Planning war on SHB next year

[brooksbeefarm]

I!ve not had shb up until this fall,but when winterizing my hives I found 5 beetles that looked like shb.on top of my frames.Like riverrat said they could be sap beetles?Here!s my plan,I make hive stands for my hives with the slopping front out of 2x6 cca.lumber my sbb has a 3/4in bottom rail on each side.When I set sbb on the hive stand that gives me room to slide a pan under the sbb with veg. oil,I make full #8 sbb!s.I figure with this set up and with migratory lids the little devils don!t have a place to hide and the bees will chase them through the sbb into the oil:D.What do you beekeepers who have shb think of this plan and would you do or add something to it?I think my trouble with them has just started.I keep strong hives but I raise queens in 5 frame nuc!s and that!s my biggest worry.Thanks in advance.Jack

[Bizzybee]

When I saw the thread title I thought you might be talking cluster bombs???

You're just talking sbb's, that no fun! :D:D

[snarky]

I also use pieces of dark corrugated plastic campaign signs - sealed on one end with aluminum tape with boric acid in the holes. put this on top of the frames (don't spill the boric acid) this way any that get in the top will also have a nice grave to hide in. There are probably plenty of used signs left over from the election available to cut up and make traps from.

The SBB arrangement you describe is similar to what I use and have had good success with.

[db_land]

I tried the oil pan below SBB approach. It kills beatles ok but you have to seal it up enough to keep the bees from getting into the oil. I found it to bee more trouble than it's worth.

[KQ6AR]

maybe you could fit another piece of #8 screen to cover the oil pan.
That should keep the bees out.

[brooksbeefarm]

I use the same pan to check for mites with a sticky paper in it.The pan slides up against the slope of the hive stand in the front and has a 2in.tall and 16in. long board screwed on the back of the pan,the bees can!t get in it.I got the idea from my 83 yr.old mentor except for the migratory lid that was mine.He used this method on 2 of his hives this last summer and killed over 200 shb!s,said he liked my migratory lid idea and said he would use it next summer if he had any more trouble.:thumbsup:Jack

[brooksbeefarm]

BizzyBee, Don!t say cluster bomb this time of year,it scares my girls.:D:D

[sierrabees]

Pull two frames out of the middle. Pour kerosene on one side and light it. Hit the little buggers with a hammer as they run across the fire break.

System modified from Viet Nam era tactical theory text by Dewy, Killem, and Howe.

[scdw43]

There is nothing funny about SHB's.

[CentexBees]

I've had the distinct pleasure of dealing with these little (explicitives)

The vegetable oil trap cured my existing SHB issues in TX. Texas has recently accepted the use of a insecticed to treat the ground underneath the hive. It has a tradename of Gardstar. If your state allows it I would strongly recommend it. FOLLOW THE INSTRUCTIONS. I had to resort to the Gardstar because i was kiliing half of what I was getting re-infested with

[brooksbeefarm]

Thanks CentexBees i!ll do some checking with the extention office.

scdw43,I don!t think anyone thinks shb is funny,sometimes we have to laugh to keep from crying:cry:.

[snarky]

I believe the idea with the guardstar is that the larvae pupatate(?) in the ground and emerge as adult beetles;

The fly in the ointment is that the bees may carry the larvae away from the hive, thereby bypassing the guardstar;

In my experience, the larvae will fall thru the screen into the oil trap - or to the yellow jackets and red ants that scavenge under the hive.

Adult beetles come from miles around, so a localized treatment just adds extra chemistry with limited benefit.

[Troy]

snarky is right. The Gardstar is of limited value. It will only kill those larvae that have managed to grow up in your hive and need to get to ground to pupate.

Frankly, if they've made it that far, you have much bigger problems. You hive is dying and you probably have thousands of SHB larvae in there.

I have SHB problems really bad in in Orlando. I find it is better to concentrate on killing the SHB BEFORE they get to that stage.

Kill the adults with traps and keep strong healthy hives that can deal with them. Keep the hive in the full sun, and keep the ground under the hives bare sand. If the sand is scorching hot in the afternoon sun, the larvae might not make it either.

While I have had good luck with the West Beetle traps, the first time you spill that nasty oil tray mixed with dead SHB and wax flakes on your nice white beesuit you will shout out some expletives that will make everyone blush.

I tried the AJ Beetle traps this year, and was disappointed. They did not seem to attract and kill very many. Maybe they just didn't like the cheap vegetable oil that I bought, but I asked around and no one seemed to offer a different solution either.

You have to use ALL the tools to be successful. Good luck......

[CentexBees]

We have found that peanut oil works really well and has captured more SHB than vegetable oil. Don't ask why. We had an abundance of virgin peanut oil and called our suppliers to get a little assurance. It seems to be a little stickier. We learned that the more disruption we did while installing the SHB traps the more beatles we caught. The colonies are self supportive now and are doing well. It is funny how if you give them a little help to get started the better off they are the more you leave them alone. We are showing (knock on wood) NO SHB for 8 weeks.