- A shallow bucket, long plastic container, or any other suitable bee receptacle
- A mason jar with screw-on cap (jar lid omitted)
- A screen or small wire mesh (MEESH!) (the screen will be used in place of the jar lid)
- A dinner plate or a flat viewing surface
When you have all your gear, and you're all suited up, follow these simple steps:
First, choose a densely populated frame of bees from your hive, and make sure it's QUEENLESS!
Second, with the bee receptacle placed securely on the ground, take the populous frame and hold at an angle over the bin, and with swift motion, tap the frame on the side of the container (the aim is to get as many bees in as possible).
Third, take your sugar jar a scoop as many bees from the container as possible and tighten the lid. Then gently toss the bees in the jar to ensure a good sugar coating.
Next, turn the jar over and proceed to shake the sugar out onto the dinner plate. If any mites are present they should fall out with the sugar onto the surface. For extra visibility, pour water onto the plate and the mites should float. Use the number of mites found to determine whether to treat your hives. We only found six mites out 12oz (approx 100 bees) and have decided to hold off any treatments for now.
After the shake and observation, de-lid the jar and pour the bees and sugar into the hive. The extra sugar will promote grooming habits among the other bees. Our coated bees resembled little apis mellifera spirits all fuzzy and ghostly!
Overall we found the sugar shake method quite effective, and pretty sweet too!
