Varroa CO2 Tester: Efficient Mite Detection For Your Beehive

Product Description

Introducing the Varro CO2 Tester, a transformative solution to keep a vigilant eye on mite levels in your beehive. This innovative tool briefly stuns the bees with CO2, enabling easy removal of mites without causing harm to the bees. The testing process is quick, straightforward, and completed within about a minute. 

Features

• Quick and efficient detection of mite infestation.
• Brief CO2 application to dislodge mites from bees.
• Safe for bees, causing minimal casualties.
• Comes with a container and CO2 dispenser, including two 16-gram CO2 bottles.
• Easily replaceable CO2 bottles for continued use.

The Varro CO2 Tester operates by capturing about 200 bees from the brood frame (make sure not to catch the queen!). The bees are then subjected to a short CO2 application, followed by a shake of the container. This results in the anesthetized mites falling to the bottom, allowing for easy counting. Bees recover quickly from the procedure, unlike more aggressive methods that can harm them.

Similar to both the alcohol wash and powdered sugar roll techniques, the CO2 procedure puts both bees and mites to sleep for a short period. After a gentle shake in the sample container, the mites drop from the bees and fall through the holes in the container. This method, generally harmless for the bees, has been validated by European research, showing accuracy similar to the alcohol wash.

Calculating the level of mite infestation is simple. You divide the number of mites by the sample size (300 bees) and multiply by 100. For example, if you have 12 mites in a 300-bee sample, your infestation rate is 4 percent. It's an efficient way to maintain the health of your hive!

The CO2 method has several advantages, such as keeping the bees alive, causing minimal stress, being moderately fast, and can be done whenever you visit the apiary. Discover the convenience and effectiveness of the Varro CO2 Tester today!