6 Best Varroa Mite Testers For Accurate Counts That Prevent Hive Collapse
Accurate Varroa mite counts are essential to prevent hive collapse. We review the 6 best testers for reliable data to help you protect your colonies.
You can look at a hive in August and see a curtain of bees, heavy with nectar, and think everything is perfect. A month later, that bustling colony can be a ghost town, with just a handful of bees and a dead queen. The silent killer, nine times out of ten, is the Varroa destructor mite.
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Why Accurate Mite Counts Are Non-Negotiable
You can’t manage what you don’t measure. Guessing your hive’s mite level is like driving at night with the headlights off; you won’t know you have a problem until it’s too late to fix. By the time you see mites physically on the backs of your bees, the infestation is already at a critical, often irreversible, stage.
The goal of testing isn’t just to see if you have mites—you always have mites. The goal is to determine the mite load, or the percentage of mites per 100 bees. This number is your trigger for treatment. Treating too early is a waste of time and money, while treating too late means your bees are already weakened, diseased, and unlikely to survive the winter.
Accurate counts remove the guesswork. They turn a vague feeling of "I think my bees are okay" into a hard number like "2 mites per 100 bees" (a manageable level) or "7 mites per 100 bees" (an emergency). This data-driven approach is the single biggest difference between a beekeeper who consistently overwinters colonies and one who is always buying new packages every spring.
Veto-pharma Varroa EasyCheck: The Gold Standard
Accurately test for varroa mites with the Varroa Easy Check. Its patented design and built-in measuring cup allow for quick and reliable mite counts using alcohol wash, powdered sugar, or CO2.
When it comes to alcohol wash testers, the EasyCheck is the one you see most often, and for good reason. It’s designed by people who clearly understand the beekeeper’s workflow. The device consists of three parts: a clear bowl, a white filter basket, and a tight-fitting yellow lid. This design is brilliantly simple.
The process is straightforward. You scoop a half-cup of bees (approximately 300) into the white basket, put it in the bowl, add alcohol to the fill line, and shake. The key is the filter basket; it has holes large enough for mites to fall through but small enough to keep the bees contained. After a minute of shaking, you just lift the basket out, and the dislodged mites are left in the alcohol at the bottom of the clear bowl for easy counting.
What makes it the gold standard is the combination of its leak-proof lid (a bigger deal than you’d think when you’re shaking rubbing alcohol) and the clearly marked lines for both bees and alcohol. There’s no ambiguity. It delivers consistent, repeatable, and highly accurate results, making it the top choice for beekeepers who need reliable data to make critical treatment decisions.
Mann Lake Mite Check: A Durable, Simple Option
Easily monitor varroa mites and maintain optimal hive health. Choose between alcohol wash, sugar roll, or CO2 methods for accurate results with the durable, user-friendly design.
If you’re the type of person who is tough on their equipment, the Mann Lake Mite Check deserves a look. It’s built like a tank. The plastic feels thicker and more robust than many other options on the market, ready to be tossed in a bee bucket and rattled around in the back of a truck.
Functionally, it operates on the same alcohol-wash principle as the EasyCheck. It features a main container and a filter basket for separating bees from mites. The design is simple and effective, with fewer small parts to worry about. It’s a workhorse tool designed for function over finesse.
The tradeoff for its durability might be a slightly less refined user experience for some. The lid is effective but can feel a bit more basic. However, its ruggedness is a major plus. For a beekeeper managing a handful of hives in the backyard or running a larger sideliner operation, this tester provides the same accurate results as others in a package that can handle years of use and abuse.
Dadant Sugar Shake Jar for A No-Kill Mite Count
For beekeepers who are fundamentally opposed to the idea of sacrificing 300 bees for a test, the sugar shake method is the primary alternative. The Dadant Sugar Shake Jar is purpose-built for this. It’s essentially a sturdy mason jar fitted with a special screen lid.
The method involves scooping your bee sample into the jar, adding a couple of tablespoons of powdered sugar, and gently rolling and shaking the jar. The fine sugar dust coats the bees and encourages them to groom, which also dislodges the mites from their bodies. You then turn the jar upside down and shake the sugar and mites out through the screen onto a white surface for counting. The bees, dusty but alive, can be returned to the hive.
