How to Write Your Varroa Treatment Protocol: A Template for Beekeepers
Most beekeepers make varroa treatment decisions in the moment -- they get a high count, feel some urgency, and start searching "what to do when mites are high." That reactive approach is how treatment windows get missed and how colonies die. Beekeepers with a written treatment protocol act on threshold alerts 14 days faster than those making decisions without one, because the hard thinking is done before the stressful situation arrives.
A written protocol doesn't have to be complicated. It's a document that answers six questions about your apiary so that when a count comes back high, you already know what to do next. The protocol builder in VarroaVault walks you through these same six questions to generate a personalized written protocol you can save and share.
TL;DR
- This guide covers key aspects of how to write your varroa treatment protocol: a template for
- Mite monitoring should happen at minimum every 3-4 weeks during active season
- The 2% threshold in spring/summer and 1% in fall are standard action points based on HBHC guidelines
- Always run a pre-treatment and post-treatment mite count to calculate efficacy
- Treatment records including product name, EPA number, dates, and counts are required for state inspection compliance
- VarroaVault stores all monitoring and treatment data with automatic threshold comparison and state export formatting
Why Write It Down
There's a difference between knowing what you should do and having a plan for what you will do. A written protocol closes that gap.
It also helps with consistency across multiple hives and multiple seasons. When you expand from 5 hives to 15, you can't hold all the decision logic in your head. A protocol gives you a repeatable system that doesn't depend on you remembering last year's thinking while standing in the apiary in August.
If you ever share your apiary with a partner, employee, or fellow beekeeper, a written protocol means everyone treats to the same standard. That consistency is what prevents one person's "I'll wait and see" from turning into a colony loss.
The Six Questions
Answer these six questions honestly and you'll have a working treatment protocol.
1. What are my treatment thresholds?
Thresholds define when you act. The most widely used standard is 2% for the active season (April through July) and 1% in August or any time within 8 weeks of your expected cluster date. Some beekeepers use lower thresholds -- 1% year-round -- and some operations use higher ones based on specific colony strength data.
Write down your threshold for each season: spring, summer, and fall. Be specific. "High mites" is not a threshold. "2% from April through July 31; 1% from August 1 forward" is a threshold.
2. Which treatments will I use and when?
Your protocol should list your primary fall treatment, your primary spring/summer treatment if needed, and your preferred broodless-period treatment for fall. For each, note the conditions under which you'd use it.
Example: "Primary fall treatment: Apivar, applied no later than August 15. Broodless period treatment: Api-Bioxal dribble if colony is confirmed broodless. Emergency summer treatment: Formic Pro if count exceeds 5% in July or August before Apivar window opens."
3. How will I rotate active ingredients?
Write out your rotation plan across two to three years. If you use Apivar (amitraz) in fall 2025, your 2026 fall treatment should use a different class -- formic acid or OA vaporization. The following year you can return to amitraz.
The goal is to avoid using the same active ingredient class in the same season two years running. Document which class you used each year in VarroaVault so you have an automatic rotation reference.
4. When will I test before and after each treatment?
Pre-treatment count: within 7 days of starting treatment.
Post-treatment count: 3-4 weeks after treatment completion.
Write this into your protocol explicitly. "I will do an alcohol wash before every treatment and again 30 days after" is a complete statement. Most beekeepers skip the post-treatment count. Your protocol should require it.
5. What is my response to a post-treatment count above threshold?
This is where most ad hoc decision-making breaks down. What do you do if your post-treatment count is still above threshold after a 6-week Apivar treatment?
Your protocol should define the trigger: "If my 30-day post-treatment count is above 2%, I will: (1) switch to a different active ingredient class, (2) consider whether my colony has unusually high resistance risk, and (3) contact my state extension specialist if the second treatment also fails."
6. What are my logging requirements?
Document what you commit to recording after every count and every treatment. At minimum: date, hive ID, method, result, product used, dose, and post-treatment count. VarroaVault's treatment log template pre-fills many of these fields automatically, but your protocol should state what records you commit to keeping.
Building the Protocol Document
Once you've answered the six questions, write them into a single document. It can be a single page. A protocol that fits on one printed page is more useful than a 10-page document nobody reads.
The varroa mite treatment plan generator in VarroaVault generates a formatted protocol document from your answers and stores it in your account. You can print it, share it, or reference it from the app when you're in the apiary and need a reminder.
Your protocol is a living document. Review it in February each year, before the season starts, and update it based on what you learned from the previous year. Did a treatment underperform? Did you miss a window? Adjust the protocol to prevent the same thing next season.
What Your Protocol Does Not Need to Be
It doesn't need to cover every possible scenario. The goal is to define your standard operating procedure for the situations that come up every year -- not to anticipate every edge case. If something unusual happens (disease complicating your treatment window, queen loss during treatment), you handle it with your best judgment and update your protocol afterward.
It also doesn't need to be perfect before you start using it. A basic protocol you follow consistently beats a detailed protocol that exists only in your head.
Frequently Asked Questions
What should a varroa treatment protocol include?
A complete treatment protocol answers six questions: your thresholds by season, which treatments you'll use and when, your rotation plan across active ingredient classes, your pre- and post-treatment count schedule, your response plan if a treatment fails, and your logging requirements. You don't need more than a single page. What matters is that every key decision is written down before you're standing in the apiary with a high count and wondering what to do next.
How specific should my treatment protocol be?
Specific enough that someone else could follow it. "Treat when mites are high" is not a protocol. "Apply Apivar on August 1 if the July 15 count is above 1%; apply OA dribble in the confirmed broodless period in October or November" is a protocol. Dates and numbers matter. Vague intentions don't prevent treatment failures -- clear decision rules do. You can always adjust the numbers based on what you observe, but start with specific targets.
Does VarroaVault help me build a written treatment protocol?
Yes. The protocol builder in VarroaVault walks you through the six core questions -- thresholds, treatment choices, rotation plan, monitoring schedule, failure response, and logging commitments -- and generates a formatted protocol document from your answers. The protocol is stored in your account and referenced automatically when you log counts that cross your thresholds, which triggers the treatment recommendation engine to surface options consistent with your protocol choices.
How do I know if my varroa treatment is working?
Run a mite count 2-4 weeks after the treatment ends and compare it to your pre-treatment count. The efficacy formula is: ((pre-count - post-count) / pre-count) x 100. A result above 90% indicates effective treatment. Results below 80% should trigger investigation for possible resistance, application error, or reinfestation. Log both counts in VarroaVault to track efficacy trends across treatment cycles.
How often should I check mite levels in my hives?
At minimum, once per month (every 3-4 weeks) during the active season. Increase to every 2 weeks when counts are near threshold or after a treatment to verify it worked. In fall, monitoring frequency matters most because the window to treat before winter bees are raised is narrow. VarroaVault's monitoring reminders can be set to your preferred interval for each apiary.
What records should I keep for varroa management?
Each record should include: date of count or treatment, hive identifier, monitoring method used, number of bees sampled, mites counted, infestation percentage, treatment product name and EPA registration number, dose applied, treatment start and end dates, and PHI end date. State apiarists typically expect this level of detail during inspections. VarroaVault captures all of these fields in a single log entry.
Sources
- American Beekeeping Federation (ABF)
- USDA ARS Bee Research Laboratory
- Honey Bee Health Coalition
- Penn State Extension Apiculture Program
- Project Apis m.
Get Started with VarroaVault
The information in this guide is most useful when you have your own mite count data to apply it to. VarroaVault stores every count, flags threshold crossings automatically, and builds the treatment history you need for state inspections and effective management decisions. Start your free trial at varroavault.com.