Small Hive Beetle Treatment

[Tillie]

I wondered about the hole size as well and when I looked again at Sonny and Mel's pictures, theirs were bigger than mine - so before I put the boxes on the hives I enlarged the holes on two sides of each box. I just don't want to get bees in the box.

If it doesn't work, the first thing I'll do is enlarge the holes again.

Linda T

[drobbins]

Tillie

here's a couple of similar traps I built

http://www.drobbins.net/bee's/shb/

haven't tried em yet
I think I'll mix up a little of your brew to try them out with

Dave

[Doorman]

I made some sandwich box traps about three weeks ago. I was told a 3/16 hole.
I didn't have that size so I used a #16 bit which is a hair smaller than 3/16. I killed a lot of bees but no hive beetles. I never would have thought that bees could fit through those holes.

Greg

[drobbins]

the entrance grooves in mine are the kerf from a tablesaw blade which is 1/8"
I know they can got through #8 hardware cloth (and bees can't) so I figure it'll work

Dave

[Tillie]

I think I'll mix up a little of your brew to try them out with

Dave

Dave, the brew recipe is from Sonny Chidister and Mel McConnell - they were generous with me as they are with everyone to share this trap and the lure recipe.

My traps have been on the hives since Saturday morning. I have to open two hives tomorrow (Monday) to return frames for the bees to clean - I'll check to see if bees have died - if so I'll regroup and use smaller holes. I've been very worried about the bees dying in the traps - we are in the middle of a drought in Atlanta (11 inch deficit) and I had to take down my hummingbird feeders because they were filled with dead bees (and those are small holes).

Linda T in Atlanta

[Curtis]

So Linda how long are you going to keep us in suspense?

Thanks for the post if it works I think I will try it too. I just say my first SHB Monday.

Curtis

[Tillie]

Sorry about the suspense - I've had other bee problems for a different post.

I checked on Monday morning and the only thing in any of the three traps was a bee in the hive where I've seen the most SHBs. She was alive so I opened the top and freed her. But at that point the traps had only been on the hive about 36 hours. At the advice of some of the Beemaster folks, I moved the trap above the inner cover in two hives and left it where it is in the other (under the inner cover on top of the frames).

I looked at the pictures of Sonny and Mel's lure and wondered if mine were potent enough. Theirs has substance and looks thick like grated ginger. Mine is a liquid with pieces of banana skin in it. I did follow the recipe, but don't know if I should have done something different than it actually said.

At my parents' house if you follow my mother's recipes, it's much different than she actually does it....we call that "mothering" a recipe in my family. I have wondered if there were some way I should have "mothered" the lure recipe - like cook it and then let it ferment???? Theirs has so much less liquid in the finished product than mine.

I'll email them and see if they have thoughts after I open one of the hives tomorrow. I have to get a frame of honey for a nuc, so I'll check at least one hive in the morning.

Linda T confused in Atlanta

[Ross]

How about DE on the insert under the SBB? That still seems to be the easiest solution.

[Gene Weitzel]

How about DE on the insert under the SBB? That still seems to be the easiest solution.

Ross,

You are right about that. Thats all I use and its killed alot of shb's. Its easy to peek at the insert and get a "drop count" kind of like with mites by putting in fresh DE and checking again in 24 hrs. If you check daily for a few days you can see if the shb population is dropping by the daily increase in drops (I don't add fresh DE daily, I just keep a mental count so I can see if it continues to increase). I usually leave it in for a few days until I don't see much for new shb's showing up then I remove it for a few days to let the hive get a little more ventilation. Works pretty good for me. But my experience has also been that unless your hive is strong and in a good sunny spot, no matter what you use they can still get out of hand.

I like to use the Safer brand DE because it has an attractant in it and it seems to bring them into the DE a little better. I have found however that if you don't keep the open bag in an air tight container the attractant seems to lose some of its effectiveness.

[Aspera]

How about DE on the insert under the SBB? That still seems to be the easiest solution.

I haven't seen many SHB. What is DE?

[Curtis]

Diatomaceous Earth
Curtis

[Gene Weitzel]

I haven't seen many SHB. What is DE?

Diatomaceous Earth, If you use it be sure to get the insecticide grade and NOT the grade used in swimming pool filters. Also care should be taken to keep from breathing the dust particles.