The hard truth, however, is that the sugar shake is less accurate than an alcohol wash. Mites can hold on tight, and factors like high humidity can cause the sugar to clump, reducing its effectiveness. It often underestimates the true mite load. While it’s better than no test at all, relying on it can give you a false sense of security, leading you to delay treatment when it’s actually needed.
CO2 Mite Tester: Fast, Anesthetizing Results
The CO2 mite tester offers a compelling middle ground between the lethality of an alcohol wash and the lower accuracy of a sugar shake. This device uses a small CO2 cartridge (the same kind used for bike tires or pellet guns) to quickly anesthetize the bees and the mites inside a sealed container.
Once unconscious, a gentle shake is all it takes to dislodge the mites, which fall through a screen to the bottom for counting. The test is incredibly fast, often taking less than a minute. Best of all, the bees typically recover from the CO2 and can be returned to the colony. The accuracy is considered very high, on par with or very close to an alcohol wash.
The main consideration here is the recurring cost and logistics of the CO2 cartridges. You need a steady supply on hand, which adds an extra item to your beekeeping checklist. But for beekeepers who want high accuracy without sacrificing bees and don’t mind the consumable cost, the CO2 method is an excellent, efficient, and humane option.
Bee Smart Bottom Board for Passive Mite Monitoring
Unlike the other tools, the Bee Smart Bottom Board isn’t for active testing; it’s for passive monitoring. This product replaces your standard solid bottom board with a screened one, allowing for ventilation and, crucially, a way to monitor natural mite drop.
A screened bottom board has a removable tray, or "sticky board," that slides in underneath the screen. This board is coated with a non-toxic sticky substance (like cooking spray or petroleum jelly). Mites that naturally fall off bees will pass through the screen and get stuck to the board, where you can count them. This gives you a 24-hour or 72-hour snapshot of the mite drop in the hive.
This is not a substitute for an alcohol wash or CO2 test. A sticky board count can be misleading; a hive with a huge population might have a high natural mite drop but still have a low infestation percentage. However, it’s an invaluable tool for spotting trends. If you see a sudden spike in your 24-hour mite count from one week to the next, it’s a powerful signal that you need to perform an active test immediately. Think of it as an early warning system.
Brushy Mountain Mite Shaker: Easy-to-Read Jar
The Brushy Mountain Mite Shaker is another excellent contender in the alcohol wash category, with a design that prioritizes clarity and ease of counting. It’s a simple, effective tool that gets the job done without any unnecessary complexity.
Its standout feature is often its wide, flat bottom and exceptionally clear plastic. After you’ve shaken the sample and removed the bees, the mites settle against a clean, unobstructed background. This makes counting them—especially when you have high numbers—much faster and less prone to error. The lid seals well, and the markings are clear, ensuring you get a proper sample size every time.
Ultimately, the choice between this, the EasyCheck, and the Mann Lake tester often comes down to personal preference or what your local supplier carries. All three are based on the same proven principle and will give you the accurate data you need. The Brushy Mountain shaker is a solid, no-frills option that makes the final, most important step—the count—as simple as possible.
Choosing Your Method: Alcohol Wash vs. Sugar Shake
This is where new beekeepers often get stuck. The idea of killing several hundred of your own bees feels wrong, making the sugar shake seem like the obvious, humane choice. But we have to be pragmatic.
The alcohol wash is the industry standard for a reason: it is the most accurate and reliable method. The hard sacrifice of ~300 bees provides you with data you can trust to protect the other 40,000 bees in the colony. Think of it this way: you are culling a tiny, statistically insignificant fraction of the population to act as a sentinel, warning you of a threat that could wipe out the entire superorganism. Making a treatment decision based on a faulty, low-reading sugar shake is far more dangerous to the colony’s welfare.
The sugar shake is a compromise. It’s better than not testing at all, but you must understand its limitations. If you choose this method, you should test more frequently and consider treating at a lower threshold to compensate for the potential of an undercount. For example, if your treatment threshold for an alcohol wash is 3% (9 mites in a 300-bee sample), you might consider treating a sugar shake sample that shows a 2% infestation.
Ultimately, the choice is yours, but your primary responsibility is the health of the colony. For making crucial go/no-go treatment decisions, the accuracy of an alcohol wash is unmatched.
Knowing your numbers is not an advanced beekeeping technique; it’s the foundation of sustainable beekeeping. Choosing any of these tools is a step in the right direction, turning you from a passive bee-haver into an active, informed beekeeper. Don’t guess—test. Your bees are counting on it.
