Apivar vs Apivar 2.0: What Is the Difference?

Now, Véto-pharma has introduced Apivar 2.0, a next-generation version with less chemical per strip, a faster mite knockdown, and new beekeeper-friendly features. 

They worked on it for years and got it approved by the EPA in January 2025, a process that alone takes a long time.

We carry Apivar and are very familiar with it. It's a great tool for beekeepers, but thankfully, it's not the only tool we have. Here we will compare the two Apivar treatments, explain the changes, and talk about how they fit into today’s broader varroa control toolbox for both the fellow back yard beekeeper and the commercial beekeeper managing thousands of boxes. 

Beekeepers of all sizes use Apivar strips in their beekeeping, so this updated formula affects all beekeepers and their honey bees.

For many years, beekeepers had few tools, so they often relied on Amitraz over and over. In some cases, people began applying amitraz products off-label, sometimes at higher dose rates or for longer than the label allowed.

Commercially, this became the standard to keep the varroa mite treatment cost low. But there is a reason that the EPA approves specific amounts, applications, and concentrations. It's not all about the money and lawyers.

A good example is that Amitraz is synthetic and breaks down slowly. So if you overdose a paint stick with Amitraz to get a faster mite kill, it may work temporarily, but over time, the mites develop a resistance. 

And what happens to the Amitraz in that paint stick when you remove it? Those chemicals enter our water and food systems. The EPA tries to keep that from happening.

Véto-pharma now offers two Apivar products—the original formula and the new Apivar 2.0—and both are currently available on the market.

They share the same proven approach: flexible plastic strips made from a durable plastic polymer infused with amitraz. These strips are placed in the brood chamber among the brood frames so bees contacting them spread the active ingredient throughout the hive.

The difference is in how quickly they work.

Think of it like espresso vs. a full cup of coffee.

A single shot of espresso has less total caffeine than an entire cup, but it’s much more concentrated and comes in an effective form, so you feel the boost almost immediately.

The original Apivar is like sipping that full cup—steady, reliable, and effective, but it takes a little longer to feel the full impact.

• Less Amitraz by weight per strip, but a faster early knockdown—significant mite reduction in the first few weeks.

• Extended treatment period—effective for 6–10 weeks, depending on brood presence.

• Zero-day withholding—you can add honey supers immediately after removing strips, keeping honey safe for human consumption.

• Built-in hangers—no toothpicks or wires needed to hang strips in frames.

• Adjustable length—strips measure 11.1 inches (28.2 cm) long, 1.6 inches (4.1 cm) wide, and 0.04 inches (1 mm) thick. They have a pre-scored fold line 2 inches from the top for use in Langstroth hives or left full-length for Dadant/Layens hives.

• Same proven plastic polymer material as the original, stored away from direct sunlight for up to two years.

Apivar 2.0’s plastic polymer design steadily releases amitraz over time, which allows it to cover multiple mite life cycles.

That’s why the label allows up to 10 weeks in hives with brood present.

It’s important to note that once the strips are removed, there’s no continued mite kill—the treatment only works while the strips are in place, and the maximum 70-day label limit must remove them.

Late summer or fall treatments often coincide with the highest varroa mite populations.

With the original Apivar, mites could keep reproducing for the first couple of weeks before large numbers were dead. This gave mites more time to vector their diseases, like Deformed Wing Virus (DWV).

Apivar 2.0 knocks down more mites early, reducing stress on the colony and giving winter bees a better start—something both backyard and commercial beekeepers will notice in colony health going into winter.