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Beekeeping Mite Test Using Dawn? Alcohol Or Powdered Sugar?

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Beekeeping has changed recently in how we test for mites. Today let's explore which of these works best, dawn dishwashing soap, an alcohol wash or a powdered sugar test.
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Опубликовано:

21 авг 2024

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Комментарии : 67

@saltysnapdragon2567 Год назад

For those that use the dish soap method, spritzing isopropyl alcohol over the bubbles will pop all the bubbles ❤

@susanwehe8270 Год назад

If you’re looking through the bottom of the container, the suds are not an issue

@elaineewart6640 11 месяцев назад

Great information and thank you for showing us

@lynnerousseau9676 Год назад

You can use Dawn… shake… shake.. shake… and use a 20X magnifying mirror ($10)- and mirror the bottom of the container… and it’s very easy to count the bottom.. without any suds getting in the way.

@danbowen6242 11 месяцев назад

You can use a colander and paint filter bags, eliminates all the suds as you rinse the bees and mites with fresh water - swished bees go in the colander, paint mesh filter bag under it. Rinse thoroughly and bees stay in colander, mites easy to count on filter bag.

@davenajeff5688 2 месяца назад

Do the bees die?

@srae1503 Год назад

The suds float on top so if you leave them in the cup, you can count them from looking at the bottom of the cup

@beek Год назад

Yup, maybe if the count is no so high that mites do not cover other mites, but that would be hard to film with one hand 😄

@nathandouglass7384 Год назад

You can use a handheld propane torch over the top of the water will pop all the bubbles with the Dawn soap

@phyllisflorian3540 Год назад

Thanks, David. I used Dawn method, but let it sit before counting them - suds dissipated and I got the count.

@CastleHives Год назад

I’ve switched over to Dawn. Less expensive, always available.

@chuckgross6024 Год назад

Dawn may be a cheaper alternative for someone with alot of hives, I'm still going to use alcohol just because of the suds factor. Very interesting results though! Thanks David

@lorivanderark9556 Год назад

You could spray vinegar on the Dawn suds, it should break them down.

@garrisonbeehives5959 Год назад

What about an alcohol wash followed by the dawn with the same bees to see if there is any residual.

@DoubleTopHoneyCo Год назад

I thought powdered sugar was supposed to be the non-chemical method by shaking into the hive for them to be coated and they super groom themselves. Ensure to add a sticky bottom board after the shake to catch the mites. Plus they have the sugar to convert. Then an alcohol wash. So a cleanse count then alcohol count should be greatly decreased. Has worked for me. Powdered sugar isn't a release agent. Excellent test.

@dustinpotter8312 Год назад

I used to work at a laundro-mat and customers would sometimes get too much soap in the machine. We used "softener" to bust the bubbles. Dawn works on ant flushes too.

@beek Год назад

Not a bad idea.

@antenna69 Год назад

after the Dawn was put in a glass container the suds float to the top and you can see from looking up through the bottom

@AlexLakotiti Год назад

You should have wash again the dead bees. The bees from the Dawn test, wash them with alcohol afterwards, and the dead ones from the alcohol test, wash them again with Dawn. 😉

@joeelam1 Год назад

The dawn is what I use now, my check was real close w/ the others.

@beek Год назад

Cool

@timothyshawn99 3 месяца назад

There has got to be a way to “wash” our bees to minimize mite load without killing the bees. For instance, make them bloodless and cause the mites to go onto the adult bees and then rinsing them with water and a little dish soap. Then allowing bees to dry out and return to the hive. Has anyone tried this? If you do this often, I could see it being a sustainable way to keep mite loads in check without using poison. Obviously this is not realistic on a large scale but for someone with just a couple of hives it may be viable. Thoughts?

@SpiderMan-pf6pu Год назад

I will go out at first light take out the Queen and give the hole hive a sugar bathtub no soap or alcohol bee free

@huckleberry4487 Год назад

Thanks for the thorough explanation in the video. Is there an accepted comparison ratio in the bee community for the alcohol wash vs the powder sugar? e.g. double your number of mites if using the powdered sugar test. I get the need to sacrifice bees for the test but as a new beekeeper with one new hive (from a package), I might start with powder sugar method until the summer.

@ronw8052 4 месяца назад

I thought manufactured powdered sugar was not good for the bees because of the baking properties. not supposed to use because of the baking properties. Also I thought that they removed most of the mites while grooming..

@beek 4 месяца назад

Store bought powdered sugar does have 10% corn starch, so ideally it's best to make your own, but for the most part that 10% doesn't hurt bees.

@j.clarkhelton7883 7 месяцев назад

A drop of fabric softener in the dawn solution should hold the soap suds to a minimum

@tjhughes66 Год назад

Propane touch for the bubbles mite help

@jeanettewestover Год назад

I think a dropped or two of fabric softener will dispell the suds ...

