SHB crazy idea and encouraging news from my area for bees

chux · March 14, 2014, 03:08:55 PM

I was sitting in a bee class last night, listening to a description of the life cycle of a SHB, and an idea popped in my brain. What if I turned up the ground right in front of all my hives, and made it loose, movable soil? Would the larvae burrow down right there in the easy sail in front of the hive? I could go out there every week and shovel a layer of soil up and screen it. Remove larvae and destroy. Replace soil.

After the initial effort of digging up and screening for debri, it wouldn't take a few minutes in front of each hive to go through each week and repeat the process. Anybody ever heard of something like this? Is it not worth the effort?? I'm curious.

Encouraging news for my area...We started a bee club in Beaufort County, NC last year and average around 20 folks at each meeting. Most of us are newbees. Last week we started our month-long intro to beekeeping short course. There are 56 folks coming to the classes. Most have never kept bees, but are curious. This is a huge number for us because we don't live in a high population density area. Seems like bees are getting more popular around here. I hope that trend continues.

iddee · March 14, 2014, 04:08:32 PM

Sounds like a lot of work to me, when you can sit the hives in full sun and not have any SHB larva to drop to the ground.

Congrats on the club. Are you too far from the crystal coast club to attend it?

Joe D · March 14, 2014, 08:33:55 PM

You really don't want to see larvae. You want to get rid of them before that if at all possible. I have had mine on a concrete slab, and would spray the dirt, about a foot, around the slab with diesel. I have SBB's with pans under. I use water with dish washing liquid in the pans.
Good luck to you and your bees. Keep up the thinking, that's the only way to come up with something new.

Joe

GSF · March 14, 2014, 10:54:02 PM

Ditto on the above. A lot of work, keep up the thinking, and congrads on the club. Two things I did before my SHB population plummeted; Moved them to direct sunlight and put an oil pan (IPK - greenbeehives) under my hives. I had seen as many as 20 to 50. Now when I see one I'm somewhat surprised.

HomeSteadDreamer · March 14, 2014, 11:00:33 PM

The oil pans work for me too. Also down here we have plenty of SHB's they don't all come from hives because SHB can use any fruit I believe so your dirt isn't the only source.

I think your idea is good but time intensive. Now if you had loose soil and some chickens, they would take care of those larva for you. Of course my hives sit alittle higher off the ground then most.

chux · March 14, 2014, 11:13:23 PM

It would be lots of work. From what i hear, they are not a problem for a strong hive, anyway. I will keep thinking. Maybe those oil pans wouldn't be a bad idea for a weaker hive... Thanks, folks.

Iddee, Morehead City is a bit farther than i want to go regularly. We are trying to get quality education in our local meetings. Tia did a solid presentation last year. I am always looking for speakers or media suggestions.

Wolfer · March 15, 2014, 12:57:06 AM

Quote from: GSF on March 14, 2014, 10:54:02 PM
Ditto on the above. A lot of work, keep up the thinking, and congrads on the club. Two things I did before my SHB population plummeted; Moved them to direct sunlight and put an oil pan (IPK - greenbeehives) under my hives. I had seen as many as 20 to 50. Now when I see one I'm somewhat surprised.

I lost a couple weak hives to SHB. In desperation I bought one of the IPK traps from green bee hives. It worked so well I now have them on all my hives and won't consider starting a hive without one.

Last year I saw one live beetle. Saw lots of dead ones. If larva does hatch it can't get out of the hive to pupate.
I've caught some flak for this statement but I'll stand by it. If every hive had one of these bottoms SHB would be on the endangered list.
I've heard that they can live in places besides a hive. But I think the vast majority live in a hive. They just don't live in one with an IPK on it.

I no longer give SHB a second thought.
Woody Roberts

HomeSteadDreamer · March 15, 2014, 09:46:33 AM

Mine is homemade but I looked at the Greenbees and it is pretty much the same (except mine is for a TBH).

Wolfer · March 16, 2014, 12:52:46 AM

I have homemade ones on my long langs. the #6 mesh is hard to find and pricy but it works really well.

ChrisT · March 16, 2014, 01:04:51 PM

I moved my hive to the middle of a 12x15 concrete slab (a parking pad) and that still didnt help. I have always questioned people's theory about ending the shb problem just by making sure the larvae dont get to the ground.

The ONLY thing that worked for me was bottom IPK oil pan. I too am surprised now when i see one in my hive (thats not dead in the oil pan).

