How to do a mite wash (alcohol roll vs. sugar shake)
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Varroa destructor mites are the primary cause of colony mortality for backyard beekeepers. If you are not actively monitoring your mite loads, you are essentially waiting for your bees to die. Many beginners rely on visual inspections, looking for mites on the backs of adult bees, but this is a fatal mistake. By the time you see a mite on a bee, the infestation is likely already past the point of no return. To manage a healthy hive, you must use a standardized sampling method that provides a quantifiable mite count per hundred bees. The two most common techniques are the alcohol roll and the powdered sugar shake. While the sugar shake is often preferred by those hesitant to kill a small sample of bees, the alcohol roll remains the industry standard for accuracy and reliability.
Photo by Brett Jordan on Unsplash
For most hobbyists, the most effective way to start is to pick up a Foxhound Bee Company Varroa Easy Check Mite Tester, which simplifies the process of separating mites from the bees. This tool is affordable and durable, making it a staple for any apiary kit. Relying on guesswork or “gut feelings” about hive health leads to late-season crashes that can spread mites to neighboring apiaries. This guide will walk you through the precise mechanics of both methods, the trade-offs involved, and how to interpret your results to make informed treatment decisions.
Why Monitoring Varroa Mites is Non-Negotiable
The presence of Varroa mites in a honey bee colony is a mathematical certainty, not a possibility. These parasites feed on the fat body tissue of bees, which is crucial for immune function, pesticide detoxification, and overwintering survival. More importantly, Varroa mites act as vectors for a suite of deadly viruses, including Deformed Wing Virus (DWV) and Acute Bee Paralysis Virus. Because mites reproduce inside the capped brood cells, the majority of the mite population is hidden from view. A colony can appear robust and productive in June while harboring a mite population that will explode in August, leading to a complete collapse by October.
A standardized mite wash allows you to calculate a percentage of infestation. This percentage is the only way to know if your colony has reached the “economic threshold” for treatment. Without this data, you are either treating unnecessarily, which can lead to chemical resistance and hive stress, or you are failing to treat when the colony is in danger. The Honey Bee Health Coalition provides extensive documentation on why monitoring is the foundation of Integrated Pest Management (IPM). Their research indicates that colonies with mite levels exceeding 2 to 3 percent during the peak season are at high risk of failure.
To get an accurate reading, you need to sample bees from the brood nest. This is where the highest concentration of mites is found, as they are drawn to the pheromones of developing larvae. Sampling bees from the honey supers or the entrance will result in a false low count, as older foragers carry fewer mites than the nurse bees tending to the brood. You must commit to a regular testing schedule, ideally once a month from the time the colony starts expanding in the spring until the final winter preparations are made in the fall.
Choosing Your Method: Alcohol Roll vs. Sugar Shake
The debate between the alcohol roll and the sugar shake usually centers on the sacrifice of the bees. An alcohol roll kills approximately 300 bees (about a half-cup) per sample. For a colony of 40,000 to 60,000 bees, this loss is statistically insignificant and is quickly replaced by the queen. However, the accuracy is nearly 100 percent because the alcohol immediately dissolves the sticky bond between the mite and the bee, ensuring all mites are counted. If you want the most reliable data to protect the remaining 59,700 bees, you’ll need the Mann Lake Varroa EasyCheck, Precision Monitoring for Optimal Hive Health.
The powdered sugar shake is a non-lethal alternative where bees are coated in fine sugar, causing them to groom themselves and dislodge the mites. While this sounds ideal, it is significantly less efficient. Humidity can cause the sugar to clump, trapping mites against the bees. Furthermore, the vigorous shaking required to dislodge mites can still result in bee mortality or injury. Studies from various university extensions suggest that the sugar shake consistently undercounts mites by 10 to 20 percent compared to alcohol washes. If you choose the sugar shake, you must be extremely diligent with your technique and perhaps lower your treatment threshold to account for the margin of error.
Another supplementary tool is the Mann Lake Mite Sticky Board, Precision Mite Monitoring for Hives, which measures “natural mite drop” over a 24 to 72 hour period. While a sticky board is non-invasive, it is not a replacement for a wash. Sticky boards are heavily influenced by the amount of brood in the hive and the grooming behavior of the specific bee strain. They are best used as a secondary confirmation rather than a primary diagnostic tool. For a definitive answer on whether your hive needs immediate intervention, the alcohol roll remains the superior choice for serious hobbyists.
