In 2006 Dave Hackenberg, a Pennsylvania commercial beekeeper, and Dennis Van Engelsdorp, a Penn State Entomologist at the time, documented the decimation of Dave’s apiaries, coined the phrase Colony Collapse Disorder, CCD, and the world was made aware of the threat to honeybees, beekeeping and ultimately the world’s food supply.
Experienced beekeepers were already aware of the environmental challenges that had been growing over the previous few decades making it more and more difficult to sustain honeybee colonies or entire apiaries. A number of environmental factors have been identified as related to the premature die off of honeybee colonies.

Although no single factor has been defined as the cause of the collapse, experts agree that the accidental infestation by the parasitic mite Varroa Destructor is the most significant factor in the honeybee decline. The worldwide spread of the Varroa mite and the weakening it causes through parasitic feeding on both adult and developing bee larvae combined with viral infection can devastate a colony or an apiary in a short amount of time if not controlled.

As a scientist and beekeeper I have studied and used the various treatments that have been available to control or reduce Varroa mite population in a colony. Beekeepers are already using the third generation of chemical pesticides for mite control. The first two have already begun to lose effectiveness due to mites developing resistance. Hive and environmental contamination by these chemical treatments is evident.
A handful of ‘organic’ options are also available but they are limited in effectiveness and still introduce compounds not normally found in the hive. The most effective ‘organic’ treatments still require beekeeper to expose their bees to poisonous acid vapors. If the pest man came to treat your house and told you to stay home and watch TV ‘it won’t kill you’ while they pumped acid fumes into your home would you hire him?

Many beekeepers including myself have struggled with the decision whether to treat or not. Some beekeepers hope that selective breeding for stronger bees and IPM methods will suffice. Yet we are always clouded with the fear that major losses are always possible.

WHEN AND HOW WILL BEEKEEPERS BE ABLE TO CONTROL VARROA WITHOUT STRESSING OUR BEES?

As founder of Mite Bee Gone LLC, I understand that my education as a chemist and experience as an industrial chemical product developer enabled me to successfully reach this point, but it is my passion as a naturalist that gave me the inspiration to study and understand beekeeping and the hive environment and strive for this goal.

Twenty five years ago we moved from an urban to a suburban environment and expanded our gardening and were lucky enough to work with a fellow chemist who introduced us to beekeeping.  My wife’s use of honey and beeswax products made this a natural progression.  Whether it was cultivating and harvesting native fruits and growing vegetables, coexisting with our honeybees or observing and learning about the wildlife around us we have always focused on the environment. But as we have matured we have grown to focus more on sustainability than just environmentalism, exemplified by our ability to reuse, recycle and compost enough to eliminate curbside trash removal over fifteen years ago.  We will make every effort to use sustainable practices at Mite Bee Gone LLC.

After 35 years designing and inventing adhesives, coatings and specialty products for microcircuits and semiconductors sold to companies like Sony,  Texas Instrument, New Holland and General Motors, I was downsized and was able to reinvent myself and work for a number of years as a technician in a university honeybee laboratory and ultimately this entrepreneurial endeavor resulting in Mite Bee Gone LLC.

We recognize the challenge of beekeeping for both the commercial enterprise crisscrossing the agricultural landscape or the backyard hobbyist fascinated by the independence and sustainability of a healthy beehive.  That is why Mite Bee Gone will strive to function as a small direct manufacturer of products to improve honeybee health at a reasonable cost for both large and small beekeepers.