@CaravanFarms Год назад

Maybe add a bit of vinegar to the soapy water to kill the foam

@jimmywarner1105 Год назад

Maybe it would have been best to look through the bottom of the cup so the suds would have stayed atop of the water while mites sank.

@beek Год назад

Yes like I have said to so many comments I wanted to use the plate for the video and as one guy with the camera on the tripod it would be difficult to film, but I agree.

@frankmachado Год назад

Hey Dave can you just hold the tub up and count from underneath

@beek Год назад

With counts more than 10 it would be difficult, plus for camera purposes, tough to do.

@lynnerousseau9676 Год назад

You can place a 20X magnifying mirror UNDER the cup… and reflect the bottom of the container… it’s is so easy to could that way… and I bet it “films great too!!” I’m not relying on my old eyes-lol..

@byronclayton5273 10 месяцев назад

Why do you add the zeros? All you need to do is take the number of mites and divide the number of bees by 100. Example, if you counted 285 bees, you would divide the number of mites by 2.85.Example: you have 14 mites and 260 bees (there's never exactly 300 in a half cup sample), you would simply divide 14 by 2.6 to get 5.38%. Counting the bees just gives a more accurate count than just assuming there are 300 bees. I'm new to bee keeping but old to math...

@gerrysherman2865 Год назад

Looks like Dawn is more accurate.😮

@beek Год назад

But like I said, we are NOT sure how many mites were on each sample, so yes, it is just as good perhaps.

@TheBaconWizard Год назад

Dawn requires that you let the bees soak for 2 minutes before agitating, in order to come up to 90% accuracy. The amount of dawn required shouldn't make many suds.

@MERRLINN Год назад

have you ever did a mite test after a powdered surger dusting?

@haroldmiller9942 Год назад

David, thank you for another great video! Have you tried white vinegar for doing the wash? I was curious if that’s as effective. It looks like the suds add some complexity and potential inaccuracy if they aren’t cleared away. Thanks again!

@briansamphs3720 10 месяцев назад

Is it possible that simply shaking the bees will knock some mites off? Should the control maybe be 300 bees with nothing added?

@beek 10 месяцев назад

Extremely unlikely because mites are an ectoparasite and cling to bees extremely well.

@SpiderMan-pf6pu Год назад

Did you add water to the jar after the count on the sugar sample

@dougbunn1244 Год назад

Hi David, I have a question. Do all of the bees return to the hive each night? I'm in South Alabama and recent temperatures have been 80 in the day and 50's at night. Thanks Doug

@beek Год назад

Hi Doug, yup, they should, but sometimes they might get caught in a storm or trapped in a flower, but 99% of the bees go back home before dark.

@randyrochon9817 Год назад

Have you ever tried spraying Pam cooking spray over the bubbles send it

@beek Год назад

never tried it.

@Uncle_Buzz Год назад

The irony of using a FairLife bottle to kill the bees LOL.

@6wild6flower6 Год назад

Todays recipe calls for one cup of bees

@bligon11 Год назад

Does the powder sugar kill the mites?

@jimjim7708 Год назад

Try cold water, less suds.

@beek Год назад

It was cold and sat for 12 hours before I used it.

@fredflinderman Год назад

How do you keep your hives from falling over?

@beek Год назад

They are heavy with honey

@davenajeff5688 2 месяца назад

Did the bees die?

@robgarvin5634 Год назад

hey dave does the dean soap kill the bees? I'm a new beekeeper I'm not 100% on killing bees with alchohol wash thanks love the youtube videos Rob

@beek Год назад

Yes Rob it does. I hate killing bees and the way I came to terms with this type of testing is that a colony is a single organism. To treat humans with cancer other healthy cells usually have to be killed as well to save the great organism. I view 300 bees as single cells that can save the great organism. The queen lays 1000-2000 eggs a day during our testing season, so 300 per month out of 45,000 is only 0.66%.

@robertgarvin7247 Год назад

thanks Dave I see what you mean. numbers dont lie appreciate your time and knowledge with this

@Blgtn43 Год назад

Why not just assume your hives have mites and treat them as if you have a heavy mite load? Even if your mite load is low, it will increase.

@samst-louis9389 Год назад

Wait a minute (new beekeeper here) You need to KILL the bees you tested? Or am I missing something?

@beek Год назад

Hi Sam, I used to hate and dodge the issue. However, the way I came to terms with this type of testing is that a colony is a single organism. To treat humans with cancer other healthy cells usually have to be killed as well to save the great organism. I view 300 bees as single cells that can save the greater organism. The queen lays 1000-2000 eggs a day during our testing season, so 300 per month out of 45,000 is only 0.66%. But by all means that is a personal decision. If we fail to do our test, the entire colony will eventually perish.

@samst-louis9389 Год назад

@@beek ok, good point, I understand, not sure if I like it though but I understand. Thanks for the reply. 👍