How to Perform a Precise Alcohol Mite Wash
Success in mite monitoring depends on consistency. If you vary your sample size or your shaking duration, your data becomes useless for month-to-month comparisons. You must follow a strict protocol to ensure that every mite is accounted for. Before you start, ensure you have a clean white tub, a 1/2 cup measuring scoop, 70% isopropyl alcohol, and your mite testing jar.
Safety Warning: Isopropyl alcohol is highly flammable and can be an irritant. Keep it away from any open smokers or heat sources in the apiary. Additionally, always wear your protective veil and gloves. While you are sampling, the hive will be open for an extended period, and the bees may become defensive during the shaking process. Ensure you have a clear workspace and that your CO detector is functional if you are storing any chemical treatments in an enclosed shed or vehicle.
Step-by-Step Alcohol Roll Protocol
- Locate the Queen: Open the hive and find a frame with open brood. Inspect this frame carefully to ensure the queen is not present. If you cannot find her, do not take the sample from that frame. It is often safer to move the queen to a separate cage or a different frame entirely before proceeding.
- Collect the Sample: Shake the bees from the brood frame into a plastic tub. Tap the tub on the ground so the bees gather in a corner. Quickly scoop 1/2 cup of bees (approximately 300 individuals) and dump them into the Mann Lake Varroa EasyCheck, Precision Monitoring for Optimal Hive Health or a similar testing jar.
- Add Alcohol and Wash: Pour 70% isopropyl alcohol into the jar until the bees are completely submerged. Secure the lid. Swirl the jar gently but firmly for 60 seconds. You are not trying to make a smoothie; you are using the fluid motion to wash the mites off the bees.
- Count the Mites: Lift the inner basket or filter to separate the bees from the liquid. The mites will sink to the bottom of the jar or pass through the mesh into the outer container. Hold the jar up to the light or pour the liquid through a fine mesh coffee filter to count the small, oval, reddish-brown specks.
- Calculate the Percentage: Divide the total number of mites by 3. For example, if you find 9 mites in your 300-bee sample, your infestation rate is 3 percent.
For high-quality equipment, you can pick up specialized jars from Mann Lake or Dadant, both of which offer professional-grade monitoring supplies that are built to last multiple seasons.
Common Mite Wash Mistakes to Avoid
The most frequent error in mite monitoring is sampling the wrong bees. If you take a sample from a frame of capped honey or a frame at the edge of the hive, your mite count will be artificially low. Varroa mites are phoretic, meaning they hitch a ride on adult bees, but they prefer nurse bees because they need to be near the brood to reproduce. If your sample doesn’t come from the heart of the brood nest, you are essentially lying to yourself about the health of the colony. Always look for frames with “wet” larvae (uncapped brood) to get the most representative sample of the mite population.
Another common pitfall is the “gentle shake” syndrome. Beekeepers are often naturally inclined to handle their bees with care, but a mite wash requires vigorous motion to be effective. If you are using the sugar shake method, you must shake the jar hard enough to dislodge the mites without turning the bees into a ball of paste. In an alcohol roll, the bees are already dead, so there is no reason to be timid. If you don’t swirl the jar for a full minute, the alcohol may not reach the mites tucked into the abdominal sternites of the bees.
Finally, failing to calibrate your sample size will ruin your data. A “half cup” must be a level half cup. If you scoop a “heaping” half cup, you might be sampling 400 or 500 bees instead of 300. When you divide your mite count by three, your percentage will be incorrectly high, leading you to treat a hive that might not need it. Conversely, a shallow scoop will lead to an incorrectly low percentage. Use a standard measuring cup and ensure the bees are settled before you finalize the volume. Precision in the apiary leads to precision in your management.
Interpreting Your Results and Treatment Thresholds
Once you have your number, you must decide what to do with it. Beekeeping associations and university researchers have established thresholds that dictate when a colony requires chemical intervention. Generally, in the early spring, a threshold of 1 percent (3 mites per 300 bees) is cause for concern because the mite population will grow faster than the bee population. During the peak summer honey flow, the threshold typically rises to 2 or 3 percent. If you hit 3 percent in August, you must treat immediately to ensure the “winter bees” (the long-lived bees that survive until spring) are raised in a low-mite environment.
