SHB Trap from CD Jewel Case

[Gene Weitzel]

Here is a link to a photobucket slide show that shows an SHB trap that I made from the thicker style CD Jewel cases (read the description under each photo for my comments). I just lay it on the top bars toward the back, close to the ends of the top bars (where I have observed alot of SHB hiding). I put them in all my hives this last week end. Will let you know next weekend how well they worked.

http://s210.photobucket.com/albums/bb226/geneweitzel/SHB%20Trap/?action=view&current=DSCF0242.jpg

[danno1800]

Way to go, guy!

[AstroBee]

I thought you needed to bait them in with some food? I know that they seek out small areas where the bees can't bother them, but your traps may be more effective if you added some food source. Good luck.

[Troy]

I read elsewhere that the beetles themselves are attracted to each other.

I would leave a few dead beetles in the trap as bait to the others.

[Gene Weitzel]

I thought you needed to bait them in with some food? I know that they seek out small areas where the bees can't bother them, but your traps may be more effective if you added some food source. Good luck.

I use the Safer brand DE which has a general insect attractant in it. I have had success with it in the past attracting them. If it does not work a well as I expect, I may try adding a little bee pollen in there with the DE.

[GaSteve]

Pollen patties are the best attractant I've seen:).

[Jeffzhear]

I hadn't read it before, but what is DE?

[tecumseh]

keeps us informed of how the trap works.

so far my best attempts at trapping shb has resulted in very limited success and has been a bit random. my best success was when I (for no real reason) place a plastic lid under a plastic container type trap and the next time I took a look I must have had 30 of the little buggers under the contain (the trap itself had one dead shb drown in the oil) and on top of the plastic lid... the flat top was a nice flat surface to squash about 30 with one swipe of my hive tool.

[AllFloridaBee]

I hadn't read it before, but what is DE?

I'd suspect Diatomaceous Earth

[Gene Weitzel]

keeps us informed of how the trap works.

so far my best attempts at trapping shb has resulted in very limited success and has been a bit random. my best success was when I (for no real reason) place a plastic lid under a plastic container type trap and the next time I took a look I must have had 30 of the little buggers under the contain (the trap itself had one dead shb drown in the oil) and on top of the plastic lid... the flat top was a nice flat surface to squash about 30 with one swipe of my hive tool.

I will be checking the traps this weekend.

I think the bees have a lot to do with how effective the traps are. I have noticed that my feral bees are really aggressive at chasing the SHB. When I was placing these traps I noticed a bee attacking an SHB on top of a pollen patty in one of my feral hives. When she walked away the SHB's wing covers were nearly torn off and it was dead. First time I had seen a bee kill one.

[Jeffzhear]

I'd suspect Diatomaceous Earth

Thank you very much, that makes sense! I have never used that product yet, but might in the future...again, tyvm

[Grant]

I experimented with these type of traps last year. I used the slimmer cases and broke off the tabs from the edges of the clear side. There will be three tabs and they're about an inch long. The case is too narrow for bees to enter. I baited mine with a smidge of pollen patty and a very minute amount of organic roach powder. Great care was taken not to let the roach powder leak out. This was done post honey flow, and I laid my traps up on top of the inner cover. I felt the results were good, but I'm still leery of poisons anywhere near the hive, even up on top of the inner cover, even within a CD case.

Others who have tried this style of trap and used MaxForce roach gel (quite a bit of information in other posts scattered through out the forum). From what they say, you give your CD case a little ribbon of gel. Won't leak out, but again I'm leery of these kinds of poisons.

In Sacramento, they suggested breaking off the three tabs that make up the hub of the CD case. One buy taped his CD case to a long, narrow piece of stiff cardboard so he could slide the case into the back of his solid bottom hive without opening the hive.

No baits, no poison, but each day or so he would pull out the trap and dump the contents into a bucket of ice water. The ice water killed the beetles better than oil. Soapy water also worked, he said.

Now, along another tangent, I have some West traps and some Hood traps. I'm planning of using soapy (dishwashing liquid) water in these traps.

Grant
Jackson, MO

[Gene Weitzel]

Well, I checked on the traps today. Did not catch many shb in the traps. We had two nights this last week that got down into the mid 30's, I guess it caught a lot of the shb off guard, cause I did not see many live ones but did see quite a few dead ones just under the outer covers. I took the traps out for now since there were almost no live beetles to be seen in the hives. Will put them back in if I see beetles starting to build up again.

[AstroBee]

Well, I checked on the traps today. Did not catch many shb in the traps. We had two nights this last week that got down into the mid 30's, I guess it caught a lot of the shb off guard, cause I did not see many live ones but did see quite a few dead ones just under the outer covers. I took the traps out for now since there were almost no live beetles to be seen in the hives. Will put them back in if I see beetles starting to build up again.


Maybe the traps worked as designed? The SHB may have gone into the traps and gotten into the DE, which killed them as they were outside the trap. Isn't this how DE works? Its my understanding that DE is NOT an instant kill type of thing, so you wouldn't expect lots of dead inside the traps, true? The large die-off could be directly related to the traps and not the cold weather. I've never seen cold weather impact SHB populations that greatly. My guess is that your traps are working. What did you expect to see?

[Gene Weitzel]

Maybe the traps worked as designed? The SHB may have gone into the traps and gotten into the DE, which killed them as they were outside the trap. Isn't this how DE works? Its my understanding that DE is NOT an instant kill type of thing, so you wouldn't expect lots of dead inside the traps, true? The large die-off could be directly related to the traps and not the cold weather. I've never seen cold weather impact SHB populations that greatly. My guess is that your traps are working. What did you expect to see?

My experience in the past has been that once they get into the DE they don't get back out, however, that was with a pretty thick layer of DE on the insert below the SBB. Their typical response when they encounter the DE is to open their wings and flap. This exposes their tracheal openings to the DE and they are pretty quickly incapacitated. You may be right with this trap, due to its smaller footprint and shallower layer of DE, they may still be able to crawl out after getting a "snoot full" of DE and then die later. I did discover a flaw in the trap that also tends to limit the SHB's access to the larger area of DE, so I will probably work on them a little more and then put them back in.

[AstroBee]

Good luck. Please keep us posted on how things work for you!

[Trevor Mansell]

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v514/benelli90p7/beatle021.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v514/benelli90p7/beatle020.jpg

[AstroBee]

Trevor,

Could you please describe your trap a bit? What bait are you using to get that level of kill inside the trap? Exactly what mods did you make to the CD case?

[Trevor Mansell]

I dont have the recipe, but basicly it is pollen substitue with honey and termite poison. When I find the recipe Ill let you know what it is called. If you contact Bee -excellent they make a trap wich I believe is better than the jewel case. It is more secure but basicly the same.