Bottom board screens were evaluated for control of the parasitic mite Varroa destructor, in honey bee colonies. Colonies with screened traps installed on the bottom boards, and colonies without the traps, were monitored at one apiary in central Kentucky for 15 months, beginning in June 2001. The size of the brood (as number of hive frames covered with brood) was estimated initially and periodically through the experimental period. The populations of V. destructor were also estimated initially and through this period, using sticky boards at the bottoms of the hives. By the end of the experimental period, hives with the screened traps had mean mite populations 60% of those in hives without traps. Brood sizes and colony survival were similar for those colonies with and without traps. These results support the routine use of bottom board screens as inexpensive, safe and effective devices for control of V. destructor.
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