Back after the battle

[Beeboy01]

Finally came back after battling SHB's and a heavy mite infestation, I was a little embarrassed with the shape of my hives. Last year was an eye opener with the slow realization that my old ways of bee keeping just doesn't work with the pests we have to deal with.  Ended up with home built screened bottom boards with trays for SHB control. I used soapy water in the trays for almost 2 months last summer which decimated the SHB's along with ground drench, micro fiber duster pads, and beetle traps.
  Then had to deal with mites, it was a sobering afternoon in late November when I spotted ten or twelve young bees with crinkled wings crawling around the yard. Treated all the hives with Apivar, first time I have used the product and within the first week the tray under the infected hive was shiny from dead mites. Got a mite drop from my other two hives but the infected one was scary but it looks like it is recovering. Learned a lot in a short time and am feeding the girls to build them up for a possible split to make a fourth hive.
   

[BeeMaster2]

Welcome back Beeboy. Glad it is working out for you.
Jim

[bwallace23350]

Glad you are back.

[yes2matt]

Ended up with home built screened bottom boards with trays for SHB control. I used soapy water in the trays for almost 2 months last summer which decimated the SHB's along with ground drench, micro fiber duster pads, and beetle traps.

What was your most effective weapon against SHB? 

I think I understand you put a tray of soapy water under the screened bottom but the beetles can't get thru the screen, can they? Does that work?

Sent from my SM-J327P using Tapatalk

[Acebird]

Beetles fall right through #8 screen.

[Beeboy01]

Acebird hit it right on the head of the nail, the SHB's drop through the #8 screen and drown in the soapy water. The hives need to be level and the soapy water evaporated and needed to be refilled every two or three days. The trays also picked up a lot of debris and needed to get cleaned   every refill. I would think oil could also be used in the trays but they still would gum up with hive debris.
  I also had good success with the unscented microfiber duster pads. I placed them above the frames in the corners of the top super and the microfibers snagged the small horns or hooks found on the SHB's legs immobilizing them. They got replaced every week because the bees were covering them with propolus. 
  The #8 screening came from Walmart on line, for about $25.00 I was able to order a 2 foot x 10 foot roll which gave me enough screen to make 6 bottom boards.
Here are pictures of the screened bottom boards and the SHB kill.[attachment=0][/attachment][attachment=1][/attachment]

[bwallace23350]

People are talkign about SHB and I have yet to actually see one in my hive nor have I seen damage from them. Am I missing something?

[Acebird]

If or when you get them you will never get rid of them completely.

[bwallace23350]

Lets hope I never get them

[Acebird]

Mine came in a nuc.  Only 3 or 4 in the top box.  That lasted a couple of years and then it seemed like they have increased.  Now they are a problem.  I need to be more vigilant on cleaning them out of the tray and giving them to the chickens.

[Beeboy01]

I think my SHB problem came from two or three local bee yards that were over run by them and the beetles moved en mass into my yard destroying five out of six hives in about a month. Once they were established I had to take it to a different level to control them or loose my last hive. It has taken me  two years to get on top of them. I didn't like the design of store bought screened bottom boards, they were made too light and out of pine which rots so I made mine out of some red wood and incorporated the tray for SHB control. 
  There seem to be two different types of SHB attack. The first is where there is a low level of beetles in a hive waiting for the opportunity to lay eggs. If the hive swarms or the SHB's get out of their jail areas then the hive gets attacked. I have heard of bee keepers in the area who have opened a hive for inspection, released the SHB's from their jail areas and then lost the hive the next week to the larva. I have started to fill the trays with soapy water right before an inspection. The bees will drive the released SHB's down through the screened bottom board where most of them hit the soapy water and drown which is a good thing. 
  The second type of SHB attack I've experienced is where a massive amount of beetles come in from another bee yard and overwhelm a hive in the course of one or two nights. There is not much that can be done for the second type of attack.I ended up closing down all the entrances to the hive except for one which I lined with Check Mite strips which is  approved for SHB control. After the first night I could of filled a shot glass with dead SHB's and it took almost a week till the attack stopped.
  Integrated pest management along with ground drenches  and constant being on my toes has been the only way I've been able to keep the SHB's under control. At least there was a below freezing cold snap this year which knocked some beetles out of the hives.
Sorry about the long post but need to share what has worked for me.       

[Acebird]

My cold snap last for 3-4 months and it doesn't do them in.  Somehow they survive in the cluster.

