Beemaster's International Beekeeping Forum
BEEKEEPING LEARNING CENTER => GENERAL BEEKEEPING - MAIN POSTING FORUM. => Topic started by: rober on June 20, 2012, 11:54:28 am
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i just ordered & received some beetle barn shb traps. the entry holes are fairly large, possibly large enough for a bee to enter ( 1/8" ).i got these from rossman but the guy on this sight ( http://georgiabees.blogspot.com/2009/09/small-hive-beetle-traps-pstpaid.html (http://georgiabees.blogspot.com/2009/09/small-hive-beetle-traps-pstpaid.html) ) is putting ant bait in the trap in the hive. can a bee get thru 1/8"? is it a good idea to put ant bait in a bee hive? does anyone recognize the brand of the bait? if the holes do not allow a bee to pass then i see no reason to not use a standard cd case as a trap.
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It is put out by combat as a roach kill. Exterminators use it also for termites,etc.
Active ingredent is Fipronil 0.01%. I have took a dvd case, put some small holes around case with a hot ice pick, then put a little buttered flavored crisco, in case to attract the SHB and squirt a line of this between the outerside of case and crisco. You can check and dump out dead beatles, every now and then add more bait and fipronil. A guy at our local club said if an exterminator treated termites within several yards of hives you shouldn't have SHB.
Joe
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Just a word of warning, Fipronil is not approved for use in hives. I would never use it when honey supers are on the hive. Beetle barns are listed for use with CheckMite. Which is approved for use in a hive. And no, bees do not get into the traps, they just glue the holes shut.
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will the checkmite wotk for beetles?
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It is listed to kill beetles.
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I use some beetle barns with some luck. I'm having ALOT better luck with the between frame traps between the last 2 frames or even the last frame and the box using the same "bait". The beetle barns are great for solid bottom board. I've set them in the corners on the tops of frames kind of in the corner. They've worked but not as well as my between frame traps. The bees had tended to propolis up the entrances pretty quick on the beetle barn. BTW, the best between frame trap I've used in the AJ's Beetle Eater but they're twice as expensive as the Beetle Jail.
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Here's a pic of a recent emptying of a Beetle Jail with bait. This was in a 4 frame nuc. Knocked them down in 2 days. You can see how they had propolised up the entrances. They do this even quicker on the Beetle Barns because the holes are so small.
(http://s13.postimage.org/ddiebau6b/SHBs.jpg) (http://postimage.org/image/ddiebau6b/)
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I gave up on beetle barns and went to the type offered by Green Bee Inc. These traps catch everything. Beetles, larve, roaches and mites come out. The beetle barns ended up being stuck in place with propolis. Once I was lifting the trap to dump it spilling the oil in the hive. Killed quite a few bees. I was lucky that I didnt get the queen.
The GB traps cover the entire bottom of the hive and I have found that the SHB moves down in the hive during inspections. After the initial installation, I was shocked at the number of dead beetles. Added plus is that you can clean it w/o opening the hive the tray slided out the back. Also, the guy gives "how to" instructions that show how to make your own traps. I think he hates these things as much as I do.
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If you were using oil in beetle barns there is no wonder you spilled oil. I think you probably meant Beetle Jail Jrs. ;)
I've had great luck with the Beetle Jail Jrs. They do what they're designed to do...they catch beetles. You do have to be careful and not tilt them over enough to spill oil out of them, but with any oil trap in the upper levels of a hive you have to be careful. Also, don't fill them over 1/2 full. I spilled oil once from one of them, thankfully there was no noticeable harm done and the amount was small. It alarmed me enough that now I am extra careful when working with them (as I should have been to begin with). Bottom oil trays work well, also, but if beetles manage to get past the oil trays (and they will) it is good to have a few traps scattered within the upper levels of the hive.
I'm in south central Alabama and just getting started. I figure I might as well go ahead and get my mindset geared toward perpetual war with SHB...they're not going to give up. Thus I'm working and studying every angle I can find to limit SHB access to my hives and to kill those that do enter (or get close). I've got some beetle barns that I haven't used yet...I'm toying with non-toxic ideas for them.
I'm a satisfied Beetle Jail Jr user, just ordered a couple more dozen for future increases in my small yard. :)
Ed
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i've seen more beetles this year than last but i'm not over-run by them. i've been trying the beetle barns, jails, & cd cases: all with about the same results. i've been using division board feeders in an empty box on top of the outer cover. when the feeders are empty that is where i find most of my beetles so i've been dumping them on the overturned outer cover & smashing the ones that fall out.
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I gave up on beetle barns and went to the type offered by Green Bee Inc. These traps catch everything. Beetles, larve, roaches and mites come out. The beetle barns ended up being stuck in place with propolis. Once I was lifting the trap to dump it spilling the oil in the hive. Killed quite a few bees. I was lucky that I didnt get the queen.
The GB traps cover the entire bottom of the hive and I have found that the SHB moves down in the hive during inspections. After the initial installation, I was shocked at the number of dead beetles. Added plus is that you can clean it w/o opening the hive the tray slided out the back. Also, the guy gives "how to" instructions that show how to make your own traps. I think he hates these things as much as I do.
Other than I didn't try anything else before I bought my first green bees IPK trap my expierence has been the same. I never saw any reason to try something else.