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Another Hive has absconded due to shb

8K views 21 replies 17 participants last post by  Rusty Hills Farm 
#1 ·
I cannot keep more than 1 hive going before it succumbs to shb. They are really irritating me. I have the hives in sun, the one hive was very strong, I limited the size, so they just had enough room to expand, but cover almost all of the frames. Just went out to check, saw little activity and I knew what happened. The bees are gone. Left with a mess to clean up. This is my third hive to leave due to shb. I do as much as I can, I have solid bottom boards,the opening is limited to the smallest size, and they still leave. Any other ideas? I want to stay with solid boards,and treatment free. I have the hive that a swarm moved into doing well. I have not gone in to the hives too much, for fear of disturbing it too much. I cleaned up the absconded hive and put in a few drawn frames to attract swarms,that's how I got my latest swarm. Try,try again.
Joyce
 
#2 ·
I use screen bottom boards, it may be that they are getting too hot along with the SHB...just a guess.. look up
Handbook of Small Hive Beetle IPM
Wm. Michael Hood
Extension Apiculturist
School of Agricultural, Forest, and Environmental Sciences
Clemson University, Clemson, South Carolina

on the Clemson website... there is an interesting SHB trap that may work with your solid bottom boards.
 
#3 ·
I've got mine pinched to 1.5 ", full sun, no excess full honey frames,( only 1 medium frame super on top), migration cover,and a mineral oil tray screened bottom board. That's a necessity to keep em below the frames if possible. Mash as many as you can if you do want to do an inspection.
I also have brood comb traps and melon rind traps that head to the freezer every night. Make sure your close neighbors are not raising melons.
I know its aggravating but mites are the least of my worries right now so its full blown war on the terroists beetles.
 
#4 ·
Bummer about the abscond.

Have you tried the small hive beetle traps - little plastic tubes that you set above the frames? the "beetle blaster". I get beetles in it. Also I use screened bottom boards with oil traps - always lots of beetles and mites in them, but the bees are fine, and no beetle or wax moth damage to the combs. One caveat is you have to clean them out every few months, or they fill up and become a SOURCE of beetle larvae. I put the nasty stuff in my compost - that helps me enjoy the clean-out process more.

I think of beetle and wax moth damage as a symptom of a colony weakness, not really a cause. Also it helps to give them only as much space as the colony can defend, adding boxes and frames gradually. The absconding problem could be poor air circulation, lack of water, skunks, robbing neighbor colonies, pollen/nectar dearth. July/August are the dearth months here in TX.
 
#5 ·
Hi neighbor "mgstei1" !

That is funny - I knew SHB fed also on fruit but I have been making a point of growing cantaloupes and winter squash to feed the bees, as well as myself. I have never seen the SHB away from the bee colonies.
 
#10 ·
howdy!!
The SHB Terroists love rotten melon scent and they will hone in on it. If there are hives nearby than they take the direct route to the entrance. I was feeding my hens watermelon and lope rinds and late in the evening the beetles were seen on them and the ol hens zeroed in on them. I try and late evening hunt about dark to watch the SHBTerroists land on the entrance. For all that I have done there is less and less of them but they still come around. I've tried to snoop around the neighbors to see if any of them keep hives but not any to close to me. Rotten stale figs that the mockingbirds have done their deed with is also great bait.
But the best bucket trap lure is old brood comb and slumgum.

I've also lost lots of porch and patio bees on my hives this year due to the untimely mosquito spraying. No telling how many to foargers. I always like to think the foragers get just enough of a dose to handle the mites on them. But thats probably wishful hoping.But I keep my mouth shut for not filing a no spray zone near my house because of the neighbors.
An angy neighbor is way way worse than the mosquitos. The bees just have to tuffen up.
Its hot here and I've got burlap tent over the hives here in my home yard, and once it gets duskthirty It comes down for the arrival of the terroists.

Good huntin neighbor!! Carry on!
 
#6 ·
If you only have a couple of hives, spend the money on a freeman beetle trap. It's an oil tray under a SBB. I've tried a lot of stuff, that's the only no kidding around fix I've found.
I'm trying something new now, but won't know for another month or so if it works. it's a paper the bees chew on, and the beetles get caught in the fuzz. I saw one in a post from overseas with 700 SHB caught in it, but I could never find anything that worked. This stuff is store bought from beeweaver, so I hope it works.
 
