Thirty years after my first bee keeper experience, when moving with the family to Wallonia, I decided to go for a real education as a beekeeper, and to have my own bee hives.
During my 2 year education it became clear that all bee keepers are instructed to use acids or medicines against the Varroa destructor. But I decided to one clear principle : I will never apply any acids, chemicals, medicins, basically any additives in my hives or on my bees. If I don't manage it like this, then I decided I will stop as a beekeeper.
This was quite a challenge, as classical beekeeping relies on the application of acids and additives to fight parasites like the Varroa destructor, no other methods are provided.
So I searched a lot, and I decided to start by using ground mites like Hypoaspis, also called Stratiolaelaps scimitus, to fight the Varroa in a natural way. Hypoaspis mites are sometimes found in bee colonies in trees.
This however didn't really work well, I lost many colonies, and it was clear after several years that it is hard to apply this method successfully in beehives.
In this picture you see the setup of some of my first bee hives with compost containers with ground mites under the bee hives.
Joy in beekeeping with chemical free colonies
The Varroa Controller
After a lot of investigation, I discovered the hyperthermia method.
When the brood of the bees is treated at a well controlled temperature and humidity, the Varroa mites that are capped inside the brood will die, while the larvae of the bees will survive.
The Varroa Controller is a machine developed to perform the hyperthermia treatment in a safe and efficient way.
More info on : https://varroa-controller.com/