Seeing varroa early this year?

The parasitic varroa mite up close.

We are hearing and seeing some reports of apparently high levels of varroa early this season, so here are a few management options that we hope will help.

If you are already seeing varroa, it is important to monitor carefully and be ready to act quickly to ensure the colony’s strength and survival through the season ahead.

Firstly, check if there is a daily drop of varroa mites – what you are seeing could just be debris that has built up over the winter.

If there are varroa falling at this early stage, we recommend:
1) feeding your colonies with Vita Feed Green, which will give them a good boost to strengthen the colony and can help with varroa
2) a full six-week treatment with Apistan which can, if necessary, be left on during the honey flow and when supers are present.