Varroa mite

Varroa mite (Varroa destructor) is a parasite of honey bees that spreads viruses and, left untreated, kills colonies. It is established in parts of New South Wales, Victoria, Queensland, South Australia and the ACT. It has not been found in Western Australia or Tasmania. This guide covers how to test for it, what to treat with, and what your state asks you to report.

Rules and approved products change often. This page is current as at October 2026. Check your state’s page (linked in the table below) before you act.

Part 1: Test your hives

What to look for

Adult female mites are oval, flat and reddish-brown. You can see them with the naked eye, but they are hard to spot on adult bees, so looking at the bees during an inspection is not a reliable check. Use one of the tests below instead.

Gear you need

• For an alcohol wash: a shaker jar with a mesh lid and a solid lid, methylated spirits or other alcohol over 70%, a tub to shake bees into, a half-cup measure, and a white tray or filter to catch the mites.
• For a sugar shake: a shaker jar with a mesh lid, icing sugar, and a white bucket or tray with some water in it.
• For a sticky mat: a sticky mat (or a board coated with vegetable oil) that slides under a mesh (screened) bottom board.
• Your usual protective gear, smoker and hive tool. See Your first inspection.

Alcohol wash, step by step

The national program calls the alcohol wash best practice for varroa monitoring in Australia. It kills the sample of bees, but it gives the most dependable count.

1. Pour alcohol into the jar.
2. Open the hive and go down to the brood box.
3. Take bees from the middle brood frames. Find the queen first and make sure she is not in your sample.
4. Shake bees into the tub and scoop up half a cup, which is about 300 bees. Put them in the jar.
5. Close the solid lid and shake the jar firmly.
6. Swap to the mesh lid and pour the alcohol through it onto the white tray or filter. The bees stay in the jar and the mites wash out.
7. Count the mites. Repeat the wash as your state’s guide describes to catch any that are left.
8. Write down the count, the hive and the date.

Always use the same 300-bee (half-cup) sample, so you can compare results over time. Business Queensland has a written step-by-step guide, and NSW has videos of each method.

Sugar shake

The sugar shake uses the same 300-bee sample from the brood frames, but the bees go back to the hive afterwards.

1. Put icing sugar in the jar, add the bees (no queen) and close it.
2. Roll the jar gently so the bees are coated, then let it rest.
3. Turn the jar upside down over the bucket and shake the sugar out through the mesh lid.
4. The sugar dissolves in the water and the mites float, which makes them easier to count.
5. Tip the bees back into the hive.

Sticky mat

A sticky mat under a mesh bottom board catches mites that fall from the colony. It shows whether mites are present. For a count you can compare with official advice, which is based on 300-bee samples, do an alcohol wash or sugar shake.

How often to test

State	Official advice
NSW	Monthly, except in winter in very cold climates
Queensland	Monthly, and before, during and after treatment
Victoria	Four times a year, rising to every four weeks once varroa is established in your area
South Australia	Every three to four weeks if you are within 25 km of a detection

If you have fewer than 10 hives in an apiary, test them all. With more than 10, test at least 10, including hives from the middle and the edges.

What the count means. The national program and NSW publish guide figures for when to plan and when to treat, by season. Both say the figures come from overseas and are still being worked out for Australia, so this guide doesn’t repeat them. Use the current table on NSW’s monitoring page, and ask your state’s bee biosecurity officers if you’re unsure.

Part 2: Treat and report

Approved treatments, by type

Use only products the APVMA has registered or allowed under a permit. Both kinds are listed below, as checked on the APVMA register on 31 October 2026. All are named by Business Queensland and NSW in their own varroa advice. A permit can limit who may use a product or in which states, so read it before you buy.

Type	Product	Active ingredient	APVMA status
Synthetic strips (amitraz)	Apivar	Amitraz	Registered; also permit PER95905
Synthetic strips (amitraz)	Apitraz	Amitraz	Permit PER95905
Synthetic strips (pyrethroid)	Bayvarol	Flumethrin	Registered; also permit PER95037
Organic acid	Formic Pro	Formic acid	Permit PER95344
Organic acid	Api-Bioxal (solution and powder)	Oxalic acid	Permits PER94609 and PER96496
Organic acid	Aluen CAP strips	Oxalic acid	Permit PER95790
Thymol	Apiguard gel	Thymol	Registered

The permit for Apistan, a pyrethroid strip, expired on 31 July 2026, and Apistan is not on the register, so it isn’t listed here. Some older state pages still name it.

Synthetic strips contain amitraz or a pyrethroid. Mites resistant to both pyrethroids and amitraz have been confirmed in NSW, Queensland, Victoria and South Australia, so in those states check that a strip treatment is working.

Organic acids and thymol are the non-synthetic options. They work differently from the strips, which makes them useful for rotating.

How to treat

1. Test first. Treat only when your count says you need to, not on a timetable.
2. Read the label or permit. It tells you the dose, where the product goes in the hive, how long it stays in, the temperatures it can be used in, and whether honey supers can stay on. Use the dose on the label.
3. Use one product at a time. Never use two miticides together.
4. Test during and after. Do an alcohol wash part-way through and after the treatment to see whether it worked.
5. Rotate types. Don’t use the same type every time. Switch between amitraz, pyrethroids and the non-synthetic products to slow resistance.
6. Keep records. Write down every chemical you use, the hive and the dates.
7. Report a failure. If a treatment doesn’t bring mite numbers down, contact your state department.

Chemicals work best as part of a wider plan. Outbreak.gov.au and NSW both say to combine them with mechanical and cultural controls and to manage swarms. The NSW Varroa Management Tool suggests options to suit your hives and the season.

What to report, state by state

Every beekeeper also has a general duty under state law to manage biosecurity risks. NSW calls it the general biosecurity duty, and Queensland calls it the general biosecurity obligation.

State	Can you treat?	What you must report	Who to contact
NSW	Yes, with approved products	Your first positive detection	Report a Biosecurity Concern form; [email protected]
Victoria	Yes, with approved products	A positive detection, immediately	Varroa inspection event in your BeeMAX diary
Queensland	Yes, with approved products	Varroa is restricted matter: report, control or contain it. Record every check on the Bee 123 form, even with no mites	Business Queensland; [email protected]
South Australia	Yes, with approved products	Positive tests	PIRSA by email
ACT	Yes, with approved products	Nothing. Varroa is no longer notifiable in the ACT (since 5 June 2026), but you must still register your hives	ACT Biosecurity, for help
Western Australia	Not found here. Report first and follow instructions	Any suspicion. Varroa is a prohibited organism	DPIRD
Tasmania	Not found here. Report first and follow instructions	Any suspicion. Varroa is notifiable	Biosecurity Tasmania

Don’t post a sample unless the department asks, and Biosecurity Tasmania asks you not to take live mites away from the apiary.

Slowing the spread

Mites move between hives on drifting bees, swarms, shared equipment and hives moved between apiaries. Control swarms and don’t share equipment between apiaries. The national Biosecurity Code of Practice was revised in late 2025, and Part C now applies from 20 hives. See Registering your hives.

Local clubs often run varroa workshops. See Clubs and associations.

Photo credits

• Varroa mites on a drone bee: Waugsberg, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0.
• Mite drop trays: Einebillion, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 4.0.