I was going to post this in the Equipment Section...
I've been thinking about going to migratory lids for the hives and have some concerns about upper entrances and shb. I am currently using screened bottom boards and have yet to see a beetle anywhere but the top of the hives. When I use a solid bottom board they are everywhere and I have lost every solid bottom hive to shb in the past year (6 so far). Other than nuc's I am all screened now. I lost one hive three weeks ago that was screened bottom board and am setting traps in the last three hives and trap out.
To the point or question is; I have a trapout with a nuc right now that I used window screen to cover the feeder/vent(?) hole in the inner cover. I have experimented with feeding and it doesn't SEEM to hinder access to a jar. Since I prop my lids for ventilation, unless it's a top entrance hive, do you think the screen will be enough to keep the SHB from accessing the hive that way? Or do you think they may still squeeze in?
personally I wouldn't worry about it because they just need the bottom entrance to get in the hive, it seems they are here to stay so the best thing to do is use some kind of trap to control their numbers.
The beetle can't get through window screen, but it can squeeze through 8 mesh hardware cloth. I use a SBB on my nucs and cover the feeder hole in the inner cover and I have not had ventilation or beetle problems.
What ARbeekeeper said. That's exactly what I've seen.
Quote from: qa33010 on October 23, 2009, 01:47:33 AM
I was going to post this in the Equipment Section...
I've been thinking about going to migratory lids for the hives and have some concerns about upper entrances and shb. I am currently using screened bottom boards and have yet to see a beetle anywhere but the top of the hives. When I use a solid bottom board they are everywhere and I have lost every solid bottom hive to shb in the past year (6 so far). Other than nuc's I am all screened now. I lost one hive three weeks ago that was screened bottom board and am setting traps in the last three hives and trap out.
To the point or question is; I have a trapout with a nuc right now that I used window screen to cover the feeder/vent(?) hole in the inner cover. I have experimented with feeding and it doesn't SEEM to hinder access to a jar. Since I prop my lids for ventilation, unless it's a top entrance hive, do you think the screen will be enough to keep the SHB from accessing the hive that way? Or do you think they may still squeeze in?
As an aside to your question I would be doing something about the shb rather than lose all those hives and effort. At least put traps in and manage their numbers
Mick
Yeah, but the solid bottom board hives crashed quickly and this last one was a surprise. I thought I had the hive volume down so the bees could protect it all. I did omit the fact that I was in the hives about a week before and this hive seemed to have beetles explode when I pulled the super off the upper brood box. So I may have released them from a corral/jail situation and they paid me back. You're right though, traps are the way to go. Too bad for the bees I do idiotic things.
Just checked my notes and I was in nine days before.
You have only to give the bees a bit more space than they are able to protect and bingo! the shb can take over.
I find that it is always worth having an entrance a bit smaller than too bit to allow the guard bees to do their job
Mick