Small Hive Beetle Problems

[banachsplumbing]

I need some help...Opened up one of my hives today and to my dismay found SHB larvae slithering around. This hive has been weak for a little while but I thought it was on the rebound. I hadn't checked it in a couple of weeks but two weeks ago they had re-queened themselves. I haven't added brood from my strong hive for a month but I have some brood in the weak hive. So I THINK I have a new queen (haven't seen her yet). I removed the worst of the frames (4 of them) and replaced them with 4 new frames. I took the 4 kinda nasty and infested frames and set them about 50 yards away out in the open. My problem is that I don't have a freezer to put them in and kill the larvae. What else can I do to get rid of these things??? I ordered a couple of Freeman Beetle traps and their on the way to try to stop this from happening again. But what do I do with the infested frames? Do I need to make this hive more compact (2 deep hive bodies)?

[Davebcrzy]

My suggestion is something I resort to ONLY as a last resort and in the past couple of years I have had to resort to this. Purchase Check Mite+ and use as directed on the package. I use several other methods to help control the shb problem and they will usually work well. I do not like to use harsh chemicals in my hives but the times I have I knew the shb were just about win the battle for that hive. After this, keep the traps up and going so that you can keep the beetles in check. Also you can make up a trap with boric acid and soy flour placed in a thin line cd case.

Good luck in your fight.
Dave

[Tim Bates]

Drown them, you can get a cheap aluminum foil roaster, an ice chest, etc. and drown the larvae. I used a screened bottom board with a drawer that I put vinegar in and had lots of drowned beetles and larvae but I think that may have contributed to my wax moth problem. All the wax moth traps I've read about include vinegar.

[thenance007]

In 2 years I have seen less than 10 hive beetles in my hive, and I live in the South. I attribute it to the Beetle Jails I put on the front of my 2 hives: http://beetlejail.com/. I just harvested 3 supers of honey and found 2 hive beetles in the whole hive. They would probably be too expensive if you have a lot of hives ($30ish), but I consider them some of the best beekeeping money I've spent.

[banachsplumbing]

Thanks for the suggestions. I laid out tar shingles around the hive today and condensed the hive down to one box. I got the rest of the effected frames outs. Set them in the hot sun yesterday and it seemed to do the trick. We'll see....