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Author Topic: SHB trap  (Read 5479 times)

Offline rast

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SHB trap
« on: September 06, 2008, 12:28:14 am »
 Regarding the corrugated SHB trap using boric acid. JP said,
 "When using it for shb it is placed in corrugated plastic such as real estate signs and can be sealed with a little Crisco and placed between a top cover and inner cover with great results and no harm to the bees."
 What is the Crisco for? What are you sealing? It seems if you plug up the open ends, the beetles won't get into the boric acid unless it melts out.
 Rick
Fools argue; wise men discuss.
    --Paramahansa Yogananda

Offline pdmattox

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Re: SHB trap
« Reply #1 on: September 06, 2008, 01:54:19 am »
Jp will not be online unill monday or soon after but I hopefully can help out here. This is something the Fatbeeman had introduced to us in ventrillo. The crisco on the end is to keep the boric acid inside of the corrugated material and the beetles will go through the crisco and get into the boric acid.

Offline rast

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Re: SHB trap
« Reply #2 on: September 06, 2008, 08:32:54 am »
 Thank you PD, I knew JP was offline for a few days. The way things were looking I was afraid it might be our turn next. I didn't know the beetles would eat through it.
Fools argue; wise men discuss.
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Offline dhood

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Re: SHB trap
« Reply #3 on: September 06, 2008, 09:02:04 pm »
I thought about this before, and this is what concerned me. If the beetles enter the trap and eat the boric acid, or other poison, then exit and walk the combs before dying. Couldn't they contaminate the comb and/or  honey? How long does it take to kill the beetles? Just a concern. I have a few old political signs and have thought about trying it.

Offline rast

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Re: SHB trap
« Reply #4 on: September 12, 2008, 09:22:23 pm »
 I made and installed one, stapled to the inside of the cover, a week ago tomorrow. Wed. all looked fine from the outside. I'll pull the cover and look at it tomorrow.
Fools argue; wise men discuss.
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Offline rast

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Re: SHB trap
« Reply #5 on: October 04, 2008, 05:08:30 pm »
 I have inspected 3 times since I installed the corrugated SHB trap using 20 Mule Team Borax. Today I could not find any SHB in the hive. Did not seem to have any detrimental effect on the bees. I removed it to see if they would show back up. Optimistic for a change.
 (I know Democrats will disagree with using 20 Mule Team Borax :-D. Probably have to be over 50 to get that)
Fools argue; wise men discuss.
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Offline sc-bee

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Re: SHB trap
« Reply #6 on: October 04, 2008, 06:53:09 pm »
>If the beetles enter the trap and eat the boric acid, or other poison, then exit and walk the combs before dying. Couldn't they contaminate the comb and/or  honey?

I've wondered the same thing but it is the same dispensing method used by some other stronger chems. You know the one you push in with the paddle w/the slots etc. in it. Of course those methods are approved for those chems.. Or the wafers.
John 3:16

Offline rast

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Re: SHB trap
« Reply #7 on: October 04, 2008, 08:44:11 pm »
 It concerned me also, but they seem fine. One word of advise if I'm qualified. If you staple the trap to the top like I did (I don't use inner covers) and you have the open ends north/south, open the top east/west so it doesn't pour out into the hive. The bees had actually glued the east/west side to the top. They left the open ends alone. I had filled the open ends with Crisco as Dallas had said and was all open.
Fools argue; wise men discuss.
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Offline dhood

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Re: SHB trap
« Reply #8 on: October 05, 2008, 12:17:21 am »
>If the beetles enter the trap and eat the boric acid, or other poison, then exit and walk the combs before dying. Couldn't they contaminate the comb and/or honey?

I've wondered the same thing but it is the same dispensing method used by some other stronger chems. You know the one you push in with the paddle w/the slots etc. in it. Of course those methods are approved for those chems.. Or the wafers.

Yes, thats true, but I've also read that in SC, if using Checkmite to control SHB in the manner you have mentioned, you cannot produce comb honey for sale. I intend on using the crush and strain method, and making chunk comb honey. And although I may not sell any, I will be giving it to my family. I would really like to find a solution, but am not willing to take a chance of contaminating honey that my kids will be eating, or that I may sell.
BTW- Since Ive posted I have learned from observing a few hives that if you open them up less, and let them propolize the frames together good. They seem to be able to control the SHB better. Even if they are in the hive. They keep them all guarded in a corner, when you notice several in the hive, and then move the frames and release them, things get bad. I thought I was going to lose a hive to them, just left them alone a few weeks and fed them and they have dramatically inproved. For this reason, I am going to make some changes on the way I manage the bees. If you talk to the commercial guys, they seem to have less problems with them, and they usually say they don't check them as much as Small scale beekeepers do. I think that if we breed a bee that will produce more propolis, and let them glue things together we will see far less problems. What do you think?

Offline rast

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Re: SHB trap
« Reply #9 on: October 05, 2008, 08:45:27 am »
 "If you talk to the commercial guys, they seem to have less problems with them"

 I asked a friend of mine thats a commercial about that and he said that he felt that he moved his bees too often for them to get very strong in the hive. Another former commercial who still keeps few hives (his son now has the business) mixes up a concoction of boiled chewing tobacco and sugar syrup and sprays under and around his hives.
 I did my final extraction for the year before I put the trap in the hive.
Fools argue; wise men discuss.
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Offline sc-bee

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Re: SHB trap
« Reply #10 on: October 05, 2008, 05:31:54 pm »
>I intend on using the crush and strain method, and making chunk comb honey. And although I may not sell any, I will be giving it to my family.

I agree 100% not trying to suggest you use unapproved methods. Are you going to go foundationless w/your comb honey. Ever read about what they find in foundation?

>I asked a friend of mine thats a commercial about that and he said that he felt that he moved his bees too often for them to get very strong in the hive.

My mentor run about 320 colonies in pollination until health issues. He never had an shb problem. He attributes it to moving his hives frequently. He has not been able to do this of lately and he now has shb issues.

>They keep them all guarded in a corner, when you notice several in the hive, and then move the frames and release them, things get bad.

It has been said that when you pop the top and they run they leave a distress odor and began to leave eggs as they run!

I have noticed the more aggressive the bees towards the shb the better> They run them and corral them. Some bees just seem content living w/them. Then you have a huge problem.
John 3:16

Offline rast

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Re: SHB trap
« Reply #11 on: October 05, 2008, 10:44:37 pm »
"and let them glue things together we will see far less problems. What do you think?"

 The hive that they were the worst in (and the one I put the trap in) were propolised together 6 ways from Sunday. On extraction some of the frames broke no matter how careful I tried to be. I think that the propolis also gives them something to hide behind that a bee can't get to.
 Has anyone else heard of the chewing bacco spray under the hives? I have my theory. (No they don't die of mouth cancer :-D).
Fools argue; wise men discuss.
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Offline rast

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Re: SHB trap
« Reply #12 on: October 27, 2008, 09:25:18 pm »
 The SHb are now back in this hive, 3 deep. They are now mostly in the bottom. As I said in a post elsewhere I pulled the bottom box and cleaned the bottom board this weekend. Beetles ran out from the burr comb and bees would immediatly get after them. I removed the borax trap after about 2 weeks I think. Now I wonder if it should be on the bottom board instead of the top to catch the newly hatched beetles on their way in. They were not all over the top as before.
Fools argue; wise men discuss.
    --Paramahansa Yogananda

 

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