Hello all. I purchased nucs this spring. They were in very good shape. Wall to wall bees. I?m pretty sure the guy winters in Texas. I saw small hive beetles in the nucs. Now I live in the far north. I?ve never seen shb before. From what I understand they don?t survive our winters. That however doesn?t help me until winter. Any suggestions? I?ve never used a trap before. They are already in full sun. Since this is going to be a single season issue do I just keep them tight and forget about it?
How many are we talking? If it is but a few a strong hive will keep them at bay.
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It wasn?t much. I think I saw 2-3 in one of the Nucs.
I don't usually make a big deal about seeing 2 or 3 in a hive. I do try to kill all of them that I see and can get my hive tool on them. If you start seeing them by the dozen(s), then it is time to do some serious intervention. If that happens, reduce any extra space in the hive. Screen Bottom boards with an oil pan is a very effective way to kill SHB's. I had a hive last fall that, when I went to change the inverted jar feeder, would have at least 50 SHB's coralled under the jar. I would lift the jar and start smashing. I would check the jar about every three days. This went on for about a month. Those bees were able to contain that many beetles so IMO 2 or 3 is nothing. By the way that hive made it through winter just fine and I have already made a split from it.
As long as you keep the nuc population up they shouldn't be a problem. The bees can take care of it.
Bush, get a can of freeze spray, minus 62F from Amazon or office supply store. Nonflammable nontoxic, used in doc office to freeze warts and unwanted moles. Kill ever beetle, leave no survivors, I hate those dang beetles.
Blessings
Quote from: Van, Arkansas, USA on May 10, 2018, 11:12:09 PM
Bush, get a can of freeze spray, minus 62F from Amazon or office supply store. Nonflammable nontoxic, used in doc office to freeze warts and unwanted moles. Kill ever beetle, leave no survivors, I hate those dang beetles.
Blessings
With all do respect a hive tool squishes them just fine.
Quote from: moebees on May 11, 2018, 12:16:47 AM
Quote from: Van, Arkansas, USA on May 10, 2018, 11:12:09 PM
Bush, get a can of freeze spray, minus 62F from Amazon or office supply store. Nonflammable nontoxic, used in doc office to freeze warts and unwanted moles. Kill ever beetle, leave no survivors, I hate those dang beetles.
Blessings
With all do respect a hive tool squishes them just fine.
I have killed thousands of them with my finger tip. I have also used a vacuum cleaner, both corded and battery operated. I pull it out when I find the STB full of ants and get the SHBs at the same time.
Jim
These nucs are crazy impressive. Makes me wonder why I ever bought packages. When I installed them they were boiling over. First inspection shows they are still boiling over in their eight frame deep. I did notice that they all had quite a bit of capped brood. We have a pretty good flow right now with trees and fruit trees/dandelions are right around the corner. So I decided to add a second brood box. Hopefully it won?t be to much but it doesn?t feel like it.
Sounds like they will be fine. With a flow on you don't want them swarming.
Quote from: sawdstmakr on May 11, 2018, 02:08:31 AM
Quote from: moebees on May 11, 2018, 12:16:47 AM
Quote from: Van, Arkansas, USA on May 10, 2018, 11:12:09 PM
Bush, get a can of freeze spray, minus 62F from Amazon or office supply store. Nonflammable nontoxic, used in doc office to freeze warts and unwanted moles. Kill ever beetle, leave no survivors, I hate those dang beetles.
Blessings
[/quote
With all do respect a hive tool squishes them just fine.
I have killed thousands of them with my finger tip. I have also used a vacuum cleaner, both corded and battery operated. I pull it out when I find the STB full of ants and get the SHBs at the same time.
Jim
Master Jim, I have used, fingers and vac too, hive tool, beetle blasters, beetle whatever, needles, tweezers, screen bottom boards baited with pollen patty with diatom earth,,,,, I have stereo scoped the beetles looking for weak spots, salt on dirt in front of hive, lime on the soil in front of hive, I have even cussed the dang beetles.
But when the beetles make a jail break and go into the wax cells, I nail with freeze spray with integrity of wax maintained.
I have sat and counted how many beetles enter the hive per minute just after sun down, 1.5 beetles per minute. I have caught as many as 20 beetles per trap, in a single night, in just one hive. I don?t know how many escaped my trap but if I caught 20, I figure that was half. Meaning 40 beetles per night per hive. These beetles have yet to kill one of my hives but it is a constant battle for me.
The ding dang beetles just keep coming. I buy freeze spray by the case.
Blessings
Quote from: Bush_84 on May 13, 2018, 07:55:33 PM
These nucs are crazy impressive. Makes me wonder why I ever bought packages. When I installed them they were boiling over. First inspection shows they are still boiling over in their eight frame deep. I did notice that they all had quite a bit of capped brood. We have a pretty good flow right now with trees and fruit trees/dandelions are right around the corner. So I decided to add a second brood box. Hopefully it won?t be to much but it doesn?t feel like it.
