Treatment for Small Hive Beetles in Arkansas

[capt44]

I had my hives inspected the 10th of March by the Arkansas State Bee Inspector.
I was using the perforated square plastic traps using the Crisco and Boric Acid in some of my hives.
The traps had dead small hive beetles but I found out it is a NO NO.
The only legal chemical you can use in hive beetle traps in Arkansas is Check Mite Strips cut into pieces and stuck to the bottom of the traps.
Using beetle barns and such cut the checkmite into pieces and place inside the trap.
The inspector called me and said they are really cracking down on illegal chemicals in hives.
I trash canned everything except for the Check Mite strips I keep in the freezer.
Even it has to be out of the hive before the Honey Flow.
Just thought I'd pass it on to folks in Arkansas.
There are a lot of remedies on the internet and some work.
But they aren't approved.
I googled small hive beetle control and came up with all kinds of remedies from roach motels to ant and roach bait.
Every year they tighten down more and more.
Selling bees I have to have inspections every 6 months.
Selling Queens I have been issued Health Certificate Strips.
If I sell out of state I have to be inspected every 3 months.
Just giving ya'll a heads up.

[hjon71]

I love Big Brother. I feel safer already.
*note sarcasm  :evil:

[RC]

When you were using the crisco and boric acid, how did they work? Keep the beetles in check? Any harm to the bees?
I've thought about trying this, I'm just hesitant to put boric acid in my hives. I know the bees shouldn't be able to get to it, but things don't always go as they should.

[10framer]

i pulled all mine a couple of weeks ago.  i wasn't using boric acid but i did use crisco.  they caught some but nothing beats a strong hive.  can you sell queens if they find beetles in your hives?  it's just about impossible to not have a few from what i've seen. 

[buzzbee]

Capt44,
Read the package closely on those check mite strips. That stuff is easily absorbed through the skin and can effect the central nervous system. The manufacturer suggests not using it in cell builders for queens.:

Treatments must be applied at a time when bees are not producing a surplus honey crop. Chemical resistant gloves must be worn when handling the strips. DO NOT use leather gloves (i.e.: leather beekeeping gloves) when handling this product. Just before application, remove the required number of CheckMite+ Strips from the pouch. Unused strips should remain in original package. Do not treat the same colony with coumaphos more than twice a year. Check Mite + is not recommended for use in honey bee colonies that are used as cell builders for producing queens.

The other sad thing is that camaphous(Checkmites active ingredient) and fluvalinate are the chemicals most found in beeswax which may contribute to other problems as they are constantly exposed in the brood chamber. Haven't the parasites developed resistance to camaphous anyway?

[capt44]

Yep the Varroa Mite has built up a resistance to Check Mite.
And yep you have to remove the check mite strips before a honey flow.
A strong population is what a person is going to have to hope for.
The inspector told me that if a hive beetle leaves the corrugated material with boric acid on it, the acid can be transferred to the bees and could wind up on the queen, killing her.
But the Check Mite strips cut up into small squares and put in traps such as a beetle barn or a CD case works.
I have to play it by the book now that he's seen the boric acid.
They are subject to show up at anytime now.
I know they were bad last year.

[RHBee]

Oil pans worked for me Capt.

[jclark96]

My thumb is the best SHB trap yet. If I see a beetle in one of my hives I kill it with my thumb. If you have hundreds, set up an empty brood box on a bottom board next to your hive, move the frames over one at a time, killing beetles as you go, kill all of the beetles left in the old box, then move the frames back one at a time, killing more beetles, then kill all of the beetles left in the extra box. It also helps to have a person designated as the beetle killer and a frame mover. It seems drastic, but instantly ridding your hive of a few hundred beetles frees up the bees to do more productive stuff.

[RHBee]

My thumb is the best SHB trap yet. If I see a beetle in one of my hives I kill it with my thumb. If you have hundreds, set up an empty brood box on a bottom board next to your hive, move the frames over one at a time, killing beetles as you go, kill all of the beetles left in the old box, then move the frames back one at a time, killing more beetles, then kill all of the beetles left in the extra box. It also helps to have a person designated as the beetle killer and a frame mover. It seems drastic, but instantly ridding your hive of a few hundred beetles frees up the bees to do more productive stuff.

With 20 hives I don't have that much time. Beetles hate light. As I inspect they move down in the hive and into the pans.

[sc-bee]

Just curious Capt did you think the boric was legal?

[capt44]

The small hive beetles were really getting bad here last year and yes I tried it.
Now all I use is oil traps and Check Mite strips in beetle traps.
My bee yards are inspected every 3 months if I sell out of state and every 6 months if I sell in state.

[RHBee]

I know some beekeepers here that use roach bait in beetle blasters. I don't know how to feel about that. Really does not the job,  so they say.

[capt44]

Can't use anything that isn't approved by the State of Arkansas and the USDA.

[HomeSteadDreamer]

My oil trays work wonders but I don't have a langstroth so there is more surface area for the oil.  They don't have to fall through a big stack of boxes to get to the oil.  But I suspect your queen builders are only one box high.