Screened BB & Oil Pans versus Beetle barns/Blasters and..............

[Tommyt]

Do you folks with #8 hardware cloth with oil pans below the screen
also install Beetle barns/ blasters or other hive traps
I say thats all thats needed??or is it mainly for mites
 The people I have a Bee agreement with
(they own the wooden ware & land)
I own and manage the bees
They want me to order beetle Blasters
say it's the best control method for beetles
Now I am second guessing myself??
I think I may put in CD traps with grease and roach kill
If they get out of control
another thing we discussed is,
 used cooking oil,they say Mineral oil
I am using old cooking oil
I am not buying 50 gal mineral oil
 If I don't have too
 Thanks
Tommyt

good news & a pat on my own back (lol)
I went through my KTBH today
15 bars full of bees no beetles
nor mites( I didn't see any)
This hive has been given nothing
but syrup has no SBB nothing just
a V with bars
It started as a Tree trap-out
and is now my go to Brood puller
for traps and splits
Happy Camper Hive
I am happy as can Bee

[KD4MOJ]

Tommy I have used Bettle Barns with Checkmite square in the middle with good success against SHB. Have to pull it in about 4 or 5 days since the bees will propolize the little holes in the barn.

...DOUG
KD4MOJ

[sterling]

I put screen bottoms on my hives with trays under them, with cooking oil in the trays last summer after using the blasters and spilling oil on the frames and having to remove burr comb around the blasters. The first week the tray had a bunch of dead SHB. After that the SHB numbers droped and the bees were able to control them. I feel like the tray helps keep the larva from making it to the ground also. I also see waxmoth larva in the tray. Some beekeepers around here use lime in the trays and I am going to try that this year. I also use my hive tool and smash every one I can while I'm inspecting the hives that seems to get um stired up and there will be more dead ones in the tray the next day.

[AllenF]

If you have the chance, I would use all of the above (which I do).    Oil trays are still dry this year, just have not filled them yet.   But I did put in the beetle barns this spring already.   If beetles look real bad in a hive or two, I will place more traps.   

[paus]

I caught a swarm late last year and I babied them all winter and they made it, so ten days ago I gave them a larger home, 10 frame deep. There were lots of SHB so I gave them a DSBB with oil pan 6 days ago. Today I checked the oil pan and I found over 20 floating SHB.  This was after the OLD swarm trap, tree mount, collapsed with the added weight and the hive fell and "busted open", they are on a pallet and strapped with the pallet on the ground now, I'll move them later.  Oil pans do work.

[Dora]

Looks to me like the Beetle Barns would get expensive, in comparison to number of beetles caught, after a while, since they have a rather short life, with bees propolizing them.

I think I will use SBB & oil pan *and* the "murder sauce" mentioned in the video below. The "murder sauce" would be smeared in the top corners of the hive to spare the bees the work of herding the SHB's all the way down to the oil pan. 😉

"Murder sauce" starts at about min 8:00
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rySYmhr4jUU