fighting shb

[duck]

im thinking about mixing boric acid and butter flavored crisco together to make a paste.  then put that in a container with holes in it.  similar to the election signs, but you have a carrier with killing power.  just lay these all about the yard, under hives etc.  maybe mix in some sugar?  any ideas?

[hardwood]

I've tried several types of bait for SHB. The best I've come up with uses boric acid and pollen substitute.

Scott

[duck]

sounds about right, since I see their larvae right in the pollen cells first.  I assume thats where they lay.

[hardwood]

Like most larvae they target the protein sources first.

Scott

[dprater]

If the beetles get into the boric acid will they not track it in the hive, or does it kill them in there tracks? I'm a new beek and just starting to see a few beetles, I squash the with my hive tool when I see one.

So I need to get going on how to keep them in check.

Danny

[Nature Coast Beek]

Currently testing the CD jewel case filled with Crisco and boric acid. I decided to add soy flour to the "recipe" for a protein source. Currently using hive tool for SHB counter measures. Placed this mixture in the hive yesterday. Efficacy...yet to be determined.

[Wolfer]

Last year I lost a hive to SHB. After that I bought an IPK beetle trap from green beehives. It worked so well I bout some more this spring. I have no problems in hives on these bottoms, yet anyway!

[Nature Coast Beek]

CD jewel case trap SHB body count...so far 5. I will qualify that with the fact that the bees had corralled the beetles into the "trap" and I finished them off with the hive tool. So far it looks like at least I can expect the bees to "centralize" the SHB into the trap. Have ordered some Beetle Blaster traps for between the frames.

[RHBee]

Last year I lost a hive to SHB. After that I bought an IPK beetle trap from green beehives. It worked so well I bout some more this spring. I have no problems in hives on these bottoms, yet anyway!

I didn't wait for the loss of a colony. I saw the increased numbers of SHB in my hives. I tried beetle blasters and beetle barns. Still saw their numbers increase. Those traps from green bees killed the little buggers quick. I also found that there are areas in the hives and equipment we use that allow SHB to hide from bees. Top feeders are the worst, wooden bound queen excluders and screened innercovers run neck and neck. I am in the process of using human populous (latex caulk) to seal up every nook and cranny I can find.

Have ordered some Beetle Blaster traps for between the frames.

Wolfer I still have a couple of those "Beetle Blasters" and "Beetle Barns" laying around if you want to try them out I'll mail a couple to you free. Send me a PM with a mailing address. They work OK but nothing like the full bottom traps. Also, the bees glue them down. Once while I was getting a Beetle Blaster unstuck it slipped and dumped the oil down into my hive. Killed a SW of the girls could have easily got my queen.
On a side note--What has me up @ 0430hrs is that when I got home last night I checked on my queen rearing Nuc. The SHB have got honey dripping out of the screened bottom board. This is the only equipment I do not have the green bee system on. They don't make them for Nucs. Guess what I get to do today. I gotta win. They have evolution on their side but they got little brains. We aught to be able to come with something to reduce their numbers. After all we learned to control fire.
I've been searching for a good lure for SHB on the internet, found some good info. On trap placement I have read that SHB perfer the shade over direct sunlight. Hives in the sun, traps in the shade.
Sorry about the rant. I'm just really PO'd. Well time for work now.

[Wolfer]

Ray Bayless
I appreciate the offer but am sold on the green bee system.
I don't have much trouble on my nucs now. I built my nucs 6 frame and I put in 5 frames of bees so their strong enough to take care of themselves and once they raise a queen they will build up really fast.
From the time I start the nuc until they have to go in a full size box is about 60 days. I'll have a few beetles at that time but most will be in the oil by the second day.
I used to try to raise nucs with two or three frames of bees but it took them a long time to build up but 5 frames will take off fast.
It's very disheartening to have a nuc for 60 to 90 days and then lose it for whatever reason.

Contrary to popular opinion the queens I raise outperform the queens I buy but I'm still pretty new at this so my opinion may change as time passes.
I'm glad to see someone else has had good luck with this system also.

[dprater]

Ray said:  Those traps from green bees killed the little buggers quick.

I looked at the traps at green bees and was wondering do the traps kill the beetles when they fall out of the hive or are they attracted there?  Or is it's job to just keep the beetles from crawling back into the hive after they fall out?

I'm a first year beek so I just don't know.

Danny

[Wolfer]

I don't believe the beetles are attracted to them but the bees are always chasing them around and knocking them off the frames. Any larvae that does hatch when it drops to go pupate falls in the oil also.

[Beeboy01]

I was told tha SHB's are attracted to yeast, afterall they are found in rotting mellons and some fruit. The honey that is in a hive that has been slimed is fermenting and acts as an attracant to more adult beetles. Has anyone tried regular old baker's yeast in a SHB trap yet? I don't like using poison and have spilled Beetle Blaster mineral oil once in a hive which made a mess.   

[RHBee]

I built a GB type trap for my Nuc today. Used Galv flashing for my pan. Looks good. Also bought a small chest freezer JIC I have to freeze a frame or two. In another post David McLeod gave me an inspirational thought. " Let the animal tell you where it wants to be caught ", I got an idea. It will take a while to get it built and baited. I think it should work. Kinda radical. Still working it out. Don't want to say something stupid.