Small Hive Beetle and grease patty

[SteveSC]

Wes..   You might want to look into using an Oxalic Acid drip in the winter to control any mites you could have.  As I posted here, I did that last winter for the first ( used to use Mite AwayII ) time.  I had always had SHBs to a certain extent - not a serious infestation but noticable.

I can't confirm scientifically that OA had anything to do with in it but I have virtually no SHBs now - I have 20 hives that always had a few beetles prior to the OA drip. They're clear now. 

It could be that maybe I had a mite issue that was holding the hives back to a certain extent from beng as strong as they could be.  Now that the hives are thriving without any mites the SHBs have been taken care of by the bees.  It's hard to say but something worked and I'll repeat the OA drip this winter.

Hopefully this will give you some insight as to what others are doing to control SHBs ( and mites ).

By the way I'm in Woodruff - upstate SC.   Good luck