SHB trap - new thing on the market (australia)

[bluegrass]

John Pluta of georgiabees.blogspot.com has the same system and has a number of videos on the subject. But at the end of the day it is just a cd cover modified with a small enterance so the SHB can get in but not your bees, and an ant poision.

ANT POISION? That is completely illegal in the US. Hope this guy isn't selling honey off of these hives!

[fish_stix]

It's not ant poison. It's roach bait. Approved for use in food processing areas. If you use the Beetle Traps or CD cases as directed it's impossible for bees to get to this stuff. There's no residue. It works, but only if you want to farm bees instead of SHB! If you'd rather have the SHB just wait around a while, they'll get to you sooner than later.

[valleyman]

They are getting really brave in South Central Ky. So I have combat roach gel. I have thin cd cases with about an inch broken out of each side. I have some bad honey so my question how should I mix it to bait them to come inside and feast (and die)? How much honey to how much combat?

[max2]

I don't put any honey in the trap. The idea is ( and it works) that the bees chase the SHB and the go into the traps , eat the stuff and die.

[bluegrass]

Ant poison, roach bait, either way it is illegal and could result in hefty fines.

I kept bees in KY for 6 years without having to resort to putting un-approved poisons in the hives. Proper ventilation, full sun light and strong colonies will work wonders on controlling SHB.

Looking at this Jokers web site he states that he is putting ant poison in the hive. States that "he puts it there to kill ants, and if it kills a few 1000 SHB in the process so be it" Then goes on to say that the Government is gonna have a fight on their hands.....

Not very smart in my opinion.

[fish_stix]

bluegrass; why don't you move back to KY now and try to raise bees with the recent invasion of SHB? There have been many, many posts by beeks from KY and TN about the loss of hives to SHB. Maybe you need to get out of your little dream world. In the South we don't have a choice; the government isn't doing anything about the SHB; universities very little. As usual, it's beekeepers who want to keep live bees, not absconded and slimed hives, who are doing the research and finding solutions. As for your solutions, they don't work! Strong hives draw SHB because they have a wealth of brood and honey. All my 250-300 hives are in full Florida sun, with screened bottom boards, I keep them strong, and I still have major problems keeping SHB under control. All the solutions to Varroa in the beginning were illegal too, but what do we do? Wait for endless studies, while thousands of hives die off? Eventually, YOU will get SHB, maybe for only part of the year, but you'll be crying a different tune. It takes about a week for them to take over a hive and ruin it with slime and ugly, stinking little worms by the pound.

[delber]

Fish Stix I am new to beekeeping, however I don't see Bluegrass stating that he doesn't care about his bees. Perhaps there's some history that you two have I don't know, but there are many different challenges w/ many possible ways to "cope" with them. I realize that Florida is very different from Pa. However it does seem to me that we need to submit to the governing authorities as long as it doesn't contradict God. I have had issues and am still having some minor issues w/ SHB and would love to know about new and "improved" methods of control. One question I do have in seeking to follow the "rules". . . would it be wrong to put up roach traps near our hives? To perhaps draw them to those different areas rather than near our hives? I'm just thinking that if this trap draws SHB then perhaps they are drawing them to our hives and if we place them away from them it may help more. What are all of your thoughts about that? I have been thinking of doing this very thing in my area. For now it does seem that the bees are keeping the SHB at bay, but who knows what will happen in a week or two because from what I've read it can happen very quickly. I'm also thinking that SBB's may not be the way to go. I'm using upper entrances and have never seen a SHB enter into the entrance, but if they can get in through the SBB using 1/8" hardware cloth that is a problem. Does anyone else have other thoughts?

[bluegrass]

Fishstix:

My stent of keeping bees in KY just ended last October when I moved from Lexington to Connecticut. I really doubt that the SHB infestation has become so severe in a single season.

Not living in a fantasy world, but thanks for the concern... As far as mites go... Some guys running 1000s of hives, like Beeweaver haven't treated in 10 years. There are better ways to manage these problems without breaking the law and risking the public health. If you are having problems then obviously what ever it is you are doing isn't working and you need a new management approach.