#7 ·
I started out in Florida and spent most of my life there. I am in Alabama now and I can tell you that Florida or Alabama--SHBs are my #1 aggravation. They are far worse a pest than mites to me. I've tried a bunch of stuff over the years and so far the one that works the best is the oil trap under a screened bottom board. I finally designed my own version and have (free) plans and photos on my site. All of my hives have these IPM bottom boards (which I build myself and they are easy!) and I do not have a beetle problem anymore!!! Don't have an ant problem either!

I do not consider oil pans to be a "treatment" because they kill off pests but the bees have no contact with them. There is a compartment that holds the oil tray, so I still get to have the solid bottom I prefer while I control the dang beetles too! I grin all the way to the manure pile every time I clean out the trays full of dead ants, beetles, and even some wax moths.

I've lost hives to beetles. Never again!!!

HTH

Rusty
 
#8 ·
A little while back someone (Laurie in SC?) mentioned on here that after using clear glass/plexiglass covers her SHB problems basically went away, as they do not care for light. A very small study, but, I had a nuc that was being over run with SHB, weak, had been queenless for awhile, so I said what the heck and dropped a piece of plexiglass on top. Before, if I opened the top, I could easily squash 6-10 beetles without even trying and you could see them running in and out of the empty combs. Last night after less than a week with the plexi cover I could only find one beetle. I know it is a very small limited uncontrolled test, but it might be worth a try.
 
#9 ·
Hello Rusty,
I read about your SBB trap and made one per your plans. Thanks for the info. I hope it works as well for me as it has for you. SHB took one of my hives year before last and left another too weak for the winter. As a small scale beekeeper, I hate to lose a hive like this.

It seems that the SHB tend to gradually increase, then explode in numbers. Weekly inspections are necessary for me to manage those numbers during the dearths. The inspection can be very quick.
Thanks,
Mike
 
#11 ·
Just about what everyone here says. We live in the same state so I feel your pain. I've had two splits that both got slimed out. (saved one/the other gave up the ghost)
Killing SHB-
ONE-SBB with oil tray..this is kinda like a solid board in that it is closed up so there's not a lot of ventilation going on. This will kill the SHB AND (this is the big part) if any SHB larva hatch out, hopefully the bees drop em to the bottom where they die in the oil instead of dropping to the ground and starting the whole process over again. I fill mine mostly with water and add some mineral oil to it. Doesnt use up as much oil and still kills them. I change that oil/water out every week...kinda like taking out the litter box!
TWO-use the oil traps that fit in the tops of the frame. I have 3-4 in each hive. Use mineral oil (vegtable/corn oil gets rancid after awhile) You can p/u mineral oil for about $2 a bottle at a Dollar Store.
THREE--It's a trap like a Roach Motel...Using the roach (never ant!) roach gel insecticide inside..this fits on top of your inner cover. I use two per hive. The beetles are chased inside these by the bees..they feed on the insecticide and die. (The holes are way to small for a bee to get inside) Cleaned them out of the hives the other day and added fresh bait...there must have been about 30-50 dead SHB inside each one. You can find these traps on the web. They are reusable so buy a dozen and everytime or every other you do an inspection....just add fresh baited traps. If the state inspector is doing a hive check on you.....take them out as they are not a state approved method for bee hives but frankly..I could care less cuz a dead SHB is better than someone telling me no-no! you cant do that! I think they're afraid if a SHB has some poisen on it, it may kill the Queen. Honestly I havent see any queen up above my inner lid but not to say it cant happen. I'll take my chances.
FOUR--When you pop the inner lid...take it immediatlly off the side away from the hive so the SHB that are set loose....dont go crawling down into the hive. make sure of course the Queen isnt on it but using your hive tool..start mashing them. I kill as many as I can in under a minute and then just leave and if after inspecting there are any more, I finish them off then.
FIVE-reducing entrance and any upper entrance. This lets the gaurd bees do their job and hopefully keep them out but they get in anyway.
SIX--hive tool, thumb,stick...use these to make SHB mash.
SEVEN--theres an insecticide used to spray UNDER the hives that kills any larva that dropped to the ground. Tristar I think is one of the trade names. You can find this at a Cattle feed store. This will kill them before pupating and prevent them flying back up into the hive.

