Control of Small Hive Beetle

[b2bnz]

I am posting this from New Zealand and although we do not have SHB in our country, I read a very interesting article in our local National Beekeepers Association journal, The New Zealand Beekeeper of a control method they are using in Australia.We beekeepers need all the help we can get, and as I get so much useful information from this forum, I thought I should share this with all of you.
If it works it could be an effective method of controlling SHB.
The method is to use Chux disposal multi purpose kitchen cloths. I am sure if you don't have Chux that you will have a similar product in your hardware stores or supermarkets.
Place the fresh cloth across the top of the frames of the top honey super every couple of weeks, when new supers are put on to replace the ones taken off for extraction. The bees do not like the cloth and try to take them apart and out of the hive and in the process they make them fluffy.
The beetles move up to the top of the hive to get away from the light and the bees and get caught in cloth, where they either die from starvation or the bees get hold of them and dispatch them.
I know that the Northern Hemisphere is just coming out of winter but this may be helpful in a couple of months time
Copyright:NZ NBA Nov 2012

[jbeshearse]

Thanks for the heads up, I may try those right away.

[Maddox65804]

We do not have the brand "Chux" that this article refers to here in the US. Could somebody post a picture of one so we could find a similar product here?

[jbeshearse]

look like the standard blue "shop towels" to me, available at Sams Club.

http://www.samsclub.com/sams/wypall-....ip?navAction=

[b2bnz]

Tried to post a photo but did not work.
The weave is more open than the Wypall and comes in rolls

[jbeshearse]

Okay, they are really just like the hospital underpads (blue on one side and white on the other...

http://www.walgreens.com/store/c/dis...232710-product

http://www.target.com/p/protection-p...term=underpads

[b2bnz]

google Chux, click on images of Chux superwipes

[DJS]

I will have to find something like the Chux superwipes this spring and give them a try. Do they have a problem with bees getting stuck in them?

[The Evil Chip]

The method is to use Chux disposal multi purpose kitchen cloths. I am sure if you don't have Chux that you will have a similar product in your hardware stores or supermarkets.

All: a chux wipe is just the brand name for handi-wipes in Australia and New Zealand. Same manufacturer and look the same, although what they call a "heavy duty" wipe looks more like the regular strength handi-wipe we use in the states/Canada.

I have a terrible problem with SHB here in VA and just put some in my hives and will let you know how they work.