Welcome, Guest

Author Topic: Hive beetles  (Read 7771 times)

Offline Nwf Bees

  • New Bee
  • *
  • Posts: 13
  • Gender: Male
Hive beetles
« on: December 25, 2019, 07:41:46 pm »
Hello , I am currently having trouble with hive beetles I am in the Pensacola area I have already lost two hives to beetles I have tried dryer sheets and swiffers and even the oil traps between the frames , all the methods catch a few but not most of them are there any other ways ? I am thinking about doing oil trays under each hive but I will have to get creative because they are 5 frame hives. For some reason hive beetles are my biggest problem in my hives even my strong ones have them...
« Last Edit: December 25, 2019, 07:54:18 pm by Nwf Bees »

Offline Michael Bush

  • Universal Bee
  • *******
  • Posts: 19832
  • Gender: Male
    • bushfarms.com
Re: Hive beetles
« Reply #1 on: December 25, 2019, 07:59:04 pm »
Compress the colonies.  Remove any empty boxes and any infested combs.  Any boxes not fully occupied by bees should be removed.  If you have a freezer to put them in, that would be a help.  Probably double wrap them in plastic garbage bags (SHB larvae will chew through the plastic, but if they freeze fast enough two should hold them).  The problem is that there aren't a high enough density of bees to protect the comb.
My website:  bushfarms.com/bees.htm en espanol: bushfarms.com/es_bees.htm  auf deutsche: bushfarms.com/de_bees.htm  em portugues:  bushfarms.com/pt_bees.htm
My book:  ThePracticalBeekeeper.com
-------------------
"Everything works if you let it."--James "Big Boy" Medlin

Offline iddee

  • Universal Bee
  • *******
  • Posts: 10853
  • Gender: Male
Re: Hive beetles
« Reply #2 on: December 25, 2019, 09:39:31 pm »
And get them out of the shade, and into full sunlight.
"Listen to the mustn'ts, child. Listen to the don'ts. Listen to the shouldn'ts, the impossibles, the won'ts. Listen to the never haves, then listen close to me . . . Anything can happen, child. Anything can be"

*Shel Silverstein*

Offline Nwf Bees

  • New Bee
  • *
  • Posts: 13
  • Gender: Male
Re: Hive beetles
« Reply #3 on: December 25, 2019, 09:47:57 pm »
I will reduce them as much as I can like you said...they are in the most sun I have...full sun from roughly 9am - 4:30 pm.

Offline FloridaGardener

  • Field Bee
  • ***
  • Posts: 548
Re: Hive beetles
« Reply #4 on: December 26, 2019, 03:00:26 pm »
@NWF Bees

I'm about an hour from Pensacola.  Sorry about your hives.  I've been using Dixie H700 towels, and roughing those towels up with 60-grit sandpaper, to give bees a head start on pulling up fuzzy filaments that trap SHB.

I've been chatting with a researcher at USDA who is looking to run trials on a new SHB bait. His work will be published soon. When it is, I'll post a link here. 

There will be two types of traps.
1) An in-hive yeast and kairomone-based putty bait in a CD case, which bees cannot access. SHB are dead by the time the poison hits their intestinal tract.
2) An external trap at a distance from the hive. He says the long-distance traps are less effective, because to SHB, nothing smells quite as great as a beehive.

If you'd like to be included in helping with the trials, PM me.  BTW, he recommends if the hive is slimed, to freeze not just frames but hive bodies & all woodware too, because SHB eggs can remain in crevices.

He also says, leave hives in the hot sun.  He's in Gainesville, it's as hot as Pensacola. There's reduced honey production because of so much fanning to stay cool, but it's better than hives lost to SHB.

Offline Ben Framed

  • Global Moderator
  • Universal Bee
  • *******
  • Posts: 12407
  • Mississippi Zone 7
Re: Hive beetles
« Reply #5 on: December 29, 2019, 01:36:36 am »
@NWF Bees

I'm about an hour from Pensacola.  Sorry about your hives.  I've been using Dixie H700 towels, and roughing those towels up with 60-grit sandpaper, to give bees a head start on pulling up fuzzy filaments that trap SHB.

