Best Varroa Mite Monitoring Kits and Treatments of 2026: EasyCheck and Labels

How we chose

The monitoring tool was judged on sample-size markings and methods; the treatments were summarised from their labels and listings on October 9, 2026 for active ingredient, dose, duration, temperature window and super status. The label in the box is the authority; where a label and a listing disagree, the label wins, and a product used off-label is a violation of federal law.

Varroa is the stressor beekeepers report most often in every quarter of USDA's colony survey since 2015, affecting 22.2% of colonies from April to June 2026; the colony loss tracker has every quarter by state.

How to sample

1. Take a frame of open brood from the brood nest (check that the queen is not on it).
2. Shake or scoop about 300 bees into the EasyCheck basket (the 300 line).
3. Add alcohol (or washer fluid) to cover, cap, swirl for about a minute; or add powdered sugar, roll, rest and shake out over white paper.
4. Count the mites. Mites divided by 300, times 100, is the percent: 12 mites is 4 percent (HBHC).
5. Sample every colony if you have fewer than ten (HBHC).

The thresholds

Colony phase	Acceptable	Control needed
Dormant (winter, no brood)	Under 1 percent	Over 1 percent
Population increase (spring)	Under 2 percent	Over 2 to 3 percent
Peak population (summer)	Under 2 percent	Over 3 percent
Population decrease (late summer, fall)	Under 2 percent	Over 2 to 3 percent

Source: Honey Bee Health Coalition, Tools for Varroa Management, 8th edition, Table 1. Sample monthly from spring through fall and after every treatment.

The treatments, by label

Product	Active	Dose and duration	Temperature	Supers on
Apiguard	Thymol 25 percent	50 g tray, second after two weeks	60 to 105 °F	No; not during a honey flow
Apivar (original)	Amitraz	2 strips per brood chamber, 42 days (56 max)	None stated	No; remove 14 days before supers
Apivar 2.0	Amitraz	42 days no brood, 70 with brood	None stated	No
Formic Pro	Formic acid	14 or 20 days	50 to 85 °F first three days	Yes
VarroxSan	Oxalic acid	4 strips per brood chamber, 42 to 56 days	Not stated on the label we read	Yes (listing)

Rotate actives across seasons; the HBHC guide explains why a single chemistry breeds resistance. Oxalic acid dribble and vapour, for broodless colonies, are in the HBHC guide and not reviewed here.

When to count

Penn State's seasonal guide times the broodless oxalic treatment for winter and has brood rearing starting mid-February in the Northeast; the HBHC phases above follow the colony, not the calendar. A late-summer count is the one that decides whether the colony sees spring, because the winter bees are being raised then (Penn State: August to September).

What to skip

Skip treating without a count; you will not know if it worked and you will breed resistance. Skip drone-brood removal or screened bottom boards as the only control; they are HBHC cultural tools that lower counts, not treatments. And skip any product not labelled for honey bees in the United States.