Beemaster's International Beekeeping Forum

BEEKEEPING LEARNING CENTER => DISEASE & PEST CONTROL => Topic started by: hardwood on August 27, 2010, 08:06:32 pm

Title: Lost one
Post by: hardwood on August 27, 2010, 08:06:32 pm

I trapped some bees from a tree about 2 months ago and after the initial drop in hive numbers the grafted queen I gave them really started to work. Sadly I didn't pay quite enough attention to them and, even with hive beetle traps in place, the beetles took off and the colony absconded.

Small hive beetle takeover 8/27/10 (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fWucyi78yYQ#ws)

Scott

Title: Re: Lost one
Post by: AllenF on August 29, 2010, 09:19:04 pm

So you gave your SHB sniper the week off?

Title: Re: Lost one
Post by: hardwood on August 29, 2010, 09:28:11 pm

Allen, unfortunately the SHBminator is back in school...might have to take the job over myself.

Scott

Title: Re: Lost one
Post by: AllenF on August 29, 2010, 09:50:32 pm

I lost 2 nucs this month.   Both starved.   The last one I found today and one frame had maybe a dozen SHB worms in it.   Froze it.  It was the last nuc I had, rest are in full boxes.   I think I need to make syrup and check the beetle traps this week.

Title: Re: Lost one
Post by: hardwood on August 29, 2010, 09:59:13 pm

I've been making some different SHB traps using different formulas for the bait. Right now I'm trying sodium tetraborate decahydrate (borax) mixed with vegetable shortening to form a stiff paste, an equal amount of pollen substitute and cider vinegar that's been infused with rotting banana peels. All of this is used in a coroplast trap. So far the results are encouraging.

Scott

Title: Re: Lost one
Post by: AllenF on August 29, 2010, 10:11:29 pm

I have tried about everything out there.  I like the beetle barns the best.  I keep 3 or 4 or 5 throughout each hive.  You just have to clean out the openings every month or so.  Bees glue them up. 

Title: Re: Lost one
Post by: hardwood on August 29, 2010, 10:16:08 pm

What do you use in the beetle barns? I have several that I've been using to experiment with different attractants, but I don't want to use fipronil in the hives.

Scott

Title: Re: Lost one
Post by: AllenF on August 29, 2010, 10:20:03 pm

Checkmite is the only approved thing for use in them.   Lets leave it at that.  And I don't use them or anything with honey supers on.   But they do work pretty good.

Title: Re: Lost one
Post by: greenbtree on September 07, 2010, 02:05:09 am

Bummer.  I just had one abscond too, so I feel your pain.

JC

Title: Re: Lost one
Post by: tecumseh on September 07, 2010, 08:01:48 am

do not feel all alone (<perhaps a line from an old BDylan song?) I have been kicking bottoms (<an old commercial derived terms for discovering dead hives) all week.  current total about 8... all casualties of the heat and not much coming in the front door.

hardwood... have you taken a look at fatbeeman's shb trap video?  sounds about like what you are doing.

Title: Re: Lost one
Post by: hardwood on September 07, 2010, 08:16:13 am

Tec, yes I've seen fat bee mans traps. I use something similar but use a mix of crisco, borax,pollen substitute and cider vinegar for the bait/poison. I've been messing with the formula to find what's most effective.

Scott

Title: Re: Lost one
Post by: AllenF on September 07, 2010, 03:46:28 pm

I tried them one year.   I didn't see any dead beetles or where they were getting into them.  They never liked them I guess. 

Title: Re: Lost one
Post by: Tommyt on September 24, 2010, 06:22:03 pm

I went to a class at USF and they spoke of using a CD case with Roach Bait inside
I mentioned The Fatbeeman way and I got all kinds of cross eyed looks
So I stated maybe they should look at You-tube as maybe I didn't explain
It correctly
Most said the CD case was safe and didn't think the fat-mans was
So do any of you use the CD case


Tommyt

Title: Re: Lost one
Post by: Sparky on September 24, 2010, 09:42:30 pm

Quote from: Tommyt on September 24, 2010, 06:22:03 pm

I went to a class at USF and they spoke of using a CD case with Roach Bait inside
I mentioned The Fatbeeman way and I got all kinds of cross eyed looks
So I stated maybe they should look at You-tube as maybe I didn't explain
It correctly
Most said the CD case was safe and didn't think the fat-mans was
So do any of you use the CD case


Tommyt

I used the CD case with what was told to me as the organic type of bait of peanut butter and it was a waste of time. I am sure there are other things to use as bait that could make the CD method more effective. I have started to use the beetle jail frame traps with different fruit as bait in the center chamber and vegetible oil in the other two and it has done well. My location has not been hit as hard as you southern guys yet.  http://beetlejail.com/products-page/beetle-jail/beetle-jail-jr/ (http://beetlejail.com/products-page/beetle-jail/beetle-jail-jr/)

Title: Re: Lost one
Post by: AllenF on September 24, 2010, 10:18:52 pm

Roach bait is not approved for use inside hives.  Fipronil is the poison.  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fipronil (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fipronil)  Use checkmite instead.  It is approved on SHB. 

Title: Re: Lost one
Post by: Tommyt on September 26, 2010, 01:01:32 am

checkmite
 Is it common Home-depot type stuff If so I will try it in the tree trap out before I re-close it up tomorrow

Thanks again
Tommyt

Title: Re: Lost one
Post by: AllenF on September 26, 2010, 02:53:03 pm

Checkmite
http://www.brushymountainbeefarm.com/Check-Mite-Plus-10-Strips/productinfo/481/ (http://www.brushymountainbeefarm.com/Check-Mite-Plus-10-Strips/productinfo/481/)
There are several ways of using it to kill beetles.   Put it in beetle barns or beetle traps.  You can take cardboard and tear one side off, place the ridge side down over the checkmite on you bottom board of your nuc, beetles climb under and die.