https://youtu.be/s0RSW6P1y7g Had to introduce myself face to face for ya’ll. That was some hard work and I got swarmed like crazy but as I try to explain I saw no mites and no need to put in Apistan Strips. Why fix something that ain’t broke as the saying goes.
Visual exam for mites is not enough.
You need to do a sugar roll or alcohol wash.
I will be paying a visit to my Commercial friend. He had asked me earlier this month if I had treated my colonies yet and I hadn’t then. But I will talk to him today and let him know the direction I took. I think though he will tell me much of what everyone else is saying and to just go ahead and put in the strips. It might be easier to do when bees are out in the warm weather than first thing in the morning when they are all clustered. Thats the way they were the other day because the nights are getting down around the 40’s, but days are still in the 80’s.
so here is my update. I went ahead and placed the strips in today. After all the advice about mites being in the larvae I decided I would listen to aged wisdom and not rely on my own. My beekeeper friend was sick and I missed him by an hour but had a good visit with his wife and bought some honeystix to take to market tomorrow.