Many beekeepers start beekeeping as a hobby to help support pollinator survival efforts and they don’t want to use “hard” chemical treatments. In fact, most hobbyist beekeepers want to minimize the use of all chemicals as much as possible. Doing effective hive inspections and following the best beekeeping practices is the first step. Monitoring the health of the colony and attempting to identify any potential threat is the responsibility of the conscientious beekeeper. Taking the most appropriate action to address an identified problem is the sign of a responsible beekeeper. Having a goal of minimizing chemical treatments is ideal, but there are times when treatments must be given, especially with an uncontrolled infestation of Varroa mites and the viruses they carry. The use of beekeeper-applied mite controls will be necessary until some level of tolerance to mites can be genetically bred into honey bees.