Beemaster's International Beekeeping Forum
BEEKEEPING LEARNING CENTER => GENERAL BEEKEEPING - MAIN POSTING FORUM. => Topic started by: BurleyBee on April 28, 2022, 04:58:01 pm
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Has anyone ever done this around your hives? I had SHB problems even through the winter this year. Last week one of my small Nucs got slimed. First time I?ve had that happen?pretty nasty. Anyhow, the remainder hives I have are strong production hives and strong up and coming hives. Really would like to knock the SHB back. I?ve never had any luck with traps and swiffer towels. Figured if I go ahead with it, I?d use a watering can and drench the ground around the hives with it.
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I use vegetable oil, canola or corn oil I?m my traps. It works way better than mineral oil. I haven?t had it go rancid as people say. I may keep a gallon of oil in my kitchen for a year and use it. In has never gone rancid in the kitchen or the hive.
I think with mineral oil you only catch the bees that get chased into them. With cooking oil, they are attracted to it.
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It works great to break the life cycle of SHB's. I use a watering can and treat around the back and sides of the hives during a rainy day to help wash the ground drench into the soil. I only treat two times a year but if you have moved a slimed hive then there is a good chance you will have SHB larva where you moved the dead hive to so treat that area also.
If you have fire ants a diluted drench works on them. I rinse out the watering can and use it on the fire ant mounds with a couple drops of dish washing soap added in.
If there are lot of SHB's in your hives take a screened bottom board and lay it across a container filled with an inch or so of soapy water. Pull the two outside frames, #1 and #10 where most of the beetles have been herded to and smack them on the screening. The beetles will fall through and drown while any bees on the frames will bounce off and fly away.
Haven't found an easy way to clean up frames that have been slimed. Hosing them off seems to work but is slow and then the frames are loaded with water and need to be shook and dried.
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Has anyone ever done this around your hives? I had SHB problems even through the winter this year. Last week one of my small Nucs got slimed. First time I?ve had that happen?pretty nasty. Anyhow, the remainder hives I have are strong production hives and strong up and coming hives. Really would like to knock the SHB back. I?ve never had any luck with traps and swiffer towels. Figured if I go ahead with it, I?d use a watering can and drench the ground around the hives with it.
Burley I had a 'hard earned' cut out hive die to slimming of SHB my first year. I was 'sick' and 'mad' as a result. I bought the stuff but never used it. I did as Paus and Beemaster 2 suggested, using oil pans beneath a screened bottom board (#8 hardware cloth) I did it a little different; I used mothers vinegar for a base and a little oil skim on top. I worked 'VERY' well. Thanks to Paus and Jim, I killed uncountable amounts of SHB. After a good period of time using this technique, it finally got to the point that it was a chore to find more than a few SHB.
Phillip
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I will stand corrected, but some times the SHB infestation are not yours, they will fly in from where ever and pick a weaker hive.
One of our worst infestations occurred when there had never been bees in this spot. Only lost 2/100 but put out alot of Beetle Jails.
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You are correct OldBeavo. So really we have to face the fact of killing beetles which are in range of our hives. When I had the problem I searched for information and found they will fly for MILES. But one thing is for sure. Once they slime a hive they will burrow in the ground and emerge as home grown SHB. 😊
Phillip
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Another thing. I took shovel in hand. I can?t remember just how deep I found them but they had burrowed inches deeper than I had expected, which was deeper than I had read from research papers.
Phillip
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Thanks y?all!
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Save some of the goo from a slimeout, freeze it and put about a TBS in the oil pan. I use a small cup like dressing is served in a restaurant in the oil pan, as bait. it seems to draw the SHB. I think it will work in every 5 or maybe 10 hives if they are fairly close together/ I haven't tried it like that because I only have a few hives now and I can use the oil pan on all the hives. The last time I worked more than a hive or two, I only saw 4 SHB in the first six hives.
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Beetle Jails are a good monitor for SHB's and will catch them if they hive is invaded.
Need to change baits every 2 or 3 weeks, not as messy as other systems. Also fi into migratory bee keeping systems
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I use nematodes sold specifically for small hive beetle larvae.
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I use nematodes sold specifically for small hive beetle larvae.
I did that with good results - one of the "natural" remedies that worked for me.
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Beetle Jails are a good monitor for SHB's and will catch them if they hive is invaded.
Need to change baits every 2 or 3 weeks, not as messy as other systems. Also fi into migratory bee keeping systems
OldBeavo if you read this I would like to ask what it is you use for bait? Thanks Phillip