Beekeeping Information

How to Make a Sugar Shaker for Varroa Mite Treatment

You can purchase a powdered sugar shaker for varroa mites in the store, but I preferred to make a simple one at home.

Here are the instructions.

Sugar Shaker for Varroa Mite Treatment

The jar can be either glass or plastic. You can use mason jars or any type of jar with a wide lid.

Depending on how many hives you want to treat you need a jar no smaller than 1 pint.

For the illustration I used a 1 pint ice cream jar with a plastic lid. The flavor was Belgian Chocolate, but that doesn’t matter.

A 1 pint jar seems is usually good enough to treat 2 hives.

Tools needed:

  • Drill
  • Small drill bit
  • You want to drill multiple small holes in the top of the jar. If the lid is metal, it will require the appropriate drill bit.

Powdered Sugar:

Sugar Shaker for Varroa Mite Treatment

You can buy powdered sugar from the grocery store, but commercial powdered sugar often contains corn starch. So, I prefer to buy organic cane sugar and grind it myself.

Please note: Do Not use brown sugar, as it may contain up to 10% molasses, which is unsuitable for the bees.

Sugar Shaker for Varroa Mite Treatment

I used an old coffee grinder and it took less than 5 minutes to grind enough powdered sugar for a 1 pint jar.

Depending on how many supers you have on a colony, you will need about 1 cup of powdered sugar per hive.

Good luck and Happy Beekeeping!

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