[Robbin]

Bought the MMK last fall, used it one time (on each hive). Saw few dead SHB so I wasn't so sure it worked. I've been tearing thru hives removing my oldest hive bodies getting ready to paint. My SHB problem has been so bad I keep oil trays on all my hives but still see twenty or more in every hive every time I open them.

This year, tearing 6 hives completely apart, I've see 3 SHB. I am absolutely amazed. I've NEVER had so few SHB. I'm dumb founded. A fall treatment appears to have killed all the ones that usually overwintered
in my hives. The MMK is a pain to use because it's time consuming, but I'm sold now. Lots of stuff controls mites, very little works on SHB and none works well.

I lost a lot of nucs this winter, but I didn't lose a single hive.

That's my two cents worth. Not scientific, no untreated control group, except for a handful of nucs that survived the winter and they all have SHB. My advice is probably worth what you paid for it,
but I'm convinced.

 

[AHudd]

Are the nucs with SHB in the same yard as the hives you treated last fall?

Alex

 

[texanbelchers]

I won't say you are wrong, but be careful attributing lack of SHB to a treatment from last fall. They are opportunistic beasts avoiding strong hives and boxes in lots of sun. BUT, if they sense a failing hive they will move in from miles away in the matter of days.

 

[Jadeguppy]

I'm glad to her that your shb population is down. I cut back some limbs to let in more light and shortened some of the entrances and haven't seen any in most of the hives, including ones that had a bunch prior to the change.

 

[Robbin]

I won't say you are wrong, but be careful attributing lack of SHB to a treatment from last fall. They are opportunistic beasts avoiding strong hives and boxes in lots of sun. BUT, if they sense a failing hive they will move in from miles away in the matter of days.

All my hives are strong and in full sun... Always have been, always had tons of SHB....... I do believe you are correct about them moving in quickly. But I can tell you for the first time in 6 years I'm almost free of them. Don't want to believe me... Don't....

 

[Robbin]

I'm glad to her that your shb population is down. I cut back some limbs to let in more light and shortened some of the entrances and haven't seen any in most of the hives, including ones that had a bunch prior to the change.

Jade, my hives haven't moved, they are in a five acre field and get full sun till the last 25 minutes when the shade from the setting sun finally reaches them. First time in six years I'm not swamped with them...

 

[Robbin]

I'm not here to sell MMK. I bought one because I read some great results against SHB. OAV is great against mites and cheap. So I took a chance on something that might help against SHB.
Just reporting my results.

 

[Jadeguppy]

I'm not here to sell MMK. I bought one because I read some great results against SHB. OAV is great against mites and cheap. So I took a chance on something that might help against SHB.
Just reporting my results.

Thank you for sharing. I've heard many people talk about putting hives in the sun to cut shb numbers, but down here I constantly hear about shb problems in fully sun hives. I'm thinking the limited entrance and strong hives may be helping mine this year, but it could be coincidence. Who knows how high numbers will get in the fall. If I recall, that is when we both had high shb numbers.