SHB Discussions please.

[Goldprospector]

Is there yet a final word on SHB's? I would like to hear input on what some of you are seeing and how the treatment free people are taking care of SHB problems.

Some of my observations:

Hives that are side by side, one hive has lots of beetles, next door has none.

Hives under pine trees with hard clay soil, has no beetle to speak of.

Hives with loose moist soil with compost under them have beetle problems.

Hive under pine tree, that is down to three frames of Italians, still no beetles.

Hive with tons of Cardovans over loose compost soil (at least 16 full frames) has bad SHB infestation, too many to count.

Six beetle traps inside of Cardovan hive for two weeks, no beetles in traps (Bees had them herded on several frames of comb.

Hive about 10 feet away from the above Cardovans, has four beetle traps and they probably had 20 beetles in each trap and maybe four or five to be seen on comb.

Treatments: Beetle traps with oil on iside of hive, Permethrin sprayed on ground under hives with the loose compost soil. No treatments of any kind on hive under Pine trees, with no beetle problems to speak of.

[sfisher]

I use the hive top feeders like the wooden ones from Brushy mnt. with the floats on each side. When these type feeders go empty the SHB cant resist getting under the floats. I place a beetle trap in the enterence of the feeder between the compartments, the traps are deadly when placed in this position.

[matt1954]

I believe that the SHB problem is greater than we realize. It is gaining ground in more parts of the country every year.

I have used Roach Paste in between corrugated cardboard with some success. Coumaphos in bee pro and beetle barns, Gardstar, and Mineral Oil on the frame rests to clog the air ducts of the beetles. Still, I have them. I have not had much success with beetle traps filled with oil.

[Barry]

OK, so the OP asked to hear from other TF beekeepers about dealing with SHB. Has that happened?
Goldprospector, what final word are you looking for? The only final word that can be said is that SHB's are showing up in hives. I see them in my hives. My method for dealing with them is to keep strong hives and smash any I see when inspecting a hive. This is purely for the sport of it. Have you lost hives due to the beetle?

[Solomon Parker]

Unlike mites, beetles are not a problem most everyone has. In fact a great deal of beekeepers do not have the problem at all. The subject is never going to receive as much attention. I don't have a problem with them, so I don't have much to say on the subject.

[djdup]

I'm new to beekeeping and I have chosen to be treatment free and found out quick the SHB could be a problem for me. I started using the IPK Small Hive Beetle Trap. It is basically a screen bottom board with a oil pan underneath. You can check it out here... http://www.greenbeehives.com/ipk-sma...unpainted.html
It works great. It has killed a ton of SHB's, (and mites too) and I find very few inside the hive. I will put one on every hive I have from now on. I am not try to promote anything, just showing what works for me.

[Barry]

I'm new to beekeeping and I have chosen to be treatment free and found out quick the SHB could be a problem for me.

Please explain.

[UTvolshype]

I'm trying a bag of lime under my 2 hives to change the pH of the soil and harden up the surface. No luck with the oil in homemade trap. Now trying Roach Paste in side a cd jewel box with holes cut in the side. All of my SHBs are running on the frames with uncapped honey. Soil is clay so it's very acidic with loose forest topsoil under the hives. It has harden up the top of the soil right now but the SHB grubs are a warm weather problem so I will dump another bag in May.

[Solomon Parker]

That's very interesting, I'm keen to hear about that. Do you have acidic soils in your location?

[jrbbees]

I think the final word is that if you don't have them yet, you will unless you live where it gets so cold enough over winter it keeps them killed out. Be thankful that part of their life cycle is outside of the hive.

I think in the end they will kill many weak hives and this will be a problem for nucs and swarms. I beleive that traps will be our only hope until some bio agent like certian that will not affect the bees or the honey is found.

[djdup]

Please explain.

I installed my first 2 Nucs into 10 frame deeps with new foundation early this summer. Being new and curious I would check the hives every couple of days and I would see more SHB every time I checked. After the 5th week there were hundreds of SHB on the frames, larvae crawling everywhere. I could literally go to my hives in the evening and swat the SHB with my ball cap as they fly in the entrance. I was worried my bees would abscond. I don't know if it is just South Mississippi climate or just the area I placed the hives but I felt my hives were being over run with the beetles. I installed the SBB with the oil tray I mentioned in my post above. In the first couple of days I had to clean them out it had so many dead beetles and larvae. Every week there would be less and less. All I know is it worked for me and it was after I got the SHB under control the bees filled out a 2nd deep box in no time.

[millerdrr]

My soil in a garden about 100 feet in front of some of my hives is mostly red clay, pH checked in at around 5.5 with a cheap Burpee tester last spring. Most of the property consists of unmowed pasture that held livestock a few decades ago. I've never seen a small hive beetle, and I don't think my in-laws on the property have had any pests in their hives, although they do treat for mites in the fall.

