small hive beetle traps

[woodyard]

I was wondering if any one had tried the West Beetle traps and what you thought about them.

[beegee]

Those who have used them in our are report good results. I have no excperience personally with them. Last year, Jerry Hayes showed us some traps that he and his colleagues are testing along with a potential beetle lure, which may eventually be available as soon as they can document its effectiveness and safety, etc, etc, etc, etc.....

[mac]

I am using them now and they work just as they are advertised. I use soy oil I get at the grocery store. SHB try to hide in them and get coated in oil and drown or are suffocated not sure which. They also catch the SHB larva before they can leave the hive. Ya don't have to use a ground drench cause the larva never get out of the hive. Any mites that are dislodge from the bees when grooming also end up in the traps so I don't use SBB but ya can. I clean the traps about every 2 weeks to check for mites (sort of like a sticky board) and SHB. I strain the oil through an old pair of my wife's pantyhose and use the oil again. Just make sure the hives are level. It is a little time consuming but so is counting mites on a sticky board. Don't know if it would be practical for commercial guys. Ya would have to pull the traps to move for pollination or there would be oil all over the place. I only have 2 hives so it works for me. I was getting over 100 shb in each hive 2 years ago. The numbers would fluctuate but last week there were none in one hive and 2 in the other. I have 2 more traps for splits in a month or so. I like em.

smile.gif

[woodyard]

Thanks for the input, Sounds as if they may be the way to go.

[sc-bee]

There is a new trap on the market this year, not sure if it is the one you saw. A guy from Clemson helped design it . Have seen one but of course this is the first year it will be available for sale. It is a very small box you mount on the bottom bar of a frame and put cider or I guess some kind of veg. oil in it.
It of course dosent have the advantage of catching any smaller debris (mites etc. )but looks as it would be more practical on a large scale use(just from looks???) I believe it will be available from brushy mountain.

[beemandan]

I attended the Ga Beekeeper's meeting on Sat and Fred Rossman had one of the new traps on display. It is an opague, plastic container that he had attached to an empty frame. I may order a few and mount them in hive top feeders...where the bees in my hives often sequester them.
Here is a copy of the promo sheet that Fred had

http://www.boogerhillbee.com/temp%20028.jpg

[wayacoyote]

I love my SHB traps. Like what was said above, you need to keep the hive level. Off level just a little bit might keep the oil from getting to all corners. They also pertrude some in the front keeping me from using a normal entrance reducer.

Waya

[GaSteve]

>It is a very small box you mount on the bottom bar of a frame and put cider or I guess some kind of veg. oil in it.

As I understand it, it is baited with FGMO and a small amount of apple cider vinegar. The vinegar attracts the beetles and also allows the beetles to sink into the oil and drown. Apparently, the beetles can float on pure FGMO. The traps are attached to the bottom bar of a frame and is placed on one of the outer edges of a brood box -- this is where the beetles tend to hang out. The entrance width is very small and the bees may propolize it over time, but it's easily cleaned.

I was at the GA Beekeepers mtg as well. Glad to see such a large turnout since they held it here in central GA. I hope it continues.

Also, the research on controlling SHB with nematodes looks very promising.

[sc-bee]

A guy from Univ. of GA. was at our meeting last year and mentioned the nematode study and said they would be releasing some news around last Oct. but did not hear any.

[beemandan]

sc-bee, check under header Diseases and Pests, message subject: nematodes and SHB

[ February 02, 2006, 06:35 AM: Message edited by: beemandan ]

[beemandan]

GaSteve, that was my fist spring GA Beekeepers meeting so I don't have any comparison. They definitely filled the meeting room. Jennifer seems pretty excited about the EAS meeting doesn't she?

[GaSteve]

She sure does. I think because this is the first time it's being held in "the south", there's a lot of pressure to make a good first impression. It takes a ton of time and effort to put something together on that kind of scale. The list of speakers is really a who's who of beekeeping both nationally and internationally.