Author Topic: SHB in Sydney (Read 7555 times)

Dalon · « **on:** December 14, 2015, 09:42:19 am »

I got my first two hives about 5 weeks ago, rekindling a teenage passion. I seem to be having a few more challenges dealing with the pests that plague these shores. From the first week of installing the packages I'm seeing significant numbers of small hive beetles, 10+ per inspection including SHB larva at the entrance a week ago.

I started with a bottom board beetle trap but have subsequently added a beetle buster, a vynal mat and reduced the entrance further. Early indications are the mat seems to be most effective. Over the last few days I've found that the SHB fly in for the 30 minutes before dusk and I can kill them before entering(15+ per day). A thankless task but has reduced the numbers to 1-2 per hive based on yesterday's inspection.

Am I being an over-diligent keeper or a these numbers expected in the Sydney area? Is anyone else having similar experiences? Cheers.

iddee · « **Reply #1 on:** December 14, 2015, 11:52:13 am »

Get the hives out of the shade.

BeeMaster2 · « **Reply #2 on:** December 14, 2015, 12:38:21 pm »

If your bees are not used to dealing with SHB, kill every one that you see in the hive. Minimize inspections. Bees stop keeping them under guard while they are trying to fix what you have messed up.
Get/build a screen bottom board with an oil tray. Kills them by the thousands per month.
Jim

Dalon · « **Reply #3 on:** December 14, 2015, 06:31:56 pm »

Thank you guys for your responses.

The hives are in partial shade so will look at a relocation. I'll also look into the build of this bottom screen board if that's the most effective trapping device.

As for the inspections, I'll give them a few weeks before I install the new defences!

Cheers

RoyalTummy · « **Reply #4 on:** December 14, 2015, 06:40:46 pm »

Full sun, Oil Trays with SBB, try box inspections over frame inspections, salt the ground around the colonies, dont feed patties unless you just have too, if its hot stuff window screening into front entrance with just large enough opening to let bees in/out. Extract all supers that you pull and can extract in 24hrs. Dont stack them up and wait a week or several days.
On small number frame nucs also use oil trays and SBB. The the colony is weak, the beetles get brave and strong.
They fly as good as the bees and you are right about late evening. They will fly right in bypassing unaware guards.
Set out old brood comb in a bucket with some honey and gather it in at night and freeze it in freezer. Set it back out next day. Melon rinds, squash, cukes will also attract them in your beeyard.
If you get slimed just 1 time you wont forget it and will hate them from then on out.

Lancej · « **Reply #5 on:** December 14, 2015, 06:44:14 pm »

I'm lucky at this stage, I have no pests in any of my hives. There is a plastic bottom board made in Australia for SHB, from what I remember it is 40% open and curved bottom so the SHB fall through.

Honeycomb king · « **Reply #6 on:** December 14, 2015, 09:25:47 pm »

G day Lance. Have a look at my post earlier today, see if integrated pest management with Labidura truncata ( common brown earwig) can work for you. Would like to here your feedback. Thanks.

Lancej · « **Reply #7 on:** December 14, 2015, 10:04:22 pm »

Hi HC King,
When I have my hives in the suburbs, earwigs are generally all around them, maybe thats why I don't have any SHB's. We have both the black and the brown type, even on the property backing on state forest where I also keep the bee's there are a high number of earwigs. I will keep you updated.

Lancej · « **Reply #8 on:** December 14, 2015, 10:24:37 pm »

Found the website for the bottom board's, don't know if they're any good. http://www.bluebees.com.au I know that a few people have bought them, he sold plenty at Southside bee keepers club.

Dalon · « **Reply #9 on:** December 15, 2015, 12:41:48 am »

You're a good man Lance, placing my order for a couple now. Will come back to this thread with an update once installed. Cheers.

Lancej · « **Reply #10 on:** January 03, 2016, 05:10:47 am »

Hi Dalon, wondering how the new bottom boards were going?

Lance

Dalon · « **Reply #11 on:** January 08, 2016, 08:07:25 am »

Hi Lance, still waiting for them - I think the owner has been on holiday. I haven't done an inspection since starting this thread and have increased the sun on the hives. I can see a good increase in numbers even after all the rain. I'll be doing an inspection tomorrow, I'm hoping strength of the colony has gone a long way to reducing the SHB. Fingers crossed. Cheers Leon

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Culley · « **Reply #12 on:** January 09, 2016, 01:57:18 am »

Leon,

Did you get a chance to inspect today? How are they looking?

Dalon · « **Reply #13 on:** January 09, 2016, 07:46:04 am »

Hi Culley,

An interesting inspection. As you see from the photo I had around 40 odd SHB caught in and around the vinyl trap. The beetle buster was relatively ineffective. I was surprise to see so many in the one hive especially considering since my last inspection the girls have filled half of the second brood box and there was no visible sigh of comb damage or SHB larvae. I was expecting to see some visible damage but the SHB didn't seem to be impacting the progress of the colony significantly.

Just goes to show I need this bottom board in asap!

Cheers Leon

Culley · « **Reply #14 on:** January 09, 2016, 09:16:47 pm »

Hmm, are those beetles in the vinyl dead or still alive?

Good luck.

BeeMaster2 · « **Reply #15 on:** January 09, 2016, 09:54:30 pm »

Dalon,
Those SHB were not born in the hive.
They fly in especially in the evening.
Jim

Lancej · « **Reply #16 on:** March 16, 2016, 05:03:41 am »

Hi Dalon, still wondering how those bottom boards went, if they turned up?
HCK, all my hives are still pest free, I have one nuc that had both wax moth and SHB, it was from a cut out, it has also been re queened, the new bees seem to be a lot cleaner.

Honeycomb king · « **Reply #17 on:** March 16, 2016, 06:54:48 am »

I have one lot of 70 odd hives that I went through this week and saw about 30 shb.so it's time to re do earwig. Good time to do it anyway so they make a good winter nest. For me to see that many shb is almost panic time. Lance did you put earwig in or just let nature do its thing.

Lancej · « **Reply #18 on:** March 16, 2016, 08:18:01 am »

Earwigs are nearly always around my hives, except the nuc, one thing I did was made the bottom boards with a 42 mm deep entry hoping that it gave the bees a bit more time to guard anything coming in, so far so good, plus I only have several hives not hundreds.

Dalon · « **Reply #19 on:** March 16, 2016, 08:38:45 am »

Hi Lance. I got my blue bees bottom boards a couple of weeks ago but have held off installing them. The strength of the hives has seemed to keep them in check. Will save them for my new hives in spring - sorry, it will be a delayed update.