Treating for varroa

On Sunday, Barbara, a beekeeping friend of ours, arrived to help us do our annual varroa treatment of our hives. Varroa is a mite that arrived in the UK in the early 1990s and is now widespread. Sadly, we can't eliminate it. Instead, we have to manage it and contain it wherever possible. Previously we have injected a sugar syrup into the hives which contains oxalic acid. This time, Barbara helped us to fumigate the hives with oxalic acid vapour. We will be checking the varroa boards at the bottom of the hives shortly to see if the treatment has had an effect.