Disease and Pest Prevention/Treatment
With contributions from Rob Hughes, Ashley Watson and James Whitehead
No-one wants to use chemicals unnecessarily, either on ourselves or on our bees. This section provides some ideas on how you can manage your bees' health. Like many things in beekeeping, you have to review the information and decide what works for you and the bees.
What bee ailments to treat, and how, can be a challenging question. Bees, like most other living things, are subject to ill-health (or worse), from a range of bacterial, fungal and viral diseases, as well as parasites.
Many hobby beekeepers have a well-developed sense of concern for the natural world and are reluctant to resort to "chemical treatments". But whether you are a hobbyist or commercial beekeeper, and whatever your philosophy towards the environment and ecology that bees are part of, minimising treatments makes sense.
Minimising treatments can help slow down the development of resistant strains of bacteria and viruses, and promote the natural ability of bees to withstand the pathogens .......
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