Anyone using a beetlejail?

[mmmooretx]

I just ordered one to check it out, beetlejail.com. I bought their 10 frame Lang. adapter to mount it to one of my Country Rubes SBB

I am curious if anyone has been using them and what they think of their effectiveness.

Thanks in advance for your time.

Product link:

http://beetlejail.com/store/index.ph...&product_id=55

YouTube:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=egLroAZ_Qn0

[Mrobisr]

I use the beetlejail jr. and they always have beetles in them and I don't see beetles running around, so I will have to guess they work. I even had one run dry and it had trapped a live beetle.

[mmmooretx]

I have not had a lot of luck with the Jr., plus messy. I think the most I have ever gotten in one is 8 and I have more that I have squashed going in to the hive. I have not tried DE in them that I have heard of people using, but may try mixing honey with the oil to see how that works. I have tried both veggie oil and mineral oil, with and without vinegar (in the middle chamber). I have three and may put them back in this Sat. to try and get better control. I also put in between first and second frame.
Thanks for the response.

[Mrobisr]

Mike,
I don't think I have a really big problem with shb as I have my hives on hard red clay. I have soybean oil in them and it catches a few, but I also keep the ground completely bare in and around the hives. I depend on the hives keeping the shb's at bay and the traps doing the rest. I have my traps on the outside frames and on the back side for what it's worth.

Mark
8a

[mmmooretx]

OK, I put my Jr. traps back in on Sunday using mineral oil with some honey, about 1Tbsp. to 4 oz. I put in a restaurant squeeze bottle to fill at the hive, after shaking which worked pretty well. I put them in between 1 & 2 frames at the rear of the frame. I will check again this coming Sunday. My beetle trap will arrive on Thursday and I am going over their installation instructions they sent. I may have to fabricate some parts as the Country Rubes SBB I am going to install it on does not quite match their standard base. Pretty simple just extend the 3/4" rails the deep sits on to the front edge of the CR landing board. I also got their internal SHB trap that holds drone foundation, but that will not arrive until Monday and will go into another hive. I am going to hold off on the Gold Star for a while longer hoping that the nematodes and traps keep it under control. I hope that the instructions do not want me to put the plastic varroa count board in as that will end my ventilation and varroa fall through. At this point I do not know if the SHB are using the screen bottom as an entrance or just flying in the regular entrance, newbee problem.

[thenance007]

Big difference between Beetle Jail and Beetle Jail Jr. I've been using Beetle Jails for 2 years on my 2 hives and have seen maybe a total of 6-8 SHBs. This year, only 2. I had one nuc last year without a Beetle Jail and consistently found SHBs in it. So I'm a big believer. Initial cost is a bit high, but much cheaper than losing to SHBs. And I use screened bottom boards, which apparently don't reduce their effectiveness although it would seem likely that they might. I have a young orchard in my back yard that I understand is a big attraction for SHBs, which is why I originally went to the extra expense.