Keeping Healthy Bees – Is being treatment-free possible?
A talk by David Packham to East Devon Beekeepers and West Dorset Beekeepers
5th February 2026
Introduction
David listed some basic considerations leading towards a better understanding of how to keep bees healthy. This was followed by some thoughts on keeping colonies treatment-free.
- Don’t Spread Diseases
- Improve Comb Management
- Have a Better Understanding of Diseases
- Improve Varroa Management
Looking at these headings in turn, most beekeepers will already be aware of some of the problems, but it is worth repeating the practical steps that can be taken. These steps are the beekeeper’s responsibility.
Spreading Diseases
Contaminated equipment – it helps if you take the view that any equipment that does NOT come from your apiary is possibly contaminated! This includes equipment from your other apiaries (if you have any). The practical steps you can take are to ensure every piece of kit that is used in an apiary is clean and hygienic. Details can be found on the East Devon website (Apiary page).
Dirty bee suits and gloves – in the old days, it used to be considered that a well-used suit was a sign of a ‘good’ beekeeper. Not any more! Tests show that suits and gloves contaminated with wax, honey and propolis are also riddled with spores of pathogens. AFB, Nosema, chalk brood etc can all start a new life on clean equipment.
Moving colonies between apiaries – this is a really good way to spread diseases! If you really have to move colonies, take steps to ensure that there are no diseases in either the donor apiary or the receiving apiary.
Moving combs between colonies – again, this is an excellent way to spread diseases! If you really must move comb, check diligently for diseases before transferring comb. This applies to brood and broodless comb.
Drifting and robbing – these are hidden dangers to your colonies. Robbing is particularly difficult to stop once started, so the best way forward is to prevent problems before they start. Practical steps include: random orientation of hives in an apiary, shelter such as hedges to reduce drifting, and the use of small entrances to help the guard bees to do their job. You can use small entrances all year round. In any event, make sure the entrances are reduced well before the wasps are around.
Diseases
- Major diseases: AFB, EFB
- Minor diseases: chalk brood, sacbrood, Nosema, CBPV
- Major pests: Varroa / DWV, Beekeepers
Comb Management
Why change your brood comb?
Old brood comb may have holes or damage, may be very dark and contaminated with pathogens (EFB, AFB, Nosema, chalk brood, sac brood), may be full of drone comb, may have a build up of pesticides and varroacides. All of these conditions reduce the efficiency of the brood nest. David’s take home message was ‘Never reuse brood frames’.
In the wild, the natural life of a colony is five to six years. Wax moth then move in, eat all the contaminated comb, in effect cleansing the cavity so that another swarm can move in. Beekeepers need to note the importance of maintaining clean comb if they wish to maintain a colony for more than a few years. So how often should comb be changed?
As a guide, in skep beekeeping, comb was never more than a couple of years old as the colony was destroyed to get the honey out. Nowadays, we have several strategies for comb change:
- Replace 3 or 4 frames each year
- Replace all combs after 2 years
- Artificial swarm
- Shook swarm
- Demaree
- Bailey comb change
Points to remember:
Bees will only draw out new comb when they need it. This means that adding new foundation when there is no flow on, or too late in the year, is a waste of time and money. A colony is more willing to build comb in late spring and early summer when a good nectar flow is expected. The colony also needs plenty of bees of the right age to become wax producers.
David pointed out that bees much prefer to build a vertical column of combs than to expand laterally. To take advantage of this trend, he suggests adding a brood box with foundation, used as a super, during the OSR flow. The honey can be extracted and the frames stored for use next year as direct replacements for old comb.
Note that a natural swarm is already well prepared for comb building as many of the young bees are carrying mature wax scales and have honey stomachs full of honey for making wax as soon as a new home is found.
Is being treatment-free possible?
You can transition to treatment-free beekeeping, but it requires significant knowledge, a strategic plan, and a mindset shift from chemical reliance to fostering naturally mite-resistant bees.
Some thoughts on transitioning to non-treatment
Currently, if you do not treat your colonies, they will probably die, so going treatment-free is not the same as doing nothing. For a start, it will probably take a number of years to achieve your aim. Your best chance of success may be to undertake the transition in large groups, perhaps at branch level, rather than work in isolation. The process requires rigorous monitoring with treatments being slowly reduced and at the same time, introducing biotechnical methods to reduce reliance on chemicals.
Our bees already have a hygienic trait whereby they remove larvae and pupae that are diseased or dead. However, most colonies do not appear to recognise Varroa in cells. Those few colonies that do have this ability use chemical cues to identify brood cells where mites are reproducing. They uncap these specific cells and remove the infested pupae, preventing the mites from maturing and completing reproduction. This is called Varroa Sensitive Hygiene (VSH). Sometimes, VSH bees will recap infested cells after removing the mites.
Integrated Pest Management
The objective of IPM is to ‘suppress pest populations below the economic injury level (EIL)’. It does not try to eradicate the pest.
David suggested reducing treatment levels slowly would provide an incentive for the bees to ‘try harder’ to control mite populations.
The most commonly used IPM techniques are drone brood removal, shook swarm, open mesh floors, queen trapping and artificial swarms.
Schematic of artificial swarm
At the end of the season the winter bees are being produced during August and September. At the same time, varroa levels are still rising, brood cell numbers are declining and the number of bees in the colony is also decreasing. This can lead to a situation where the ratio of mites:bees rises rapidly, leading to collapse of the colony. Thus monitoring mite numbers at this time of year is essential (with treatment if necessary) to avoid colony losses.
References
Varroa Resistant Honey Bees. https://www.varroaresistant.uk/
Includes a varroa calculator