Welcome, Guest

Author Topic: Cleaning Up After SHBs  (Read 1965 times)

Offline Beeboy01

  • Field Bee
  • ***
  • Posts: 739
  • Gender: Male
  • Oh Look A Honey Bee !!!
Cleaning Up After SHBs
« on: April 16, 2017, 04:09:13 pm »
Just got back from a two week vacation and found that all is not well with my hives. Two had been hit by Small Hive Beetles, one I've been able to reduce down to a nuc and seems to be holding its own while the second was hit pretty hard and I ended up doing a shakeout with all the frames to save the bees. I placed a deep with 2 frames of drawn foundation and eight frames of new foundation on the original bottom board. The two drawn foundations I sprayed with sugar water to draw the bees in and it has seemed to work so far.
  My question is what to do with all the frames that have been slimed by the SHBs.  I know that a lot of them are only fit for the solar wax melter but could I hose off the ones that aren't that bad, let them air dry in the sun and then reuse them? I am currently using a mix of wax and plastic foundation for my deeps with only wax foundation for my shallows.
  My other question is it possible to save or feed back to the bees the frames of honey from the destroyed hive. There are some honey frames that are half capped. I was planning to hose the slime off of them, shake the water off and leave them out for robbing.
  I'm looking at four deeps and three shallows that got hit and I would like to save what I can if possible. going to be looking for more bees also once I get the yard straightened out.
Thanks

 

Offline divemaster1963

  • Heavenly Beekeeper
  • Queen Bee
  • ********
  • Posts: 1354
  • Gender: Male
  • God Protect and watch over our sons and daughters.
Re: Cleaning Up After SHBs
« Reply #1 on: April 16, 2017, 04:19:36 pm »
If you do plac them out to be robed. move them way from the hives about 75-100 yards if posibe. to stop robbing frenze. you will draw wild bees to the area. make sure yur hives are in full sun this seems to help control shb. also treat the ground under the hives to help control the shb's. use shb traps to help control shb there is someone on here that has come up with a idea to control them he has plans for the traps. I have not try them yet becuse I dont have a major problem with shb.

good luck

john

Offline Beeboy01

  • Field Bee
  • ***
  • Posts: 739
  • Gender: Male
  • Oh Look A Honey Bee !!!
Re: Cleaning Up After SHBs
« Reply #2 on: April 16, 2017, 10:59:20 pm »
It's been a strange year so far, haven't seen any robbing from feral hives around the honey supers. With all the supers that are sitting out the bee yard should be crazy right now. I think Hurricane Matthew really shook things up last year with the fall honey flow and the warm winter with a colder spring hasn't helped either.
  I know about treating the ground under the hives for SHBs, I also treat where ever I set down a contaminated super because the SHB larva will drop out of the frames and burrow into the dirt.
  Still not sure what to do with the slimed frames, I hosed a few off just to see what happens with them but am starting to think I need to cut the comb out and start all over with fresh foundation.

Offline Beeboy01

  • Field Bee
  • ***
  • Posts: 739
  • Gender: Male
  • Oh Look A Honey Bee !!!
Re: Cleaning Up After SHBs
« Reply #3 on: April 17, 2017, 04:27:52 pm »
Decided to play is safe and spent the morning cutting the comb out of the frames. It took 2 hours to cut out the comb out of 65 frames. Filled four medium trash bags with comb and a lot were half capped full of honey but they all had small hive beetles or larva crawling around or had a layer of slime on them. Probably lost six or seven gallons of honey which stinks but I've learned the hard way just how invasive SHBs can be.
  Picking up a nuc from a local this weekend and hope to save the second half of the season.

Offline Barhopper

  • House Bee
  • **
  • Posts: 152
Re: Cleaning Up After SHBs
« Reply #4 on: April 17, 2017, 09:32:09 pm »
I think you did the right thing. I cleaned up plastic foundation after a hive beetle sliming. Wasn't worth the effort in my opinion.

Offline Sniper338

  • House Bee
  • **
  • Posts: 118
Re: Cleaning Up After SHBs
« Reply #5 on: April 17, 2017, 09:57:40 pm »
Im just got my first hive.  Classes and workshops down here say as long as the hive is strong you dont have to worry about beetles.  No one does anything for them.  Its all mite control here from what im learning...

Never know though..  im in south texas..

 

anything