Honestly I never thought I'd know this much about this pest. Before getting bees back in april...I thought our biggest threat (not that THEY cant be bad) was the Varrora mite. Turns out its the SHB that I'm fighting. I've read of clear plexiglass top lids (SHB dont like sun so supposedlly this drives them down into the boxes where the bees will then drive them into the oil trays) careful of that tho...I'm sure our Florida sun can cook a hive that way! Full Full sun for the hives....I dont have that as I have a lot of trees on my 5 acres. I know I'm killing this spelling but Diocemntus(sic) EARTH?? You can purchase this at the pool supply places....spread out underneath the hive....if larva fall...the earth cuts up the larva and they die. I use an oil tray so this isnt part of my battle plan. Our rains will wash it away so I'm sure you'd constantly be throwing down more. OHH almost forgot....on your frames....the bottom bar.....if you have slots...fill them up with something. Wood putty, glue, something. This is a great home for SHB and while eventually the bees will fill that with propolis....it can take awhile and in the mean time the SHB are hiding down in that slot. Also, if you have plastic frames...all those lil cubby holes are great hiding places so get rid of any of those frames you may have.
Thats about all I got...I'm petered out!! Good luck with yours! Dont give up cuz of SHB...they can be beat.
 
#12 ·
My wife and I were given an abandoned hive this spring. When we got it home and opened it up we discovered it had about as many SHB's as bee's. We to the plastic coreboard stuff (it looks like plastic cardboard and it is free after every election because about every election sign is made of this stuff. Anyway we cut this stuff in about 5" squares and we would lay 3 of the on the top of the top frames in the hive. We found that the SHB loved to hide in these. We always took a bucket of water with us when we opened the hive and as soon as we popped the lid open we would submerge the coreboard in the water. between the 3 pcs of coreboard we would get as many as 80 SHB. After doing this for a few weeks we got the SHB population down to the point where the bees could keep it under control. it worked so well the all 26 of our hives now have these coreboard squares in them. We commonly find 4-5 beetles per hive when we dunk the pcs in the water but we rarely see the SHB anywhere else in the hive.
 
#14 ·
I only have two hives that sit in partial shade and have just been doing this a few months. Buy a screen bottom board and the oil tray. I have one hive from a trap out with a low population and I can watch the beetles go in and never see more than one or two inside. Worked both my hives last night and saw no beetles in either one. I'm sure it would be cost prohibitive for the big guys but for the hobbiest with a couple hives it is cheap insurance to me.
 
#15 ·
Once you open a hive the SHBTerroists will hide and try to stay in the dark. But they are there hiding and breedin!!
Try and get them in full sun for the whole day. All mine have trays and I use mineral oil, usually a pint to 1 tray. I do strain it with a coffee filter occasionally and add more when needed. I try and keep all water out as I believe that is bad for hive hygiene other than what the girls need and bring in for cooling.
I make my own bottom/trays and just recently went with a raised lip cookie sheet for the trays. Yes, its a pain and costly and lots of maintenance but has to be done to control the SHBTerroists.
 
#18 ·
How often are the hives inspected? A SHB infestation will take at least 2 weeks to get started. I inspect every 10 days and when I see excessive SHB (not this year, PTL), I consolidate frames to reduce the number of boxes on the hive. This will reduce the amount of space the bees need to protect.
Another thing I am trying this year is to run with entrance reducers on all of my hives all season long. My largest opening (only on my strongest hive) is 3/8 tall by 8 inches long. I think the bees can prevent some of them from entering when there is less area to defend. I use SBB so there is plenty of ventilation.
 
#22 ·
Bingo! You can hear them fanning when the temps climb. I use screened inner covers instead of solid ones to increase the ventilation. Solid ones are only SHB havens anyhow. I also use 1/8 hardware cloth folded to the right size instead of wooden entrance reducers, also to increase ventilation. Big hives generate a lot of heat and they need extra help controlling the temps so the brood doesn't cook. When the temps are up around 98-100, I prop the hive tops AND crack the bottom door on the IPM oil tray compartment, all to get better air flow. Otherwise all the bees move to the outside of the hive and the beetles have a field day.

JMO

Rusty
 
#20 ·
Thanks for the greg suggestions I have used the Roach motel traps, about 3 per hive, caught some SHB helped some, but not much. I have reduced the size of the hive to just enough that they can cover all areas. They are in only 1 deep. I keep the entrance reducer on the smallest size, this has helped in the past. As for a SBB with oil trap, guess i have to look into it. I will go and get some of the insecticide to pray under the hive. As I open the hives I move the cover off to the side and behind me, to get it out of the way after making sure the queen isn't on it. I play whack a mole with my hive tool and hands when I open the hives. It just sucks, because it has slimed out my very strong hives. They have just enough space to cover all the frames. The brood pattern looked awesome with lots of honey to. I just cleaned out the mess and left the hives out hoping to use them as swarm traps.
Thanks to everyone for all their suggestions. I seem to lose 1 hive every year to SHB.
 
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