Incognito: no mite counts, so I have no idea where I stand with the mites.
May be to your surprise but I never do mite counts. I will do dead mite counts after Oxalic acid vaporization, OAV.
My reasoning:
1. I know my bees have mites.
2. Mite counts are an estimate, not precise, with alcohol wash most likely being the most accurate. I just cannot deliberately kill my bees unless I know they are diseased with contagious foul brood. Alcohol certainly kills the bees,,, I can?t stand it, my bees trust me.
3. I treat with a chemical that is already present in honey, not invasive as most treatments.
4. My bees act very normal, all is well within 5 minutes after treatment with OAV.
5. My queen laying is not interrupted, nor can I detect any negative side effects with treatment using OAV.
6. Each hive is unique with actual number of mites, that is one hive my be hygienic whereas the next very susceptible and I have to many hives to count each hive with respect to mite number.
7. With a provap 110, treatments take less time than methods use for counting mites.
Considering above, treatment is not invasive and I know mites are present so treating is a win for both me and the bees. I see no need to estimate the number of mites prior to treatment with OAV when treatment is conducted in a timely manner. Timely matter means after honey is extracted in early June and subsequent treatments on a monthly basis.
Blessings to All
Van