I've been chatting with a researcher at USDA who is looking to run trials on a new SHB bait. His work will be published soon. When it is, I'll post a link here. 

There will be two types of traps.
1) An in-hive yeast and kairomone-based putty bait in a CD case, which bees cannot access. SHB are dead by the time the poison hits their intestinal tract.
2) An external trap at a distance from the hive. He says the long-distance traps are less effective, because to SHB, nothing smells quite as great as a beehive.

If you'd like to be included in helping with the trials, PM me.  BTW, he recommends if the hive is slimed, to freeze not just frames but hive bodies & all woodware too, because SHB eggs can remain in crevices.

He also says, leave hives in the hot sun.  He's in Gainesville, it's as hot as Pensacola. There's reduced honey production because of so much fanning to stay cool, but it's better than hives lost to SHB.

FG do you yet know what type poison is used along with the yeast and kairomone-based putty bait which your researcher friend uses inside the CD cases?  As I'm sure that you already know, but I am saying this for the benefit of our new beekeeper from pensacola. A CD type trap is already in use by some, though deemed illegal, even though the bees can not access the poison inside, only SHB can enter.  The bait that I have read about is drop of butter flavored crisco placed in the center of the CD case and some sort of roach bait is placed around this crisco. Some claim that this set up will take care of the SHB problem while others say not only is it illegal but dangerous. Hopefully your friends research poison, will be a safe poison?
Kind Regards,
Phillip
2 Chronicles 7:14
14 If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land.

Offline BeeMaster2

  • Administrator
  • Universal Bee
  • *******
  • Posts: 13494
  • Gender: Male
Re: Hive beetles
« Reply #6 on: December 29, 2019, 08:23:35 am »
The big problem with in hive baits is if the beetles are able to exit the bait box before dying, they are carrying the poison out into the hive where it ends up in your honey and also killing your bees.
When I started out my hives were all in shade and the SHBs loved them. I built screen bottom boards with oil traps for all of my hives and every one killed thousands of beetles every month. I had to wash them out every month because they would stink really bad because they were completely full of dead SHBs.
If you make them make sure they are bee tight. If bees can find their way into them they are dead.
Jim Altmiller
Democracy is 2 wolves and a lamb voting on what to have for lunch. Liberty is a well armed lamb contesting the vote.
Ben Franklin

Offline Nwf Bees

  • New Bee
  • *
  • Posts: 13
  • Gender: Male
Re: Hive beetles
« Reply #7 on: December 29, 2019, 07:58:11 pm »
I think I'm going to try the oil trays and see what happens it can't hurt.

Offline Bob Wilson

  • Queen Bee
  • ****
  • Posts: 1100
  • Gender: Male
Re: Hive beetles
« Reply #8 on: January 03, 2020, 04:58:54 pm »
Anyone tried the guardian hive entrance trap? I was thinking of trying it out.

Offline BeeMaster2

  • Administrator
  • Universal Bee
  • *******
  • Posts: 13494
  • Gender: Male
Re: Hive beetles
« Reply #9 on: January 03, 2020, 07:00:50 pm »
Anyone tried the guardian hive entrance trap? I was thinking of trying it out.
I had one given to me similar to it. Not worth the money.
Jim Altmiller
Democracy is 2 wolves and a lamb voting on what to have for lunch. Liberty is a well armed lamb contesting the vote.
Ben Franklin

Offline Ben Framed

  • Global Moderator
  • Universal Bee
  • *******
  • Posts: 12407
  • Mississippi Zone 7
Re: Hive beetles
« Reply #10 on: January 18, 2020, 10:19:44 am »
@NWF Bees

I'm about an hour from Pensacola.  Sorry about your hives.  I've been using Dixie H700 towels, and roughing those towels up with 60-grit sandpaper, to give bees a head start on pulling up fuzzy filaments that trap SHB.

I've been chatting with a researcher at USDA who is looking to run trials on a new SHB bait. His work will be published soon. When it is, I'll post a link here. 

There will be two types of traps.
1) An in-hive yeast and kairomone-based putty bait in a CD case, which bees cannot access. SHB are dead by the time the poison hits their intestinal tract.
2) An external trap at a distance from the hive. He says the long-distance traps are less effective, because to SHB, nothing smells quite as great as a beehive.