It is amazing how the bees can explode when they have the right amount of resources and nurse bees. It sounds like they needed the room. Did they have a dome of honey on top of the frames or was the brood all they wat to the top? If they had a dome of honey, I would pull a frame or two and put them in the second box. You don't want the queen being restricted in any way.
At this point it was nectar around the top. I?ll do a more thorough check in them later. If the queen hasn?t moved up I?ll entice them up. I?m wondering if any of that capped brood is emerging. It seems like I?m still seeing a lot of orientation flights despite installation being last week.
Van, get them out of the shade, into the sun. The only other answer is to get a flock of chickens and let them free range at dusk.
Quote from: Bush_84 on May 13, 2018, 11:05:01 PM
I?m wondering if any of that capped brood is emerging. It seems like I?m still seeing a lot of orientation flights despite installation being last week.
Odds are some of the capped brood is hatching everyday. A good hive that is growing will have new bees everyday unless the queen is restricted in laying. So they will have orientation flights every day for the new bees.
Quote from: iddee on May 13, 2018, 11:08:06 PM
Van, get them out of the shade, into the sun. The only other answer is to get a flock of chickens and let them free range at dusk.
Id, my land is all wooded, Ozark Hills lake Norfolk front property ALL shaded. There are property restrictions, no chickens, no non-working cars, no trailers, yada yada yada.
Van, there's a new invention on the market.
https://www.stihlusa.com/products/chain-saws/
:wink: :grin: :grin:
Id, there are only about 3 days in each year that the weather is perfect for cutting trees: slight breeze, low humidity, moderate temperature, and sunny day,,,,just perfect. But it so happens I am always busy on each of those 3 perfect days.
So dad gum it, we have already had those perfect days for this year, I missed out. I?ll have to wait till next year to cut timber.
Blessings
Winter is the best time to cut trees. No leaves and the wood is the lightest.
I saw on the other forum they are suggesting rock salt for under and around the hive to control weeds and kill SHB.
Quote from: Acebird on May 29, 2018, 08:53:30 AM
I saw on the other forum they are suggesting rock salt for under and around the hive to control weeds and kill SHB.
You know salting the land is what invading armies used to do back in the day to lands they left behind. A variation on the scorched earth policy. Why would someone do it to yourself?
To get rid of last years salt?
Quote from: moebees on May 29, 2018, 06:33:14 PM
Quote from: Acebird on May 29, 2018, 08:53:30 AM
I saw on the other forum they are suggesting rock salt for under and around the hive to control weeds and kill SHB.
You know salting the land is what invading armies used to do back in the day to lands they left behind. A variation on the scorched earth policy. Why would someone do it to yourself?
Wow if it?s that effective I?m all in! I don?t want anything growing under my stands anyways. Maybe I should be tossing the stuff in my landscape rock! Weeds are an eternal struggle with me.
Here in Montana a huge train wreck has ensued as a result of someone bringing in nucs from Mississippi. She reported to the DOA that she found two or three SHB. As a result she has lost all her hives. MT DOA came down on her so fast she had no idea what happened. Not sure how things are in MN, but be careful who you talk to.
Quote from: Aroc on May 30, 2018, 12:57:20 AM
Here in Montana a huge train wreck has ensued as a result of someone bringing in nucs from Mississippi. She reported to the DOA that she found two or three SHB. As a result she has lost all her hives. MT DOA came down on her so fast she had no idea what happened. Not sure how things are in MN, but be careful who you talk to.
Oofta. Can?t have that. I?ve maybe squished a couple since they were installed.
Small hive beetles will over winter in a cluster of bees. When the temperatures are 80 degrees and below it takes a small hive beetle egg 1 - 2 weeks to hatch. The beetles are after protein which the males will cannibalize the beetle eggs. BUT when the temperatures are in the mid 80's and up the beetle eggs will hatch in 3 days or so. That is when we start seeing infestations. You can treat the ground under the hives with Salt or chemicals but when the beetle larva starts crawling out of the hive to the soil the hive is usually devastated already. Treating the ground just breaks the beetles life cycle it does not help the hive. Small hive beetles can fly in from as far as 5 miles away. They tend to target hives that have a high varroa mite count at first then spread to all hives before they are done. Oil Traps help, Freeman beetle trays help and so do the Non Scented Dry Swiffer Pads. Just remember all we can do is manage the dreaded small hive beetles for anything that will kill a small hive beetle will kill a honeybee.
If they can overwinter in the winter cluster why haven?t they moved further north? It was always my understanding that they didn?t tolerate the cold.
They are in all states except Alaska. The northern climate doesn?t bode well for them and as as result beeks up north don?t have to worry about them quite as much but obviously we at least need to be aware of their potential
Quote from: Aroc on May 30, 2018, 10:41:23 PM
They are in all states except Alaska. The northern climate doesn?t bode well for them and as as result beeks up north don?t have to worry about them quite as much but obviously we at least need to be aware of their potential
This is the first time I?ve ever seen one.
Quote from: Bush_84 on May 30, 2018, 09:55:49 PM
If they can overwinter in the winter cluster why haven?t they moved further north?
They have.