Watch this video from australia, the video talks about placing a banana (with in the first 2:15 mins or so) in the top of the hive to promote hive cleaning. With This help with mite removal?
Hi Marty,
Putting a banana skin on top of the frames of the brood box has been one of those urban myths passed around for ages here in Australia. If you want to agitate your bees if definitely works, the smell is similar to the bee alarm pheromone and there is a distinctive elevation in the hum when you place that banana down. Though I am not convinced about the increase in hygienic behaviour. I used this method in an attempt to cure chalkbrood in one of my hives and I successfully made them aggressive but the chalkbrood was still there.
It doesn’t harm the bees and I would recommend you experimenting with it, especially considering how much you must hate varroa, who knows it may help. Just make sure you suit up and any pets are safely inside the house. 
Plus wife and children… Oh, and tell the neighbours what you are doing too… 
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There was a craze in the sixties for smoking banana skins instead of dope. I don’t think that had much effect either
LOL LOL good to know, so it does nothing but agitate the bees. What was it supposed to be used for and what was it used for in the 60’s in the smoker?
Not in a smoker 
…
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