question about SHB and feeding

[dave28210]

I have had a growing beetle problem, and it has gotten pretty bad. I am treating now with pans of oil below the hives and boric acid/crisco traps on the SBB. So far it seems to be working in the right direction. However, upon beginning treatment I had top feeders on each hive. One was nearly dry, while the other had all sorts of SHB and larvae inside of it. Well, the feeders are off and of course those larvae and beetles are no longer with us.

My question: Is is safe or wise to put the feeders back on while treating for this problem? Or would I be giving the SHB another place to hide and breed? Previously I had a pollen supplement mixed in with my syrup, which may have been what attracted them up there and allowed them to thrive in the first place. But would it be ok to start back with with plain sugar syrup?

I know feeders should be on this time of year, but I don't want to put my bees in danger by trying to build their stores up for winter.

[gmcharlie]

Feeders depends on the strength of the hive. So can a SHB problem.... strong hives kill the larve very quickly. How big are you hives and how healthy? IE honey stores?

[copper287]

Feeding bees sugar and pollen seems to me to draw shb's in the summer months.If i was going to feed i would watch the bees close or wait to cooler weather.Shb's don't hold up good to cold weather. copper287

[dave28210]

well, overall I would say the hives are strong. However, there is a huge population of SHB. So they are not handling the problem by themselves. Food stores are at a decent level though. Each hive is 2 deeps

[Sherpa1]

Dave,
Even if you leave the pollen sub out of the syrup, plain syrup will still attract the SHBs. I would not put the top hive feeders back on until I got the SHB problem under control. You don't want to give the beetles a place to hide.

[TwT]

I can feed all year (because I do) and not have problems with SHB's, now pollen patties are different, SHB's love them. you have to put small amounts at a time, cant put a 1 ponder on them, the hive will fill with larva in a day or so.

Never seen any difference feeding sugar water.

[AstroBee]

Sounds like you need to get a handle on your beetle problem before worrying too much about feeding. I've found the single strongest deterrent to SHB in my area is direct full sun - NO substitute. Hives in partial sun or full sun for only part of the day always have much more SHB to contend with. Also, certain bees just seem to deal with beetles better than others. I can't recommend one particular race, as most of my bees are just mutts. If your hives are already in full sun, then you have to possibly try one of the various traps to reduce their numbers.

[njtoo]

I am having a terrible time this year in NJ with SHB. It's been a very wet spring and summer here with high humidity daily. I have ten hives and had top feeders on five of them. The 5 without feeders have been doing very well, but the five with feeders are infested with SHB and are somewhat weak. This weekend I cleaned out the hives and pulled the feeders. It seems I'm just growing SHB and making weak hives with feeders this year.

I have also installed a few SHB traps with boric acid and veg shortening. Let's see if that helps.

[g.gill]

Have any of you guys with SHB problems tried cinnamon to repell them? There was a thread on here a couple of days ago about some trying it. I'd be interested to know if sprinkling cinnamon along the top bars and on top of the inside cover did anything for you.

[dave28210]

I initially tried the cinnamon, and it worked in the short term. Now I have boric acid/vegetable shortening, along with pans of vegetable oil below to catch larvae and adult beetles. The bees are doing better, the pans filling up they way we want them to. Perhaps I will dash with cinnamon this weekend to help things in the right direction again.

So far the feeders have not gone back on, and I will keep them off until the beetle population gets under control. I guess it will be a game of catch up on the stores, but it's better than to have feeders on and help kill my hives off.

I thought about putting feeders away from the hives...I know this can be a trigger for would be robbers in the area though. I have 2 hives, another beek from our county club has one hive about a 1.5 miles away. Entrance reducers are on, and the hives are in partial sun. Who thinks it would be possible to feed communally from the other side of the yard? Or am I just asking for another pest to come along (hornets, feral bees, etc)?

[BenMidTenn]

Dave said:


I initially tried the cinnamon

Could someone expound on this? I am having a SHB problem right now (wax moth/worm also,) and would like some organic remedies for these problems. I am new to beekeeping. Thanks.

Ben