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Have you tried open-bottomed hives? The mites that get groomed off the bees fall to the ground where they're vulnerable to predators and can't crawl back up to

Have you tried open-bottomed hives? The mites that get groomed off the bees fall to the ground where they're vulnerable to predators and can't crawl back up to the top of the hive to re-infest the bees. Supposedly solves the problem. I confess I have not tried it myself yet, but I'm still learning, working on a very small scale in a very benign climate and have not yet experienced any significant mite problems, so ymm(likely)v.

exabrial 9y ago
Nice! We have very rough winters in Kansas (driving, persistent wind and no humidity), so it won't work year round, but it may work for our summers
- s73v3r_ 9y ago
  Are the hives outside during the winter? Maybe something like a greenhouse could help?
lostlogin 9y ago
It helps, but you have to treat too where I am. Your bees over there have a degree more tolerance to the mites than ours as they are relatively new here in New Zealand.
- olliej 9y ago
  Oh boo, varroa got to NZ? :(
  - lostlogin 9y ago
    Oh yes. And like everywhere they go they have caused havoc and spread disease. It’s very sad.
- awakeasleep 9y ago
  There hasn't actually been any conclusive proof that open bottomed hives help at all
  - lostlogin 9y ago
    There is evidence that about 20% of mites fall off as they emerge, and they supposedly can’t get back in if they fall out the hive. That claim comes from Mark Goodwin and Michelle Taylor (Control of Varroa, revised and reprinted 2013). That said, they don’t make any comment of the effect this has on hive health. A potentially better argument for the open style of floor is the additional ventilation. Where I am gets something like 1125mm of rain a year, which is quite a bit. Keeping the hive ventilated is an additional benefit. A third reason is that the bases I’ve got are so nice to use, and cost no more than the older style wooden type. https://www.ecrotek.co.nz/product/hive-doctor-semi-vented-bottom-board https://www.ecrotek.co.nz/product/hive-doctor-semi-vented-bo...

exabrial 9y ago

Nice! We have very rough winters in Kansas (driving, persistent wind and no humidity), so it won't work year round, but it may work for our summers

s73v3r_ 9y ago
Are the hives outside during the winter? Maybe something like a greenhouse could help?

lostlogin 9y ago

It helps, but you have to treat too where I am. Your bees over there have a degree more tolerance to the mites than ours as they are relatively new here in New Zealand.

olliej 9y ago
Oh boo, varroa got to NZ? :(
- lostlogin 9y ago
  Oh yes. And like everywhere they go they have caused havoc and spread disease. It’s very sad.
awakeasleep 9y ago
There hasn't actually been any conclusive proof that open bottomed hives help at all
- lostlogin 9y ago
  There is evidence that about 20% of mites fall off as they emerge, and they supposedly can’t get back in if they fall out the hive. That claim comes from Mark Goodwin and Michelle Taylor (Control of Varroa, revised and reprinted 2013). That said, they don’t make any comment of the effect this has on hive health. A potentially better argument for the open style of floor is the additional ventilation. Where I am gets something like 1125mm of rain a year, which is quite a bit. Keeping the hive ventilated is an additional benefit. A third reason is that the bases I’ve got are so nice to use, and cost no more than the older style wooden type. https://www.ecrotek.co.nz/product/hive-doctor-semi-vented-bottom-board https://www.ecrotek.co.nz/product/hive-doctor-semi-vented-bo...