[The Dregs]

We're getting our nuc this Saturday, hopefully! It has already been delayed three times due to weather and other bee-raising vagaries. Five frames of super docile Italians from the Fat Beeman here in Georgia.

Apparently, small hive beetles are a BIG thing here in GA. The lady who runs my local bee club suggested that we install some gadget called a Beetle Baffle. Its basically some wood shims with little curved metal rims on them that prevent the beetles from crawling up into the hive body. The beetles are also supposed to crawl out of the hive for various reason, and it prevents them from coming back in. I have no idea if it works or not, but it isn't going to poison the bees or anything, so I am giving it a shot.

Pics!

Here is the baffle:

Here is the artwork my children insist I show you.

I'll post some action pics Saturday, when my son and I install the nuc.

 

[Vance G]

I hope your dream stays untarnished. Best of luck with your bees.

 

[Millenia]

I don't understand how the beetle baffle works. Are they not able to crawl up the metal? Can't they fly?

Love the kids' artwork, btw. Especially the BZZZing bee.

 

[The Dregs]

Yeah, the theory is that they avoid flying in the hive. I have no practical experience with hive beetles, so I can't say one way or the other. I just figured that it wasn't too expensive, and it wasn't going to harm the bees either way, so why not?