If you'd like to be included in helping with the trials, PM me.  BTW, he recommends if the hive is slimed, to freeze not just frames but hive bodies & all woodware too, because SHB eggs can remain in crevices.

He also says, leave hives in the hot sun.  He's in Gainesville, it's as hot as Pensacola. There's reduced honey production because of so much fanning to stay cool, but it's better than hives lost to SHB.

FG do you yet know what type poison is used along with the yeast and kairomone-based putty bait which your researcher friend uses inside the CD cases?  As I'm sure that you already know, but I am saying this for the benefit of our new beekeeper from pensacola. A CD type trap is already in use by some, though deemed illegal, even though the bees can not access the poison inside, only SHB can enter.  The bait that I have read about is drop of butter flavored crisco placed in the center of the CD case and some sort of roach bait is placed around this crisco. Some claim that this set up will take care of the SHB problem while others say not only is it illegal but dangerous. Hopefully your friends research poison, will be a safe poison?
Kind Regards,
Phillip

Bump
2 Chronicles 7:14
14 If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land.

Offline KellyBeeFriendly

  • New Bee
  • *
  • Posts: 26
  • Gender: Female
Re: Hive beetles
« Reply #11 on: May 06, 2020, 09:56:34 am »
I?ve seen some utube video where they use the CD trap option but instead of poison use diatomaceous earth, beetles have to walk through it to get to the bait, it gets into their creases and drys them out. My local hippie seed place sells it by the bag and small hive beetle control is also listed on label. People use it to control bed bugs in homes & hotels and fleas & lice on animals! It?s going to also be deadly to bees so you don?t sprinkle it in your hives. You could use it instead of oil. I used oil last year too, it was pretty messy, I had very few hive beetle but lots of earwigs. This year plan to do DE for beetles and recycle it by running through large sieve to extract the cappings and detritus and hopefully any dead beetles.

I?ve also set up bait traps for European wasps and shb (same principle just different bait) there?s also an online recipe from researcher in Queensland Australia, yeast honey water mixture. I?d prefer to trap them out of the hive rather than in it!

I?d also love to hear if anyone has tried the guardian entrances and if they are too good to be true?
Keep Calm and Keep Bees

Offline JurassicApiary

  • House Bee
  • **
  • Posts: 331
  • Gender: Male
Re: Hive beetles
« Reply #12 on: May 06, 2020, 01:58:44 pm »
Instead of oil, I fill my bottom tray with a layer of DE (Diatomaceous Earth).  Once the beetles land it it, it suffocates them and they dry out, so no overwhelming odors or rotting whatsoever.  I haven't tried oil on the try, so I don't have a direct comparison, but the DE always has lots of dead SHB in it, so I'm happy.

Offline FloridaGardener

  • Field Bee
  • ***
  • Posts: 548
Re: Hive beetles
« Reply #13 on: May 11, 2020, 03:03:25 pm »
@ Bob - I did an experiment with the Guardian entrance because of my own curiosity.

March 30, 2020: I collected a large swarm. I placed the swarm in my best attempt at a sealed environment, with the Guardian entrance as the sole way into the hive.

The setup: 2 well-sealed medium hive bodies containing 18 empty frames (no foundation) and 2 frames of natural comb that had been sanitized in the freezer. 
                 The 1/8" screened bottom board was mostly blocked by a tray that collects hive trash.
                 The bottom entrance was screwed closed with no gap bigger than 1/64." 
                 A 1.5" feeding eke held a plate with fondant to start them off: 3 lbs cane sugar/120 mg zinc/2000 mg vitamin c.
                 A Dixie H700 towel (SHB trap) was put on top of the bars opposite corner of brood nest.
                 The guardian entrance was attached to the eke. It is a top entrance.
                 The lid was sealed with no screened venting.

I lifted the lid every week to glance in and check for straight comb.  Straight as an arrow.

After 6 weeks I checked for hive beetles.  Given that hive beetles can follow a swarm, and that SHB can crawl up through the 1/8" mesh into the hive, these results are not absolute.

Result: There were hive beetles in the towel.  Not as many as in other hives, but still there were some. 

