Article and study by Anne Richards, a Cornell University certified Master Beekeeper, in June 2024 American Bee Journal, page 666. "Sugar shake is very nearly as effective as alcohol wash and leads to the same management actions in most cases..."
Hey Dave! I think Dr Zac Lamas have come up with a much better idea than the standard alcohol wash. If I understand his theory correctly, the summary is: Varroa mites prefer drones. Making an alcohol was on "random" bees can be very misleading. If your target sample is just drones you can detect varroa infestation much earlier and more accurately. Plus you don't end up killing a bunch of worker bees unnecessarily. I was going to post a link to his website, but apparently that caused my post to get deleted, but it's easy to find if you make a search on his name. Would be great to hear your thoughts on it. Thanks!
@@beek oh, very interesting! So what have your experiments shown so far? Does it seem to line up with Dr Lamas theory? I haven't started with his method either yet, think he says to use 40 drones in your sample and count the mites. However, any time I have wonky comb it usually has drone cells in it, and then when cutting out the wonky comb, I take the time to check out each drone cell for mites. In one hive I ended up having 2-3 mites in every drone cell, so that gave a good heads-up treatment was needed. I guess you could actually just target drone cells, because if you have mites, they will be laying eggs in the drone cells.
@@beek oh, that's great to hear! What was the outcome of your own experiments? Did it line up with Dr. Lamas theory? I haven't followed his method yet, which I think is sampling 40 drones. But every time I remove wonky comb, it usually has drone cells in it, and I always check all of those cells for mites. I did have one hive with all the drone cells in a piece of wonky comb having 2-3 mites in each cell, so that was a good indication of treatment being needed. Maybe that would be an easier way anyway, just check drone cells instead of trying to catch drones. Because if you got mites, there will be mites in the drone cells, and it's real easy to see them against the white larvae.
@@beek tried to make a comment here twice now, and each time it's there for a while, but then just disappears. Not sure if RUclips is glitchy, or if you are deleting my comments? Very confusing...
@@beek well, this time my comment has stayed up for over an hour, so maybe it was just a glitch before? Anyway... imagine if we have been doing the samples all wrong all this time, when doing alcohol washes on random bees. Sure, it sort of works, but you are potentially very likely to get an inaccurately low number (if it's like Dr. Lamas is saying, mites prefer drones). Maybe a better idea would be to put a green drone comb frame in the hive. Once drone brood is capped over, wait a couple of weeks, then open up 40 or so cells and check for mites. Real easy to see the mites against the white larvae.
Hi David. What gloves are you using in this video please? I’m on the hunt for something better than the leather. After a bad sting near nail bed looks like no nitrile or bare hands for me. Thank you
First 😁Great Topic David!! When Testing, I always Use a Little Dawn Dishwasher Soap with Water, Like 1 Gallon Water and Spoon full Of Dawn, I can't Remember the exact Measurement, Gotta go back and see it to remember it, Lol. Ive Tried The sugar Wash and found 1 Mite but the Alcohol Wash Method Works so Much Better and effective. Nice Job! Have a great Day David!!
I'm a newbie and have only had my 2 hives for 2 1/2 weeks. While I was just watching today, I saw a bunch of small, tiny ants crawling on the outside of deep box and feeder box ( I have your feeder in a super, Love it) The stand is wood. What can I use to get rid of ants?
I’m curious with a lot of people getting nucs Within a 24 hour period transporting and placing in your box and you have over 300 dead bees in the bottom, can you use those for an alcohol wash? Or do they need to be freshly (alive ) in the alcohol?
I would suspect that the dead bees are older bees which mites are mainly on the nurse bees. Since mites are parasites, I wonder too if they abandon dead bees.
Article and study by Anne Richards, a Cornell University certified Master Beekeeper, in June 2024 American Bee Journal, page 666. "Sugar shake is very nearly as effective as alcohol wash and leads to the same management actions in most cases..."
Since you prefer the powdered sugar roll, it would have been cool to see a side-by-side comparison on the same colony.
Yes and I did. Here's the video: ruclips.net/video/j0dqvvuR7zk/видео.htmlsi=jbf7vCG3LjkqRtg5
You mentioned early spring. Was this before the nectar flow?
First week of June and so during the nectar flow.
Ceracell directions claim you can use 1 cup alcohol with 2 cups of water…may save you some $s on alcohol.
Hey David, do you have any thoughts on this heat treatment procedure using the contraption called the varroa controller developed in Europe?
Sorry sure don't
Yes, I am a newbie..Thank you!
