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How to Trap Mites

Varroa mites are a serious threat to the production of honey in the United States. Left untreated, these mites will kill off entire hives as their parasitic nature weakens the adult honeybees and will cause deformities in the emerging brood of bees. There are chemicals that will allow for the treatment of varroa mites, but they should not be used during the flow of honey because it renders the honey toxic. During the honeying season, the best way to rid a bee colony of varroa mites is by trapping them.

Things You'll Need

Brood nest of honeybees
Two drone brood frames
Freezer
Garden hose

Instructions

Trapping varroa mites
- 1
  Place the drone brood frame in the brood nest of your honeybees, but not against the wall of the apiary. Honeybees will naturally construct drone combs in the larger frames, and will build the drone combs quicker if it is away from the wall.
- 2
  When most of the cells are capped with drone pupae, but before they emerge, pull out the brood frame from the apiary, and replace it with the second drone brood frame. This will allow for a continual building of defenses against varroa mite infestation of workers.
- 3
  Place the brood frame in a freezer for 48 hours. This will kill the drones and the mites in the combs. Using this method you won't need to clean out the frame because the worker bees will do that when the frame is replaced in the hive.
- 4
  If freezer space is an issue, take the frame far away from the hive and blast out the capped cells with a garden hose, taking care to leave the comb. The more thoroughly you blast out the cells, the more mites will be removed.
- 5
  Replace the original drone frame back in the brood nest, remove the second drone frame, and repeat steps 3 or 4. Continue to rotate the frames every two to three days until the honeying season is over.

Animals & Science