So from everything I've been able to find, the small hive beetles find the hive the same way robbers do. They zero in based on smell, and find their way into the entrance that way.
Would putting robbing screens on all of your hives be an effective deterrent for small hive beetles? Has anyone tried this? Or are small hive beetles simply not enough of a problem on healthy hives to justify the effort?
Beetles will get in. I will bet money on that.
You can have a fairly strong hive that may only have a few SHBs and then one day your bees swarm or something, anything to give them a chance and they can destroy a hive. I don't know about in Va. but down here I think they are almost every where. You just do what you can to keep their numbers as low as possible, sometimes you may not have any. You keep a check on them, mites, and in general how your hives are doing on a regular basis. Thats what you do as a beek. Good luck with your bees.
Joe