The University of Florida IFAS Extension emphasizes that these thresholds are not suggestions; they are biological limits. If you ignore a 5 percent infestation in September, that colony has a very low probability of surviving until April. It is also important to recognize that mite populations are not static. A hive that tests at 1 percent in July can easily jump to 4 percent in August due to “mite drift.” This occurs when bees from a collapsing neighboring hive (a “mite bomb”) enter your hive, bringing their parasites with them.
When you decide to treat, choose a product that is appropriate for your current weather conditions and whether or not you have honey supers on the hive. Formic acid, for example, is effective at killing mites inside capped cells but cannot be used in high temperatures. Oxalic acid is excellent for “broodless” periods but is less effective when the queen is actively laying. Your mite wash results tell you when to treat; your hive’s status and the ambient temperature tell you how to treat.
Decision Framework: Alcohol vs. Sugar vs. Sticky Board
Choosing the right monitoring tool depends on your goals and your tolerance for bee loss. Use this framework to decide which path to take during your next inspection.
| Feature | Alcohol Roll | Sugar Shake | Sticky Board |
|---|---|---|---|
| Accuracy | High (95-100%) | Moderate (70-85%) | Low (Variable) |
| Bee Mortality | Lethal (300 bees) | Non-lethal (Mostly) | Zero |
| Time Required | 5-10 minutes | 15-20 minutes | 24-72 hours |
| Best Use Case | Routine monthly checks | Treatment-free apiaries | Supplemental monitoring |
| Complexity | Simple | Moderate (Requires dry sugar) | Simple (Passive) |
If you are a beginner, the alcohol roll is the recommended path. The clarity of the results far outweighs the loss of a few hundred bees. If you are adamant about not killing bees, you must perform the sugar shake twice to ensure you are getting a representative count, and you should probably pick up a Mann Lake Mite Sticky Board, Precision Mite Monitoring for Hives to watch for sudden spikes in mite drop between your monthly washes.
FAQ
Will killing 300 bees for an alcohol wash hurt my colony’s honey production? No, killing 300 bees will have no measurable impact on your honey production or the colony’s overall health. A healthy queen lays between 1,000 and 2,000 eggs per day during the peak season. The bees you remove for the sample are replaced within a matter of hours by newly emerging brood. In contrast, failing to perform the wash and missing a high mite count can lead to the death of the entire colony (up to 60,000 bees). The sacrifice of a small sample is a strategic investment in the survival of the hive. Think of it as a necessary diagnostic test, similar to a blood draw in human medicine.
Can I use windshield washer fluid instead of isopropyl alcohol? Yes, many beekeepers use blue winter-grade windshield washer fluid (the kind rated for -20 degrees) as a cheaper alternative to isopropyl alcohol. It contains methanol, which is effective at killing the bees quickly and releasing the mites. However, you must ensure it does not contain added fragrances or “rain repellent” chemicals that could leave a residue in your testing equipment. Some beekeepers also use a drop of Dawn dish soap in water, which breaks the surface tension and allows mites to sink. While these alternatives work, 70% isopropyl alcohol remains the most reliable and consistent fluid for standardized testing because it evaporates quickly and leaves no soapy residue.
How often should I realistically be testing for mites in a backyard setting? At a minimum, you should test four times a year: early spring (when the first brood appears), mid-summer (before the main honey flow), late summer (before the winter bees are raised), and mid-autumn (to check the efficacy of your treatments). However, the gold standard for backyard beekeeping is monthly testing. Mite populations can explode in a very short window, especially if there are other beekeepers in your area who are not managing their mites. Monthly testing allows you to see the “trend” of the mite population. If you see the count doubling every month, you know you need to intervene even if you haven’t hit the 3 percent threshold yet.
Conclusion
Mastering the mite wash is the single most important skill you can develop as a backyard beekeeper. Whether you choose the precision of the alcohol roll or the non-lethal approach of the sugar shake, the key is to stop guessing and start measuring. By using tools like the Foxhound Bee Company Varroa Easy Check Mite Tester, you take control of your hive’s health and move away from the “hope-based” management that leads to empty hives in the spring. Consistent monitoring allows you to treat only when necessary, saving you money and reducing stress on your bees. Make mite testing a standard part of your monthly hive inspections and your bees will have a significantly higher chance of thriving year after year.
Bookmark this guide to keep these thresholds and procedures handy during your next apiary visit.