If I were to give an opinion, I'd say the $10-12 for the Guardian entrance might be better spent on an $18 black plastic "West SHB trap" set underneath the bottom board.  I've been adding cleats (runners) under my bottom board for extra height, thus making the West trap accessible to the back of the hive.   
        Once the SHB fall, likely their instinct is to go into the dark trap that smells like yummy salad dressing (apple cider vinegar +oil), rather than crawl two inches up through the bottom screen back into the hive.
 

Offline guitarstitch

  • House Bee
  • **
  • Posts: 104
  • Gender: Male
Re: Hive beetles
« Reply #14 on: May 11, 2020, 04:37:00 pm »
In 3 years of beekeeping, the only time I saw SHB issues was when a colony was weak and had too much space.  I fixed that colony by shrinking it down to a congested nuc and putting the minimally damaged super frames on other (strong) hives.

Bees like cozy.  Too much space invites trouble.
-Matthew Pence/Stitch

Offline KellyBeeFriendly

  • New Bee
  • *
  • Posts: 26
  • Gender: Female
Re: Hive beetles
« Reply #15 on: May 20, 2020, 09:56:41 am »
I did an experiment with the Guardian entrance because of my own curiosity.
If I were to give an opinion, I'd say the $10-12 for the Guardian entrance might be better spent

Thanks Florida! You advice saved me twice that (with oz exchange rate ) 👍 I confess I have read Michael bush approach and I keep my bees cozy so I haven?t seen issues - yet. I hear lots of Aussie horror stories so I thought it might just be luck rather than good management. I have run all matter of traps just in case. But I?ve only ever seen one larvae in the oil tray under one hive and one in bee beetle jail which I promptly squished. Blaster Traps and swiffer cloths persist beetle free. I have caught 1-2 in the fly traps though. https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=YHUmK5SlzXU
Keep Calm and Keep Bees

Offline Michael Bush

  • Universal Bee
  • *******
  • Posts: 19832
  • Gender: Male
    • bushfarms.com
Re: Hive beetles
« Reply #16 on: July 19, 2020, 02:47:58 pm »
I just lost my Huber hive to small hive beetles.  A mystery.  It was strong and in morning sun.  It was thriving and suddenly succumbed.  I don't have any theories as to why...  The humidity has been running in the 90s and I think that has contributed some but still strong hives usually don't succumb.
My website:  bushfarms.com/bees.htm en espanol: bushfarms.com/es_bees.htm  auf deutsche: bushfarms.com/de_bees.htm  em portugues:  bushfarms.com/pt_bees.htm
My book:  ThePracticalBeekeeper.com
-------------------
"Everything works if you let it."--James "Big Boy" Medlin

Offline FloridaGardener

  • Field Bee
  • ***
  • Posts: 548
Re: Hive beetles
« Reply #17 on: July 19, 2020, 10:41:29 pm »
Aww, Michael.  I'm so sorry.  That's the coolest hive ever.

I hope you are able to salvage the frames.  I'd be grieving for it ... all through the long, grubby cleanout process.
:(  Maybe you can ask a friend to come over and help.

Offline shaw4777

  • New Bee
  • *
  • Posts: 8
  • Gender: Male
Re: Hive beetles
« Reply #18 on: July 24, 2020, 01:09:57 pm »
Hive beetles suck. I have placed a double layer of landscape cloth under my hive In Tallahassee, FL.   I also have added an oil trap under a screened bottom board.  This seems to have all but eliminated hive beetles within a few weeks.  I opened hive yesterday and only saw one beetle


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Offline Ben Framed

  • Global Moderator
  • Universal Bee
  • *******
  • Posts: 12407
  • Mississippi Zone 7
Re: Hive beetles
« Reply #19 on: July 24, 2020, 03:28:50 pm »
Hive beetles suck. I have placed a double layer of landscape cloth under my hive In Tallahassee, FL.   I also have added an oil trap under a screened bottom board.  This seems to have all but eliminated hive beetles within a few weeks.  I opened hive yesterday and only saw one beetle


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

One go back too, and sure fire beetle getter is the oil tray beneath the screen bottom. Did you use a full size of the hive oil tray?
2 Chronicles 7:14
14 If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land.

 

anything