Treatment Free Beekeepers Facebook Group Guidelines

These are the general guidelines for posting in the Treatment Free Beekeepers Facebook Group. Group members are expected to read them, and agree to abide by them while participating in group discussions.

Jump to the Group Rules or list of Frequently Moderated Topics

Group Objectives

Treatment free beekeepers has two main goals:

• To support beekeepers who wish to be treatment free
• To promote treatment free beekeeping, the science behind it and its application.

The basic principles of treatment-free beekeeping are that natural selection is required for the evolution of disease resistance.  Treatment-free beekeepers let diseases run their course in a hive, such that weak colonies die out, and stronger well adapted colonies survive to be bred from as part of normal beekeeping practice. All treatments prevent natural selection, are are considered to work against the aims of the group. Hence discussions of treatments in any form are not permitted within the group, with a few specific caveats outlined in the main rules below.

Discussions are encouraged that explore the implications of these principles, and how they can be applied in a practical setting.

Group Expectations

We have been having a lot of people asking about treatments and then getting their feelings hurt. While to most of us the group title seems pretty self explanatory, it is not necessarily so for everybody.

This is a group for treatment-free beekeepers. Please do not ask how best to treat your bees, if something is a treatment, or in any way quibble about the definition of what a treatment is.

This is not a space to debate treatments.

We will not be talking about treatments except to mention in passing the damage they cause. This includes so-called "soft treatments" and "natural treatments." The group title is “Treatment-Free Beekeepers” and that means that the group is wholly devoted to beekeeping without treatments.  This group was created to get away from pro/con debates about treatments. It is for TF beekeepers who wish to promote, study, and discuss beekeeping wholly in a context where they do not encounter a barrage of pro-treating propaganda.

Ultimately, we want this group to be a safe and encouraging place for beekeepers of all backgrounds and levels of experience to feel comfortable asking genuine questions to help them on their path towards TF beekeeping. To that end, do consider how your comments could be construed and follow the general rule “Be Nice”.

Definition of Treatments

Treatment: Anything done in or around the hive, or introduced by the beekeeper into the hive with the intent of killing, repelling, or inhibiting any pest or disease afflicting the bees, or in anyway "helping" the bees to survive when they should be surviving on their own.

This definition is intentionally very broad and covers mechanical methods, chemicals, herbs and more. If you find yourself asking "Is X a treatment?" then it probably is. If in doubt, please check the guidelines and if it is still unclear please contact a moderator privately.

A common misconception that new members have is that we are interested in looking for alternative treatments, or non-chemical treatments. An alternative to a conventional treatment is still a treatment according to this definition, and is still not appropriate to discuss in this group.

Some specific treatments that we do not want to hear about are included below:

Manipulations

Manipulations or equipment that are performed/introduced with the intent to help the bees survive are considered treatments. However, some manipulations serve multiple purposes and can impact varroa mites.

For example, splitting hives introduces artificial brood breaks while also creating new colonies. When considering if they fit with treatment free beekeeping it is useful to consider the intention of the beekeeper. If you are splitting with the purpose of suppressing mite levels then it would be classed as treatment. However splitting is a very useful strategy to replace losses, and to create nucleus colonies to overwinter.

The important part is that the bees are afforded every opportunity to survive, or die, on their own and hence be subject to natural selection.

Feeding

We generally consider feeding to be "treating against starvation."  However, since many freshman beekeepers will be working with bees that are not yet adapted to their area, and may not have sufficient stores due to conditions outside their control, we do occasionally talk about feeding and those conversations are acceptable on a limited basis.  Bees are not caged, it is their task in life to store up honey for themselves, they should not need to be fed under normal circumstances.

Feeding includes the following:

• Sugar syrup
• Dry granulated sugar
• Sugar fondant blocks
• High Fructose Corn Syrup (HFCS)
• Pollen substitutes

It is useful to consider the reason feeding is needed. If the beekeeper has intervened and made lots of splits, then feeding may be necessary and the lack of stores are not due to the inadequacy of the bees. This is clearly not hindering natural selection or adaptation to local conditions.

On the other hand, a fully established colony that fails to thrive and does not bring in adequate stores should be considered "unfit" and not supported. This will promote adaptation to local climate and honey flows.

Equipment

The equipment that makes up the hive is not a treatment, it is simply the cavity we supply for the bees to occupy. A common misconception is that TF beekeeping is supposed to be "natural" and that using modern equipment is therefore a treatment. 

The equipment that makes up the hive is not a treatment unless it does something to kill a pest, like a hive that kills varroa using heat.

All other equipment and manipulations including breeding, inspections, moving hives, catching swarms, requeening, harvesting honey, are simply part of the beekeeping paradigm.  That is what beekeeping is.  We keep bees, we are beekeepers.   We harvest honey, manage swarming, perform routine inspections and the like... just without resorting to treatments.

Modern bee hives have many inadequacies compared to cavities that wild bees would choose for themselves. It is not considered a treatment to address these inadequacies, for example by increasing the degree of insulation or by restricting entrances. Many alternate hive constructions exist and while they may have advantages they are considered to have very limited impact on bees ability to survive, provided they meet the bees needs.

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