Bee distributors sell specialized devices solely for this purpose, but it can be done easily with things found around the home.

You’ll need:

• A container to hold bees and alcohol, with a secure lid for shaking

• Hardware cloth (or some other method for straining mites from bees)

• 1/2 cup measure

• A light colored tub or pan

• Queen cage (optional)

This is done best when the beekeeper has everything laid out, ready to go. The container (a Mason jar, in our video) should be filled with enough alcohol to fully submerge 1/2 cup of bees.

The first and most vital step is to find the queen, and ensure she remains safe and far away from the bees being sampled.

Next, select a frame with plenty of open brood and bees. Shake the bees into the tub or pan, set the frame aside gently, and scoop a full 1/2 cup of bees into the waiting jar of alcohol. Swirl them to ensure they’re dead and then pour any bees remaining in the tub back into the hive, along with the frame of brood.

Seal the jar of alcohol and shake well for at least one minute.

Finally, strain the mites and alcohol from bees, into the tub or pan.

The last two steps may be repeated a couple of times, to be thorough in getting any remaining mites.

1/2 cup is roughly 300 bees, so dividing the final mite count by 3 provides the number of Varroa per 100 bees.

The recommended threshold for treatment (from the University of Florida Bee Lab) is more than 3 mites per 100 bees.