small hive beetles

[Fannbee]

Last week put a AJ beetle trap on a hive that I had beetles.  Found 27 dead beeltle in the trap this week.

[Mountaineerfan]

Steve,

did you use the vinyl cover that they suggest in the directions?  And if so, what did you use for the vinyl cover?

Linda T in Atlanta

No, I didn't use the vinyl.  I have some linoleum in my building that I can use, but I want to see how the bees react to it first. 
Over on the Beesource forum, AJ himself said that to fill the eater, use a bulb syringe, and each one only needs 3mL of oil.  Since I have kids, I have LOTS of syringes for giving medicine, so I filled up one that held 10mL, and then filled the eaters after they were installed.
I also had a bee get under my veil and sting my right on the end of my nose.   @&*%!!&$%#^!!!

[tillie]

I posted on Beesource about this also - I don't get the vinyl idea.  Do you buy a square of vinyl and cut it into strips to cover the traps?  I wish the AJ Beetle Eater were shipped with the covering.  I'm also not too thrilled about filling it - no kids, no syringes, although the Target pharmacy gave me one for my lip balm - maybe I can talk her into another one!

Linda T in Atlanta

[Understudy]

I have been using the west end beetle traps in some of my hives recently. I have some of them with the cardboard and boric acid. The cardboard ones are nice but they work on hives that aren't infested. If the hive is infested they are not real effective.

The West  beetle traps are more effective for large scale issues. They also work on wax moth because if the larva is small enough the bees pull it out and it drops into the pan and doesn't get a second chance to climb back up. The problem with the West beetle traps is the hives must be perfectly level. If not the oil will pile up on one side and be higher than the grill this will kill bees. Getting the hive level can be a bit of a chore. Also the you ruin the ventilation if you place it on top of a screened bottom board.

The Permacomb has little "trays" in the ears where SHB like to hide. I am thinking of putting some mesh over those and filling those with oil or boric acid. I think that may be a cool thing to do with the Permacomb. Then I might not need the West beetle traps.



Sincerely,
Brendhan

[sc-bee]

Vinyl Mat = Vinyl Floor Covering

I put one in without the mat and no luck. The Hood Trap is also very Hit and Miss!!! At least my experience with it.

[tillie]

I posted on Beesource about this and AJ answered my query about what is a hive mat.  Apparently it is like an inner cover, only cut of vinyl or plastic.  Here's the link he gave me:
http://www.bindaree.com.au/hints/hint3_hive_mat.htm

If you look at this, it's just an inner cover made of plastic - which I can't think would be as good for ventilation in the hive as an inner cover.....so it sounds as though using the AJ's beetle eater would not require any more of a cover than our inner cover.

I asked AJ about that and I'll let you know what he says in his response.

Linda T in Atlanta