A large screw-top jar should be filled to about one cm from the top with shredded husks and vodka added to cover the husks before the lid is screwed on tightly.

After a month the tincture will be ready for use when it has been strained into a clean jar. A piece of linen should be fixed the full length of one dummy board (used when a frame hive is not full of frames). The linen should be painted with the tincture until it is saturated and placed behind the frames with the cloth facing the brood combs. After a month the dummy board should be removed, repainted and replaced.

Mr Brown has used this remedy for several years and his hives appear virtually Varroa-free.

"I leave the treated boards in the hives all year because the treatment is non-toxic and cannot affect the honey or the bees" says Mr (Varroa-free) Brown.