Treatment for varroa mites procedure using Varroa Terminator device

Spring treatment procedure in case of a single, deep super as brood chamber (or two shallow supers)

The reasons for Spring treatment are described in Treatment for varroa mites schedule article.

1. Put the brood chamber as-is (with bees and frames) aside and place lower panel with traps on top of bottom board, glass facing up
2. Using a syringe, fill gaps of both traps with water. If water is spilled over, there is no need to wipe it
3. Place 4 evaporators on lower panel glass and fill them with water so that bees cannot reach it (approx. ⅔)
4. Place the brood chamber on top of the lower panel
5. Pull a middle frame from brood chamber and insert into free honeycomb cells:
• lower panel sensor approx. 5 cm above bottom frame bar
• upper panel sensor approx. 5 cm below top frame bar
  In case of using two shallow brood chamber supers, place lower panel sensor above bottom frame bar of bottom super frame and place upper panel sensor below top frame bar of top super frame
6. Put the middle frame back into the brood chamber
7. Put the upper panel on top of brood chamber, glass facing down
8. Plug in both panels to a source of electric current (230V, 50 Hz). Display lights up on each panel showing actual temperature from where sensor is
9. Heating is now fully controlled by digital thermostat. Red asterix symbol indicates heating
10. The device is preset to 42°C. Make a note of time after reaching 41°C. This happens after 40 - 80 minutes depending on wall insulation of super and outside tepmerature. Hyperthermic treatment begins here. After eaching 42°C, thermostat stops heating. The temperature may keep rising up to max. 45°C due to device´s thermal inertia. Then the temperature falls back to 41,8°C and the heating is on again. The temperature may keep falling to 41°C, but then rises again. The temperature oscillates between 41 - 43°C
11. Leave the hyperthermic treatment on for 2,5 hours. After the time is up, remove both panels and hyperthermic treatment is completed

After hyperthermic treatment completed

After the treatment is over, remove both panels from the beehive. There is a lot of bees on the bottom of the lower panel, gently sweep them off. Dead mites can be found on lower panel´s glass, and we can count them. Sometimes there is bee louse (Braula coeca) also larvae of honeycomb moth (Galleria mellonella). More dead varroa mites are in trap gaps. Flush them out using a syringe into any white container for easy counting. After hyperthermic treatment, colony continues to operate as if nothing has happened.

What happens after hyperthermic treatment?

In the following days, bees will keep hatching and carrying out dead mites on their bodies and we can see a daily count of these on varroa bottom board. A single treatment in Spring will ensure the colony develops into a season unthreatened by varroa. If right after first treatment you see tens of dead varroa mites, it means the colony was massively infested and it is necessary to repeat the treatment in 12-14 days.

Tips and tricks

The best and the easiest is a hyperthermic treatment using Varroa Terminator together with our varroa bottom board. This way we skip the step of lifting the brood chamber. Slide the lower panel into varroa bottom board, install sensors, cover the brood chamber with upper panel and let the treatment work as described above.

Another alternative is to leave the Varroa Terminator device installed and remove it after bees return to brood chamber. In this case, it is OK to shorten the treatment by 30 minutes as there is enough heat accumulated in honeycomb. This way we skip the step of sweeping bees off the lower panel

Spring treatment procedure in case of two deep supers

The reasons for Spring treatment are described in Treatment for varroa mites schedule article.

Bees and brood is usually located in top super. In this case, install Varroa Terminator on the top super as follows:

1. Put the top super as-is (with bees and frames) aside and place lower panel with traps on top of the lower super, glass facing up
2. Using a syringe, fill gaps of both traps with water. If water is spilled over, there is no need to wipe it
3. Place 4 evaporators on lower panel glass and fill them with water so that bees cannot reach it (approx. ⅔)
4. Place the top super on top of the lower panel

The rest of the procedure remains the same from step 5 of Spring treatment procedure in case of a single, deep super as brood chamber (or two shallow supers).

Summer treatment in case of critical state

Consider this treatment as an emergency solution. In case there is, during season, a daily count of 3 and more mites a day on the varroa bottom board, or by using our hyperthermic varroa monitoring a count of more than 200 phoretic mites, it is necessary to perform the treatment. In this case, install Varroa Terminator on the brood chamber as follows:

1. Move honey super(s) on top of the bottom board and place brood chamber on the very top
2. Put the brood chamber as-is (with bees and frames) aside and place lower panel with traps on top of honey supers, glass facing up
3. Using a syringe, fill gaps of both traps with water. If water is spilled over, there is no need to wipe it
4. Place 4 evaporators on lower panel glass and fill them with water so that bees cannot reach it (approx. ⅔)
5. Place the brood chamber on top of the lower panel

The rest of the procedure remains the same from step 5 of Spring treatment procedure in case of a single, deep super as brood chamber (or two shallow supers).

Reposition supers into their original position after hyperthermic treatment.

Tips and tricks

When dealing with emergency situation, there is a simple way of treating for varroa mites on brood only. Hyperthermic treatment can be performed on brood frames without bees in a standalone super.

Treatment by the end of season, before stock feeding

After removing honey supers, a treatment is necessary.

The reasons for end of season treatment, before stock feeding are described in Treatment for varroa mites schedule article.

In case the colony occupies only one deep brood chamber, follow the Spring treatment procedure in case of a single, deep super as brood chamber (or two shallow supers).

In case the colony occupies two deep brood chambers and there is brood in both, move all frames with brood into one super and perform treatment on this super with young bees, following the Spring treatment procedure in case of two deep supers.

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