Varroa Floor Plans

The bottom board on the left is a screened bottom board whereas the one on the right is a solid bottom board.

Varroa floor plans.

Video of how to design a varroa management strategy. However open mesh floors are increasingly preferred providing good air circulation and easy varroa monitoring. An open mesh floor could have a ventilation area of 18 by 18 totalling 324 square inches. Open mesh floor omf some designs and uses.

In practice it will be less about 250 square inches allowing for struts and battens. The old entrance which is now at the rear of the hive is used to accommodate the drawer which can be pulled out without disturbing the bees. Varroa mites that. A sheet of paper.

On this page i ve included a video and a pdf on all the current 2018 tools for varroa and what i think of them. Tools for varroa management page 3 introduction every honey bee colony in the continental united states and canada either has varroa mites today or will have them within several months. The method of using the varroa floor is to reverse the original floorboard and place the varroa floor on top. Varroa mite infestation represents one of the greatest threats to honey bee health honey production and pollination services.

The floor of the hive can be screened to allow varroa mites to fall through to the ground. The bees then fly from the new entrance see fig. When honey bee colonies are untreated or treated ineffectively colonies can fail and beekeepers can incur major economic losses and ultimately agricultural food production may be impacted. Varroa mite most beekeepers have modified the bottom board by cutting out a large rectangular portion and covering the space with wire mesh.

By contrast a varroa floor insert above a wooden floor will only allow air through the hive entrance which is high by 18 inches. Plywood is less affected by changes in. How do we know what ones are best. Inevitably the design of the floor also influences the entrance to the hive.

When honey bee colonies are. Make a good plan for this year and keep those parasites under control. Pdf of making a plan for varroa varroa treatment decision tree. There are a lot of options for varroa treatments.

Floors can be as simple as a sheet of ply with three lengths of softwood to raise the brood box up slightly. These are a selection of designs of open mesh floors called screened bottom boards in the u s that have been generated by different individuals for ventilation or monitoring varroa mite fall.