On a side note, it amuses me that the people who are most likely to scream about Government interference in our lives are also the first to make a statement like

the government isn't doing anything about SHB...

[bluegrass]

Would it be wrong to put up roach traps near our hives? To perhaps draw them to those different areas rather than near our hives? I'm just thinking that if this trap draws SHB then perhaps they are drawing them to our hives and if we place them away from them it may help more. What are all of your thoughts about that? I have been thinking of doing this very thing in my area. For now it does seem that the bees are keeping the SHB at bay, but who knows what will happen in a week or two because from what I've read it can happen very quickly. I'm also thinking that SBB's may not be the way to go. I'm using upper entrances and have never seen a SHB enter into the entrance, but if they can get in through the SBB using 1/8" hardware cloth that is a problem. Does anyone else have other thoughts?

I don't know about putting the traps near your hives, but I have seen roaches in my life, and if a roach can get into it, so can a bee, so keep that in mind.

SHB are not native to this country, they move around the country with the bees. If you acquire your bees from somebody with a SHB problem, you will have a SHB problem. Keep that in mind when purchasing bees. Also research has shown that the SHB is attracted to Alarm pheromone and the best time for them to enter a hive is when it is on alarm. High speed cameras have been used to record the SHB flying into open hives during inspections when the bees are busy defending against the beeks and not worried about a few little Beatles. So keep that in mind as well. Go into your hives with a purpose and a goal and limit the amount of time they are left open.

[max2]

"There are better ways to manage these problems"
Most of us prefer not to use poisons. Personally I would be most interested to hear what the " better ways " are? bluegrass, could you please post some deatils how the big beek's are dealing with the SHB? thanks.

[max2]

"I don't know about putting the traps near your hives, but I have seen roaches in my life, and if a roach can get into it, so can a bee, so keep that in mind."
I think there are misunderstandings about the traps - the SHB traps which are sold in Australia have a very small opening - big enough for the SHB to enter but not bees or roaches. Nobody ( as far as I know) is suggesting to use roach traps.

[max2]

Here is a detailed description of the trap which started the discussion. It is NOT a roach trap and the device has been tested before it was made available to the public http://www.apithor.com.au/

[rrussell6870]

Much of the post #28 was not correct.

Shb, travel across the nation by flight... and can cover much more ground than a honey bee or varroa ever could.

Shb are attracted to strong hives... this is what directs them to the colony while they travel... they can detect 2ppb (parts per billion) of pollen from miles away... its one of the strongest senses known... if you have bees, you WILL have to face shb one day... sure they came from the tropics, but so did honey bees, keep that in mind before you underestimate them... they are far more destructive than any mite, disease or other predator has ever been... bees and shb do not and can not coexist together naturally unless the bees have no winter, continuous forage, and swarm/abscond multiple times all year long in order to rebuild as shb move in... this type of lifestyle requires small colonies, tiny combs, and lots of aggression... the combination of all of these things is the way bees survive in Africa, but these things would also be impossible in the US...

Shb is not attracted to the alert pheromone of honey bees, these pheromones are released constantly as bees frantically chase shb inside the colony... what attracts them to the yard is the high pollen amounts of a strong hive(s), what attracts them to a slimed high is the slime itself as it is a mixture of fermented honey, pollen, and shb pheromone which acts as a deterrent to honey bees so that the shb larvae can safely feed to reach adulthood... once one shb's larvae begin to emerge from the eggs, the slime that they produce serves as both a honey bee deterrent and an attractant to draw in more beetles telling them that this colony is safe to lay their eggs in.

Don't want to fight about this, but anyone that has not truly faced a full shb invasion, should try not to get on to others that have, nor try to dissuade those that have not from being prepared... shb is the most serious threat that our industry has faced as of yet... we ALL need to work together if we want to continue to have bees at all... again, bees can get around shb, but winters and the need for large colonies and production without swarming and absconding are what will limit that... best to fight the beetles rather than each other...

The government is not the answer to this problem, just like they were not the answer to the mite problem... bee keepers working together is the answer. And those that are able and willing to try different things and study the results are the ones that keep us moving forward.