[Van, Arkansas, USA]

Beeboy, in our area, Southern US, I consider the shb more of a threat the mites.  You are so correct:  the beetles in jail are confined until the beekeepers open the hive.  The beetles then make a jail break, a week later, larva and slimed comb.

The slime is actually a yeast secreted by the beetle larva emits an odor which is an attractment to  shb.

The second attack you describe is on the money also.  I have caught 20 beetles in a single trap in a single night.  I figure I catch maybe 50% at most.

The freeze gun is deadly on the small hive beetle, my freeze gun is a can of freeze spray available on Amazon or at office supply stores.  At minus 62F, non flammable, non toxic gas is controlled by a trigger and precisely aimed by directing a small tube, like on wd40 without harm to a bee 1/2 inch away.  It the same spray often used in doctors office to freeze skin aberrations and to spray clean computer chips. 

I buy the cans by the case of 24.  I?m not supposed to state price but I can say, the spray can is very affordable.

Actually, it?s a blast to spray the beetles.  My bees seemed trained to it and get out of the way so I have a clear shot at a beetle that hides deep in a cell.  That beetle is a goner.  I like it, so do my bees.  The bees don?t seem to mind one little bit.

[Dallasbeek]

 Sounds like fun, Van. 

[Van, Arkansas, USA]

People are talkign about SHB and I have yet to actually see one in my hive nor have I seen damage from them. Am I missing something?

Wallace, in Alabama I guarantee you have shb.  Consider you may have a strain of bee that ?takes care of? the small hive beetle.  This is my thought.  You should look into your bee strain more seriously.  You may have a precious bee.
Blessings

[BeeMaster2]

Wallace,
I agree with your 2 theories. Keep your inspections to a minimum as far as how deep you go into a hive, just enough to know everything is ok.  Don't worry about seeing the queen.
The second problem is caused buy someone's or some feral hive being taken over and the SHBs will produce many thousands of larvae and they drop out of the hive and pupate. SHBs can also use rotting fruit to do the same.
Jim

[BeeMaster2]

Brian,
If I were you, in the far north, during my fall inspection, I would very carefully inspect the hive and attempt to remove every beetle in your hives. They cannot survive your winters outside of the hive. If you have no other apiaries near you you might get rid of them for good or at least until someone brings them into your area.
Jim

[Acebird]

The talk from club members say that hive beetles are becoming more of a problem up here.  They like to blame it on southern packages but that doesn't make much sense to me.  Where would the beetles hide in a box with no comb?
This year is the worst for box elder beetles.  My wife is going nuts.  We kill 20 a day and there are hundreds everywhere.  I am beginning to wonder if these bugs can survive winter in the heat of the composting wood left from the clearing of our land.  Maybe the hive beetles are taking advantage?
I have been avoiding putting soapy water or oil in my bottom trays because it means regular visits to the hive.  Maybe I can't be so lazy in the future.
From the discussions on this forum it doesn't appear that I will be able to have bees in FL without confronting the beetle problem.

[Beeboy01]

Ace, beekeeping down here in Florida is easier in some respects without the extended winter you have to deal with up north but it also has it's own challenges with the pests and Africanized bees. I was beekeeping up in Pennsylvania for years and coming down here was a big change for me. 

[Hops Brewster]

The talk from club members say that hive beetles are becoming more of a problem up here.  They like to blame it on southern packages but that doesn't make much sense to me.  Where would the beetles hide in a box with no comb?
This year is the worst for box elder beetles.  My wife is going nuts.  We kill 20 a day and there are hundreds everywhere.  I am beginning to wonder if these bugs can survive winter in the heat of the composting wood left from the clearing of our land.  Maybe the hive beetles are taking advantage?
I have been avoiding putting soapy water or oil in my bottom trays because it means regular visits to the hive.  Maybe I can't be so lazy in the future.
From the discussions on this forum it doesn't appear that I will be able to have bees in FL without confronting the beetle problem.

Ace, those box elder beetles do overwinter under leaves and composting material wherever it is, or wherever they can easily get under ground.  When I bought my house it was covered in those darn things.  I still have some hanging out in my yard, 15 years after cutting down the only box elder tree (I call them box elder weeds) in my yard. 
They are fond of trees like maple and box elder, those that have winged seeds.  So you can cut down every BE weed on your lot, but if any of your neighbors have maples or BE weeds you will still get at least a few on your property.