Hey Dave!
I think Dr Zac Lamas have come up with a much better idea than the standard alcohol wash. If I understand his theory correctly, the summary is: Varroa mites prefer drones. Making an alcohol was on "random" bees can be very misleading. If your target sample is just drones you can detect varroa infestation much earlier and more accurately. Plus you don't end up killing a bunch of worker bees unnecessarily. I was going to post a link to his website, but apparently that caused my post to get deleted, but it's easy to find if you make a search on his name. Would be great to hear your thoughts on it. Thanks!
Yes, I've studied his work and did my own experiments last year with the drones. I'm slow to move that direction just yet.
@@beek oh, very interesting! So what have your experiments shown so far? Does it seem to line up with Dr Lamas theory? I haven't started with his method either yet, think he says to use 40 drones in your sample and count the mites. However, any time I have wonky comb it usually has drone cells in it, and then when cutting out the wonky comb, I take the time to check out each drone cell for mites. In one hive I ended up having 2-3 mites in every drone cell, so that gave a good heads-up treatment was needed. I guess you could actually just target drone cells, because if you have mites, they will be laying eggs in the drone cells.
@@beek oh, that's great to hear! What was the outcome of your own experiments? Did it line up with Dr. Lamas theory? I haven't followed his method yet, which I think is sampling 40 drones. But every time I remove wonky comb, it usually has drone cells in it, and I always check all of those cells for mites. I did have one hive with all the drone cells in a piece of wonky comb having 2-3 mites in each cell, so that was a good indication of treatment being needed. Maybe that would be an easier way anyway, just check drone cells instead of trying to catch drones. Because if you got mites, there will be mites in the drone cells, and it's real easy to see them against the white larvae.
@@beek tried to make a comment here twice now, and each time it's there for a while, but then just disappears. Not sure if RUclips is glitchy, or if you are deleting my comments? Very confusing...
@@beek well, this time my comment has stayed up for over an hour, so maybe it was just a glitch before? Anyway... imagine if we have been doing the samples all wrong all this time, when doing alcohol washes on random bees. Sure, it sort of works, but you are potentially very likely to get an inaccurately low number (if it's like Dr. Lamas is saying, mites prefer drones). Maybe a better idea would be to put a green drone comb frame in the hive. Once drone brood is capped over, wait a couple of weeks, then open up 40 or so cells and check for mites. Real easy to see the mites against the white larvae.
Hi David, How long would you expect to have a brood break in a situation like replacing the queen etc thanks. Rob woodslee bees 🐝
I enjoyed your video David.
Hi David. What gloves are you using in this video please? I’m on the hunt for something better than the leather. After a bad sting near nail bed looks like no nitrile or bare hands for me. Thank you
First 😁Great Topic David!! When Testing, I always Use a Little Dawn Dishwasher Soap with Water, Like 1 Gallon Water and Spoon full Of Dawn, I can't Remember the exact Measurement, Gotta go back and see it to remember it, Lol. Ive Tried The sugar Wash and found 1 Mite but the Alcohol Wash Method Works so Much Better and effective. Nice Job! Have a great Day David!!
Here's a video where I compared an alcohol wash to the soap test: ruclips.net/video/lhIuLmMadLc/видео.htmlsi=Dl4rduq6yXUv3_93
Funny, might attacking you 😂
For sure.
I'm a newbie and have only had my 2 hives for 2 1/2 weeks. While I was just watching today, I saw a bunch of small, tiny ants crawling on the outside of deep box and feeder box ( I have your feeder in a super, Love it) The stand is wood. What can I use to get rid of ants?
00:03:10 You are missing the sky camera from a drone😊 neet to see how you get this great footage!
Thanks for sharing David. I know a lot of new beekeepers will appreciate the timing of this video. 👍🐝😁💜 See y'all tonight on the Livestream
You bet!
GREAT video for mite testing. Super sunny here today, expecting 80 degrees today. 😎🙂👍
Hey Jay, gonna get hotter and hotter! And more humid.
@@beek I will hold you responsible for the heat - bring it on!
I’m curious with a lot of people getting nucs
Within a 24 hour period transporting and placing in your box and you have over 300 dead bees in the bottom,
can you use those for an alcohol wash?
Or do they need to be freshly (alive ) in the
alcohol?
Whoa, that's an amazing question...i want to know the answer too!
I would suspect that the dead bees are older bees which mites are mainly on the nurse bees. Since mites are parasites, I wonder too if they abandon dead bees.