[rrussell6870]

I don't know about putting the traps near your hives, but I have seen roaches in my life, and if a roach can get into it, so can a bee

I think he was referring to the "small roach traps" that are indeed intended for small roaches and thus have openings that are too small for bees to enter.

Ineffective for several reasons, mainly being unable to inspect the trap to ensure that the bait is still good and that the trap is not filled with too many dead beetles...

[max2]

Thanks for your post Russell. It is also what I find - having my best, most productive, strongest hives attacked. I need to be on the look-out all the time, all year round.
I very recently heard of a beekeeper who lost 51 of his 52 hives. I don't know the details but it the SHB is a scary trouble maker. Yes, by working together we will learn to live with it too.

[bluegrass]

Max2
I really can't make any claims for what would work for you in Auss, It is a totally different climate which is on a completely opposite season from ours, so you will have to look into the research for your part of the world.

As far as post 28 goes... My information has come from several journal articles I have read.

Feel free to read the research your self.

Hood WM. 2004. The small hive beetle, Aethina tumida: A review. Bee World 85: 51-59.

Ellis JD. 2005. Reviewing the confinement of small hive beetles (Aethina tumida) by western honey bees (Apis mellifera). Bee World 86: 56-62.

Elzen, P.J., J.R. Baxter, D. Westervelt, C. Randall, K.S. Delaplane, F.A. Eischen, L. Cuffs, & W.T. Wilson. 1999. Field control and biology studies of a new pest species, Aethina tumida Murray (Coleoptera: Nitidulidae), attacking European honey bees in the Western Hemisphere. Apidologie 30: 361-366

My comment about the Alarm Pheromone being an attractant I originally read in hood WM 2004, But it is verified in this link from the USDA. http://www.ars.usda.gov/is/AR/archiv...beetle1107.htm

And just to throw in a new fact that most don't know; guard bees feed their cornered SHBs. The beetles rub the antenna of the bees and it stimulates them to throw up.

As far as management goes, traps are very effective in bad cases, I like CD cases lined with fly tape which is non-toxic. Traps baited with cantaloupe are also very attractive to SHB. (It is surmised that they where brought to this country in a shipment of Cantaloupe from Africa.)

Place your hives on non-sandy ground, in full sunlight. Maximum ventilation and low humidity in the hive reduce the hatch-ability of the SHB eggs. The non-sand ground prevents the larva from pupating.

They do not tolerate cold weather very well, which is one reason why they are not common in the northeast. I only see them in hives the first year a hive was started from a supplier down south, after the first winter they die off. The areas that have the biggest issues with them are the places that migrators frequent, the deep south, the midwest etc. suggesting that they travel with the bees and not by flying long distances. They do fly very well and very fast, but they are not spreading around the country by flight.

They are very easy to control outside of Florida and Georgia which are ideal climates for them to live in and have massive amounts of bees wintering every winter. I truely believe they may very well end the industry for those two states, but they are not very adaptable to more northern climates.

There has been a ton of research done on them in the past 10 years, just get to the library and start reading it... Simple steps as outlined above can go a long way in reducing your SHB population.

[DirtyDusty]

Is anyone trying to get the USDA to allow flipronil to be used in hives under an emergency status?

[utahbees]

This seems to accomplish the same thing and would be much cheaper... and some consider Boric Acid less contaminating...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h_KDPp8H6PU

[max2]

Thanks bluegrass for the extra information. Some of my hives are in full sun ( not sandy soil) with good ventilation and there are no migratory beekeepers in my area. Some of my hives are in semi shade. It seems to make no difference the the SHB.
I'm constantlyreading up-dates and at our club we have a few very innovative beekeepers...sadly all have pretty major problems.We shall keep battling on and trying new ideas. Thanks for youe suggestions.

[max2]

" This seems to accomplish the same thing and would be much cheaper." - not sure how easy the traps are to replace with a couple of supers on top? And I would bet that my bees will glue up the holes...
Has anybody tried it and done some comparisons?