bees liberally. That's it! The bees clean themselves off, and in the process, many mites are picked of as well. Some people use a flour sifter to do this. We use an empty plastic parmesian cheese container with the sprinkle top. Works very well! Just make sure you sprinkle the bees as the last thing you do in your hive, as they don't appreciate the process...it ticks them off. The little white ghost bees are kind of cute to watch, though! Work your way through the boxes and frames to get the majority of bees treated. If you have a mite problem, do it every time you are working the bees.

Another way to kill varroa mites is to take advantage of their tendency to lay their eggs in drone comb, which has a larger circumference. Some folks purchase comb foundation that is specifically made to drone size. When the bees have it filled with drone larvae and capped, that frame is removed and destroyed.

An acquaintance of mine has an older type of honey bee that is smaller than today's average honey bee, and so naturally has smaller comb circumference. This means fewer mites.

Also, some folks are moving toward Russian honeybees, which seem to clean themselves better and remove the mites in the process.

Last but not least, there are also plastic trays that can be filled with non-toxic oil or lime, and then slid into the bottom of the hive. These have a screen on top so that the bees can't come in contact with the contents, but any mite that falls down into the tray is destroyed. These trays are also good for controlling hive beetles, but that is a topic for another day!