SHB numbers increasing

[GA-BEE]

On my last inspection of my 4 hives, 2 I noticed have a large ammount of SHB's. These two are my strongest hives and the bees don't seem too affected by them, but I saw 20+ just on the top inner cover. I need to know what non-chemical means there is that any of you are using WITH success.
My current plans are:
1. Let my chickens in the beeyard.
2. Get guardstar and soak the ground.
Any help / advice will be greatly appreciated.

[BjornBee]

I would not hesitate to use the checkmite strips for SHB. Yeah, I know they are chemicals, but used on the underside of cardboard, and properly placed, they will not come into contact with bees, comb, or honey. I'm sure some will say about residue and such, but it would have to be minimal. No more than drenching the ground around the hive with some other chemical.

This does not answer your questions, but its the only way I know how, after they are inside the hive. I also do not put alot of faith in the beetle traps, whether inside or outside the hive.

[Beemaninsa]

I don't have a SHB problem yet, but I understand many beekeepers have gone to not useing inner covers. The inner covers give them an extra place to hide. I wonder if useing SBB and a guardstar ground soak would be of any assistance?

[Michael Bush]

Dadant is selling a SHB trap for the bottom of the hive. Sine I have never seen a SHB I can't say how well they work.

From the reports I hear, it seems like they ALWAYS find someplace to hide, but the bees try to corral them. If you can give the bees somewhere to corral them, maybe it will help? Like an old queen cage where the bees can chase them into it and gaurd it?

Good luck and let us know what works for you.

[BjornBee]

Thats how the cardboard works. It is based on the beetles urge to hide.

You remove the paper from one side of a piece of cardboard. This exposes the "ridges". You staple the checkmite strip to this side. You then place one on the bottom and one on top of the inner cover. You should tack down the cardboard with the strips down, and tack on the side not to block the grooves from closing. (You could probably use two pieces of cardboard so the strips do not actually touch any hive component.) As the beetles seek places to hide, they go in along the cardboard grooves, and come into contact with the strips. Very effective.

You could probably come up with just about anything for the strips to be place into, or under, as long as the bees do not have access.

I used the cardboard last year, and this was after going through alot of frame swaps, comb replacement, and wasted time. The strips took care of the beetles fast.

[This message has been edited by BjornBee (edited September 13, 2004).]

[AstroBee]

Don't know if this is an option for you, but in my case it did wonders for my SHB problems. I simply moved my hives out into fun sun. I now run 5 hives in fun sun, most without inner covers, and one in partial sun. The hive in partial sun still has a good number of SHBs, but the hives in full have NONE. There could be other factors, involved, but it may be worth a try for you.

Regarding the checkmite traps...I have had very little success with them. I bought the Dadant beetle traps, but never used them since I discovered the "full sun trick". In fact, our state inspector also made a negative comment about the usefullness of checkmite for SHB. I'm sure everyone has different conditions, and it may work for you, but I'd exhaust other alternatives before going with checkmite.

[cadetman]

Do SHB's reside in the far north where I am? (50 miles from Canadian border)

[Pugs]

Cadetman,

I don't know if they've got there yet, but from what I've read, it seems likely.

Here is a link showing SHB area as of March of last year.
http://www.beetlelady.com/small_hive_beetle.html

Pugs

[wayacoyote]

In case anyone doesn't know, the GuardStar is to prevent the larvae from maturing when it moves to the ground to develop. That won't eliminate the adults that are already in the hive. Other ways of preventing the larvae from making it to the soil to mature could include a soil barrier.

It would be important to eliminate the adults somehow to prevent them from reproducing.

WayaCoyote

[Branman]

I have to agree with Astro, I dunno if its coincidence, but the hives in the sun have FAR fewer SHB than the ones in shade...might have something to do with the moisture though...as the sunny ones stay drier.

[BjornBee]

Its not coincidence. Its based on something discussed many times, and posted on this forum. Hives in full sun are heathier for many reasons. A healthier hive can fight off deseases better, and are stronger in fighting off pests and mites.

I can go into any apiary, and "most" of the time, I can pick out which hives will have more mites, and have more stress deseases. This is based on hive location in the apiary with regards to sun/shade, hive direction in which it faces, and also hive placement in regards to other hives. Little things do matter.

[TwT]

THIS GUY DIDNT WANT TO TREAT HIS HIVES WITH CHEMICALS SO HE TRIED THIS. Sorry for the caps.
http://www.beesource.com/ubb/Forum3/HTML/000242.html

[TwT]

this is what a guy said he did instead of putting chemicals in his hives, experiment #1
http://www.beesource.com/ubb/Forum3/HTML/000242.html

[TwT]

GA-BEE read this article about the SHB? tell about ants, cardboard, all kinds of idea's.
http://creatures.ifas.ufl.edu/misc/bees/small_hive_beetle.htm

[TwT]

this is a SHB trap that workes,,,,
cut a hole in the bottom board and attach a jar that is one-third filled with honey. Over the opening, bolt a square of Plexiglas elevated by a couple of washers. There should be just enough room to allow adult beetles, but not bees, to crawl under the Plexiglas. Many of the beetles eventually wind up in the jar. This trapping idea is passive in nature and requires no chemical use. It could be modified in a number of ways by beekeepers and integrated into colony management on a permanent basis.

[Steve_in_NC]

I am seeing my first SHB ever this past month. They were even present in a feral hive that I took.

Does anyone know if they are kept out of drawn comb by PDB?

Steve

[mobees]

Can hive beetles fly?

[Michael Bush]

>Can hive beetles fly?

For miles and miles.

[Michael Bush]

"Adults can fly at least 5 miles to infest new colonies."
http://www.csl.gov.uk/science/organ/environ/bee/factsheets/SHB.pdf

[ikeepbees]

Some SHB ideas that I have tried:

1.The West trap (I bought mine from Brushy Mountain) works well, but is kind of expensive if you have more than a few hives to take care of. It is a pan that sits on a modified bottom board. You fill the pan with vegetable oil (I have also used FGMO, doesn't get rancid like the VO), and the screen above allows the SHB to go through but not the bees. The SHB get trapped in the oil and die.

2. I had a yard that experienced a dramatic and sudden increase in SHB this year, and I lost quite a few colonies to absconding. I treated the rest with a combination of the West trap and Checkmite/cardboard in the back corners under the West trap. This combination was devestating to the SHB.

3. I accidentally found that you can trap SHB in the empty ziploc baggies that I used for feeding on the top bars. When I went back in to replace the feed bags, the empty bags contained a surprising number of beetles in them. I grabbed an empty bucket and used it for SHB disposal.

4. The division board feeders that MB has mentioned from Brushy Mountain can be modified to trap SHB: Just drill a few holes in the block used to close the feeder and fill with FGMO. I don't remember the size of the holes but they were the same diameter as the width of the gaps in the West trap. This isn't the greatest solution, as there aren't many available holes for the SHB to go through but it does work.

5. As has been mentioned before, the three hole wooden queen cages work well if you leave one end uncorked. I have placed them on the bottom board, and gone back the next day or so and captured quite a few beetles.

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Rob Koss