[SL Tx]

I've had SHB trouble in the past and followed the lure/trap thread here with interest. I made two traps from a dollar store fishing lure box (with holes made with a soldering iron). I baited them with the lure credited to Sonny Chidister and Mel McConnell. I put diatomaceous earth in one trap and Walmart mineral oil in the other. In a week I had one SHB in the MO and three in the DE.

Today while watching the comings and goings and admiring the many shades of pollen, I observed a SHB land and walk nonchalantly right into the hive like he lived there! This time I put DE in the plastic tray under my screened bottom board with the Chidester-McConnell lure in jelly jar lid. It was 6:00 pm and when I checked it at 8:30 pm I had already trapped six of the little ba****ds. The lure definitely works!!

[Tillie]

I think the reason that I haven't trapped any SHBs yet is that I don't have a noticeable infestation this year. If I were seeing SHBs in the hive and not in the trap, I would worry, but I've only seen a few this year and none since I put the traps on.

Last year in these same hives I saw as many as 30 under the inner cover every time I opened the hive. So part of my enthusiasm for this trap was as a preventive measure. Maybe just the right nematodes have magically appeared in the ground 14 feet below my deck and are descimating the SHB population before they get to my hive!

Also we have had no rain in Georgia for practically the entire month of May - we are 11 inches low for the year in rainfall - and maybe that is having an effect on the SHB population.

BTW, the Sonny-Mel trap is featured in Bee Culture this month in a short article (p. 39) with a picture and description of how to do it.

I'll let everyone know when my trap works.

Linda T in Atlanta

[SL Tx]

In my last post I reported six victims in only a couple of hours when I used DE on the SBB tray with a jar lid half full of the lure (almost instant gratificaion). No more beetles were trapped overnight so I removed the tray this morning with the idea that I'll put it under a hive for a couple of days every few weeks (I don't want the pests getting used to the lure). I'm gonna move my trap around my other hives (I only have three with SBB's) with the same strategy...in place a couple of days then move to another hive. I'll report results....

[SL Tx]

I should include a comment that using the Sonny-Mel secret sauce with Safer diatomaceous earth on the tray under a screened bottom board is definitely an easy way to kill SHB's. I can't comment too much on overall effectiveness beyond "any dead SHB is a good SHB" . However I do know that I had not seen all that many of them running around during inspections (two or three at most) so I consider six dead ones in a couple of hours to be a great result.

Also, I've used a tray of DE without the lure and occasionally killed a SHB without ever seeing a dead bee. I quit doing it because it was somehow getting wet when it rained....

[Gene Weitzel]

I should include a comment that using the Sonny-Mel secret sauce with Safer diatomaceous earth on the tray under a screened bottom board is definitely an easy way to kill SHB's. I can't comment too much on overall effectiveness beyond "any dead SHB is a good SHB" . However I do know that I had not seen all that many of them running around during inspections (two or three at most) so I consider six dead ones in a couple of hours to be a great result.

Also, I've used a tray of DE without the lure and occasionally killed a SHB without ever seeing a dead bee. I quit doing it because it was somehow getting wet when it rained....

I have been seeing about 2 -3 new beetles per day in the DE for the last couple of days. This is nothing like last year where I counted 40-50 in the first 24 hrs after putting the DE in the SBB insert. I only see a couple of beetles inside when I inspect as well, so at least up to now there seems to be a much lighter infestation than last year.

One of the downsides to the DE is that it does get damp. Especially in a humid environment. In my area I must refresh it at least once per week. It is most effective when it is dry and fluffy (I always shake the bag good before I use it to "fluff it up" a bit).

[aidah]

Gene, Hi I have a ton of SHB in my hive. This is my first hive. The beetles came with my package 5 days ago. Ive read all the notes on this thread. I made Sonnies trap and the sauce with bananas and vinegar. I have not installed it yet. Where do you put the DE? inside the trap?Please explain this to me. Aidah

[bbbbeeman]

I dont see why every one is not useing the closed screen bottom board, with veg oil in the tray. it kill every thing shb, mites, larvey of wax moth and shb. I made this board about 1989 and dont use any chims in my hives and lose very few hives. good luck ROCK.

[aidah]

I went out to day and got a trap that holds veg oil and installed it this a.m. Seems to me you are right about "it kills everything.I also got my Hoover vac. out and sucked about 250 of them out of there with a modified nozzle, Then I burned the bag. If i loose the hive at least we cant say I didn't try.