His fellow beekeepers in impacted zones have been in a woeful state for months, struggling to pay bills as their hives are being destroyed to stop the spread of Varroa mite.

About 300 beehives on Mr Gay's farm in Wellington are on his close watch as he felt scared deadly parasites killing European honey bees would jump to the western NSW farms to destroy his only livelihood.

"We are fine at the moment because we are not an affected area but if the mites move then pretty much the DPI has to do something," Mr Gay said.

"We are in the dark and if there is anything, we report to DPI and they come and check the hives and probably destroy it."

Mr Gay has been selling honey for over 25 years, learning the meticulous process of beekeeping and extracting natural honey from his father since he was a boy.

When his father retired, Mr Gay took over and established Andrew's Aussie Honey selling at markets and online the jars labeled 100 percent pure honey with no additives.

"I've been doing this all my life. I've learned from my father since I could walk," Mr Gay said.

His father also taught him to protect the beehives from Varroa mite, a type of parasite that has infested honey bees and hives emanating from Asia, according to Australian National University professor Sasha Mikheyev.

Eradicating this type of parasite while the NSW Department of Primary Industries is tripling its efforts to stop the infestation would be difficult because Australia's honey bees "live in the bush and are very hard to locate", professor Mikheyev said in his ANU report.

The current threats to beekeeping and honey production in Australia could escalate into a crisis for the $20 billion industry, Australian Honey Bee Industry chairman Stephen Targett said.

"The start of the pollination season is just weeks away, which demonstrates what an enormous threat this is to the industry," Mr Targett said.

NSW agriculture minister Dugald Saunders confirmed more than 1,800 beehives in various farms have been euthanised as the spread is being contained in identified areas.

"That number will continue to rise obviously and that will have a direct impact on our beekeepers, and also impact the horticulture industry around pollination.

"There is a process going on now and we'll have a work permit system to allow the movement of hives around the state for pollination.

"It's the industry that's leading how that system works [while] we've committed 26 new compliance officers to help do the liaison work on the ground while they're doing pollinations.

"I am confident they will find a good pathway."

The Varroa mite identified in NSW affected zones were detected at the Port of Newcastle that quickly spread to several northern NSW bee farms.

The affected areas last week include the north and south of Newcastle Port, through to Bulahdelah on the mid-north coast and south to Calga and around Newcastle and Raymond Terrace.

This week, Mr Saunders confirmed the affected areas include Nana Glen area, in the northwest of Coffs Harbour, while the cluster in the Hunter region is among existing surveillance cases.

Mr Saunders said a biosecurity zone for Varroa mite has also been established in the Narrabri region and continuous testing around the northern region's bee farms has been ongoing.

"We are firmly focused on eradicating this parasite from our shores and we will continue to work closely with industry during this crucial phase of our emergency response," Mr Saunders said.

At Mr Gay's bee farm, he has been protecting the beehives and his European bees from Varroa mites by applying the time-tested methods his father taught him while going along with advice from DPI.

"We continue what we used to do, shake them with ice and sugar and wash them with ethanol spirits then we wash the bees," Mr Gay said.

"That kills whatever is on the bee. It washes off and releases the bugs off the bee. That's how we work at the moment."

He produces up to 1500 kilos of pure honey from 300 beehives and due to Varroa mite, adding more beehives would not be feasible.

"To produce more honey we need good hives and Queen bees so we can split them but it is quiet at the moment," he said.

"There's a few of us around the area and we're frustrated and angry about this," Mr Gay said.

To help out impacted beekeepers, the charity Rural Aid is providing a $500 gift card to beekeepers that have gone out of business since the Varroa mite was detected on their hives.

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The funds were donated by benevolent individuals who have supported Rural Aid's fundraising campaign to support impacted beekeepers, Rural Aid chief executive officer John Warlters said.

Beekeepers are meanwhile being asked to follow the emergency response plan drawn up together by the NSW government, the federal agriculture department, and the apiary industry.

The emergency order on identified Varroa mite zones calls for establishing a 10-kilometre eradication zone, 25-kilometre for surveillance and 50-kilometre for biosecurity to effectively stop Varroa mite spread.

"Our tracing efforts have led us to this infested premises after hives were moved earlier this year prior to the introduction of the statewide pause on movement," Mr Saunders said.

"The good news is we can still draw a direct line between every single case so far which means we have good handle on the situation."

For more details on www.dpi.nsw.gov.au/varroa or to report the location of hives, call the Exotic Plant Pest Hotline on 1800 084 881.