BEEKEEPING LEARNING CENTER > DISEASE & PEST CONTROL
hive beetle control opinions, please
animal:
Thanks, I have been planning to do a screened oil tray, but haven't had time to build one... plus have a little confusion about screen size etc...
Most of the articles I saw gave a range of aperture size ... and haven't had time to find out what is available now as far as number sizes and wire gauges.
Also, many articles seem to say "aperture" when they mean "on-center measurement" and a couple of them definitely did.
this beetle looks like it might fall through #8 and might not ... #8 has wires spaced 1/8" on centers, so it has an aperture of (0.125" - wire diameter) .. Beetle will definitely fall through the aluminum expanded mesh used for gutter guards, and it looks small enough to keep out bees, but there are sharp edges. I could tumble the stuff in sand, but that would be a lot of trouble.
looking on Amazon, they usually state fractional, number, or millimeter size. The wire diameter is almost never stated. When it comes to the metric stuff, I assume that is on-center measurement, but really don't know.
Haven't put the calipers on the dead beetle yet.... As soon as I typed that, I realized you guys are gonna be laughing at me... oh well..:cheesy:
So what do you buy for mesh that works ? ... or do you all buy ready-made bottoms ?
When I was young, you could get the stuff in different wire gauges, and spacing at a local hardware store ... long gone now.
You could even get it in spacings like 1/8" x 1/4".... went to the co-op looking for that or #6 last week thinking it would work well ...
and the buggers laughed at me and said there's no such thing... Luckily I had a scrap about 1' wide of 1/8"x 1/4", so I went back down there to show them. All they have locally is too big.
Assuming it needs to be metal because bees may chew on it ?
was also thinking of making a thing out of sheet metal like a miniature version of a termite shield for the bottom of the brood box.. That the bees could step over but mites and beetles couldn't. ..Silly idea ?
The inner lid has a beetle trap and adjustable vent integrated into it... uses the scent of the hive as bait, just an experiment.
animal:
No don't have a brush yet... thought I still had a drafting brush, but moths or something got to it. ... So far, I haven't actually bought anything specifically "bee"...
I've been really gentle with them, partly because of things that you guys wouldn't approve of .. like moving them from nuc to hive with shorts, t-shirt, and a rubber band around my beard the only protection. They will get tangled in the beard otherwise, then they get mad and it's hard to get them loose without making them madder. ... Been just listening and watching to try to learn their ways, buzzes, and reactions ... and getting them used to me. The nuc has been sitting on a bench on the front porch, and often, it's been my armrest.
So far, no stings at all since the cut-out. These guys seem really polite.
Occam:
The #8 (1/8th inch) hardware cloth works really well for letting beetles and their larva through. The issue comes from when the beele larva hatch, they have to go down to the soil and they drop through the hardware cloth easily. My regular hive has never had an issue with shb though I've seen a few in there and kill them when I can. A strong hive can often manage them. Hundreds of larvae moving is a big problem
animal:
Sorry, don't understand .. don't see the problem, then ... with a 1/8" screen for bees to walk on over a tray of mineral oil.
ideal would be largest size for bees to not go through, right ?
The15thMember:
--- Quote from: animal on July 03, 2023, 07:16:26 pm ---Haven't put the calipers on the dead beetle yet.... As soon as I typed that, I realized you guys are gonna be laughing at me... oh well..:cheesy:
--- End quote ---
:cheesy:
--- Quote from: animal on July 03, 2023, 07:43:11 pm ---I've been really gentle with them, partly because of things that you guys wouldn't approve of .. like moving them from nuc to hive with shorts, t-shirt, and a rubber band around my beard the only protection. They will get tangled in the beard otherwise, then they get mad and it's hard to get them loose without making them madder. ... Been just listening and watching to try to learn their ways, buzzes, and reactions ... and getting them used to me. The nuc has been sitting on a bench on the front porch, and often, it's been my armrest.
So far, no stings at all since the cut-out. These guys seem really polite.
--- End quote ---
I think all this sounds really great actually, and we have several people who work hives in shorts and a shirt. Bees do hate getting tangled in hair; as someone with very long hair, I've learned that lesson the hard way. It's also cool that you have a beard that is long enough to have to tie up! :cool:
--- Quote from: animal on July 03, 2023, 07:16:26 pm ---So what do you buy for mesh that works ?
--- End quote ---
--- Quote from: Occam on July 03, 2023, 09:04:55 pm ---The #8 (1/8th inch) hardware cloth works really well for letting beetles and their larva through. The issue comes from when the beele larva hatch, they have to go down to the soil and they drop through the hardware cloth easily. My regular hive has never had an issue with shb though I've seen a few in there and kill them when I can. A strong hive can often manage them. Hundreds of larvae moving is a big problem
--- End quote ---
--- Quote from: animal on July 03, 2023, 09:20:42 pm ---Sorry, don't understand .. don't see the problem, then ... with a 1/8" screen for bees to walk on over a tray of mineral oil.
ideal would be smallest size for bees to not go through, right ?
--- End quote ---
#8 hardware cloth is bee fence, workers cannot pass through it. I use it for covering ventilation holes in my moisture quilts, and yes, it can be extremely difficult to find locally. The next town over happens to have an old Ace hardware that carries it, or I'd be having to special order it.
--- Quote from: animal on July 03, 2023, 07:16:26 pm ---Assuming it needs to be metal because bees may chew on it ?
--- End quote ---
Bee will chew on wood, but I've never see them chew through wood, if that makes sense.
--- Quote from: animal on July 03, 2023, 07:16:26 pm ---was also thinking of making a thing out of sheet metal like a miniature version of a termite shield for the bottom of the brood box.. That the bees could step over but mites and beetles couldn't. ..Silly idea ?
--- End quote ---
I think that sounds like a silly idea. The mites are coming in on the bees, so it wouldn't help with that. And I'm pretty sure the beetles have little sticky pads on their feet like the bees, so I think they could both crawl over something shiny.
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