Our method of controlling the Varroa Mite is based on the assumption that screened bottom boards will be used.  

No need for using pesticides in your beehives

Screened bottom boards

Screened bottom boards are a necessary component of effective Varroa control.

Here is an example of drone trapping using beeswax "Tracking Cream".   Since mites prefer drone brood for reproduction, coating the drone brood with cream traps the mites in this area ( using a paint brush to apply the cream is very effective).   Since the mites can survive for some time in sealed brood,  possibly even if the brood is dead, scratching away the capped cells will better insure that the mites come in contact with the tracking cream emulsion.   When mites emerge from the drone pupa they are immobilized in the cream and die.  The drones will not survive either, of course,  and it takes the bees quite a while to clean this mess up.  Not scratching the capped brood away makes it somewhat easier for the bees to remove the dead larva.  

The stronger the hive the less time it will take the bees to clean and remove the dead pupas.    I have experimented with this, and in a highly infested colony I believe this can be an effective method of trapping mites,  however the mineral oil in the cream will soften the comb somewhat and it is difficult for the bees to remove the dead drone pupa if the hive is weaker.   If the dead drone pupas are not removed in a timely fashion some decay of the pupas can result.  Depending on the strength of the colony one would not want to create too much of a burden for the bees to have to clean up.   But this must be weighed against how one would set up a timely regiment of treatment. 

No need for using pesticides in your beehives

Since we are frequently out and about, e-mail is the most efficient method of reaching us: