varroa mites categorically did not come from the equipment.

they come from the bees themselves. and they are so prevalent that if you have honey bees, you also have varroa mites. it's just a matter of controlling their numbers with testing and treating. the common methods for testing is either an isopropyl alcohol wash, or a powdered sugar roll. alcohol wash will kill the bees you test but it's faster, powdered sugar roll works just as well. basically just count the mites and anything over a thresh hold means you need to treat your bees or watch them struggle/die.

I honestly don't know whether it's possible to sterilise frames and such...

I think what I'm going to do is "make my own next time"

wtf. no.

please do research. varroa mites are the most common pest affecting honeybees. if you have honeybees, you have varroa mites too. it's just a matter of controlling their numbers with testing and treating if necessary, but if you just don't do anything you won't have bees for very long.

That's what we hoped, too <sigh>

Our hive was in our chicken run, and looked real healthy on the run in to winter... The only thing that was different to them being very healthy in the summer was the addition of a syrup feeder we bought to help them over the winter.