Last fall I lost my hives to mites. The hives sat outside all winter and froze. Will the freezing kill all the mites?

-- Dave Cartwright (cartwright@brunnet.net), April 08, 2002

Answers

yes,, actually,, its a practice now,, to "lure" the mites into a frame of drones,, and then, when its mostly capped cells,, to remove it, and put it into the freezer for 2 days. You dont say where you are,,,but it should b enough,,especially, since the mites life cycle, depends on the bees

-- Stan (sopal@net-pert.coms), April 08, 2002.

Also, the mites can only live a matter of a few days without a host bee. If the bees were dead all winter then so are the mites. Les

-- Les Vaughn (rocketcaver@yahoo.com), April 08, 2002.