EDIT: I'm not sure if the SHB has arrived in my area yet. I might have overlooked them, been lucky, or they may be coming soon.

[beeman2009]

GP,

SHB are a big problem here in TN. In fact, the biggest problem I have to deal with. I use food/feed grade diatemateous earth as a dust around my hives, app a 10' radius 2 - 3 times a year just before a rain or wet the ground afterwards in late evening. It kills the larvae in the ground. Inside the hives I use bettle traps with hydrated lime instead of oil, higher kill ratio. That's usually about it as the DE is so effective the numbers inside the hive are small.

[Belewsboy]

Millerdrr...
I started 2 hives w/ packages in April. My hives were in mainly shady area. By May, I could stand in front of my hives and watch them fly in. Bought oil traps which didn't do much. Finally moved to full sun, removed any unoccupied frames and added them back only when needed. Bee population grew like crazy. Problem almost went away completely. I'd see a couple every now and then, but very few. Added 2 more hives and to this day SHB's have not been a problem. My neighbor has had a couple of nucs overrun with them. You are only a few miles from me...pretty sure they are in your area...you've just been lucky.

[Oldtimer]

We don't have them in my country but I've done a lot of research incase they get here. I also went to Australia for a look. For a small beekeeper with time to manage it, my reading, is a screened BB with oil tray underneath gets the best reviews from users. Other methods get good reviews and bad reviews.

The way I've read it, when the beetles move around the hive the bees harrass them and screened BBd's designed to encourage the beetles to escape down through and into the oil work best, also takes advantage of the larvaes natural desire to escape downwards to find a quiet place to pupate. There are many success stories of people with major problems who got it cleaned up using a screened bb and oil pan.

If beetles get here, that's what I'll be doing. Not sure how the oil pan is regarded here on the TF forum although sticky boards for mite counting are accepted so similar principle.

[millerdrr]

Millerdrr...
I started 2 hives w/ packages in April. My hives were in mainly shady area. By May, I could stand in front of my hives and watch them fly in. Bought oil traps which didn't do much. Finally moved to full sun, removed any unoccupied frames and added them back only when needed. Bee population grew like crazy. Problem almost went away completely. I'd see a couple every now and then, but very few. Added 2 more hives and to this day SHB's have not been a problem. My neighbor has had a couple of nucs overrun with them. You are only a few miles from me...pretty sure they are in your area...you've just been lucky.

All of ours are in full sun and facing south, with the exception of the two best (which are also the oldest). Those two are in the center of an open field, in the middle of a small group of trees and briars. Those two are also the most difficult to work; lifting the cover will get you stung repeatedly. They came from swarms from our own hives about a decade ago; I imagine the supercedure queens are to blame, since the old queen would be long gone by now.

My in-laws almost never open their hives, and I'm a newbee at inspecting mine. I guess it's a possibility that the hives that are dying out are doing so before we get a chance to see the pests. I've placed blame on starvation, but as soon as I get a chance, I'm going to see if mites are in my hive. I've tried six times in three years in my backyard (no sun until almost noon); only one is still alive, hanging on by a thread. I had to start feeding at Thanksgiving; I figured they hadn't foraged enough. They might do a lot better if I moved them to the other side of the hill, with the others...

[DJS]

GP,

SHB are a big problem here in TN. In fact, the biggest problem I have to deal with. I use food/feed grade diatemateous earth as a dust around my hives, app a 10' radius 2 - 3 times a year just before a rain or wet the ground afterwards in late evening. It kills the larvae in the ground. Inside the hives I use bettle traps with hydrated lime instead of oil, higher kill ratio. That's usually about it as the DE is so effective the numbers inside the hive are small.

Beeman2009
You said you are using hydrated lime insteed of oil to treat for SHB, what ratio of lime to water are you using? and have you tried it in a SBB trap?

[beeman2009]

DJS,

I use it dry. Just put about 1/2 " lime in trap. Make sure to clean trap thoroughly before putting into hive. I've not tried the SBB traps yet, have you used them? I've been looking at them. We'll see.

[DJS]

Beeman
I have used the SBB oil traps with great results killing using veg oil but gets costely changing oil every week or so. Are you using garden lime?
How does dry lime kill them? I know the oil coats breathing tubes.

[beeman2009]

DJS,

The dry limes burns them up almost as soon as they come in contact with it. I buy mine from our local CO-OP. Sometimes it is refered to as hydrated lime & sometimes as dehydrated lime. Not sure if there is truely a difference or not, just know both have worked for me. Also if you go to FatBeeMans website he has a video on making bettle traps that are dirt cheap & work great. Go to youtube and search FineShooter. Should find his easily.