Chris

Joe D · March 16, 2014, 01:21:20 PM

Wolfer, what you are looking for is #8 hardware cloth. It's not everywhere, but not hard to find. Good luck

Joe

Wolfer · March 16, 2014, 06:10:44 PM

Quote from: Joe D on March 16, 2014, 01:21:20 PM
Wolfer, what you are looking for is #8 hardware cloth. It's not everywhere, but not hard to find. Good luck

Joe

The one from green beehives has #6 mesh. I have a roll of #8 I'm gonna try a dead beetle on this summer. It a lot cheaper and easier to get than #6.

While I think a beetle can go thru #8 I also think they can walk across it. I don't believe they can cross #6

Lots of screen bottom boards have #8 mesh. From what I read people with these still have beetle problems even with an oil tray below.

On different forums I've read lots of testimonials of people who have the IPK or something similar. I've never seen one person who had one say it didn't work. Not one!

HomeSteadDreamer · March 16, 2014, 07:40:08 PM

On different forums I've read lots of testimonials of people who have the IPK or something similar. I've never seen one person who had one say it didn't work. Not one!
[/quote]

And there is the key. I've read people who don't have them say they don't work LOL. I'd swear by oil trays. I don't know what size mesh we have but I'm betting the #6 because I know my hubby had trouble finding it and it was pricey for mesh. I don't know if other sizes work but I do know that I get trays full with dead beetles and only a few in the hive. I do still find say 4 if I got through the whole hive but I think it is just ones that the bees haven't harrassed into falling into the oil.

I didn't replace my oil before fall, when I went in the hive in the spring the trays weren't functional and there were beetles all over.

GSF · March 16, 2014, 10:06:21 PM

It's my understanding that the beetles are chased into the oil pan, they don't just fall. But I don't really know. I've had some SHB larva in my oil pans coming out of winter but I only seen one SHB in the hive.

Greenbeehives in Trussville Alabama will sell you the "bare bones" kit. It's the pan and wire, you make the wooden parts. I forgot just how much they charged. At times they will also sell you two screens or two pans for the same price. Good folks to deal with.

BeeMaster2 · March 17, 2014, 12:09:59 AM

Quote from: ChrisT on March 16, 2014, 01:04:51 PM
I moved my hive to the middle of a 12x15 concrete slab (a parking pad) and that still didnt help. I have always questioned people's theory about ending the shb problem just by making sure the larvae dont get to the ground.

The ONLY thing that worked for me was bottom IPK oil pan. I too am surprised now when i see one in my hive (thats not dead in the oil pan).

Chris

Chris,
By making sure none of the SHB larva reach the ground, you break the life cycle of the SHB. IT isn't something that happens over night but I put oil pans under all of my hives and so did another beek in my area. After 2 years of killing thousands of SHB and their larvae, last year neither one of us put oil in the pans because their numbers were so low. We just cleaned the dry pans at least once a week. If you wait longer than that, the larva in the pans can feed on the dibree and pupate in the pans. It is a lot nicer and easier to clean dry pans than cleaning dirty oil and having to buy oil.
Jim

ChrisT · March 17, 2014, 12:18:14 PM

Quote from: sawdstmakr on March 17, 2014, 12:09:59 AM
By making sure none of the SHB larva reach the ground, you break the life cycle of the SHB. IT isn't something that happens over night but I put oil pans under all of my hives and so did another beek in my area.

Jim,

I agree, maybe if you keep the larvae out of the dirt and you persist long enough, the process would probobly work. But that assumes no other SHB are flying in from other places (namely neighbors who dont have their shb under control)
I think that is what I was fighting and why the oil pan works for me.
I do wish I could do it without oil ... ahhhh <visons of an SHB free hive> LOL
Maybe I should focus on finding the neighbors with SHB

Chris

BeeMaster2 · March 17, 2014, 01:02:34 PM

Quote from: ChrisT on March 17, 2014, 12:18:14 PM
Quote from: sawdstmakr on March 17, 2014, 12:09:59 AM
By making sure none of the SHB larva reach the ground, you break the life cycle of the SHB. IT isn't something that happens over night but I put oil pans under all of my hives and so did another beek in my area.

Jim,

I agree, maybe if you keep the larvae out of the dirt and you persist long enough, the process would probably work. But that assumes no other SHB are flying in from other places (namely neighbors who don't have their shb under control)
I think that is what I was fighting and why the oil pan works for me.
I do wish I could do it without oil ... ahhhh <visons of an SHB free hive> LOL
Maybe I should focus on finding the neighbors with SHB

Chris

Chris,
If you want to see how many SHB are flying into your hives:
Make up a screen top board by making a 2" tall super (cut 2" off an old deep super) staple a piece of window screen to one side and add another 3/8" piece on top of that. I cut a 1/8' slot in the 2" section on all 4 sides to allow the SHB to get in the top, above the screen.
The first time I put one on a hive was just around sunset. We put it on and a beetle landed on it. Squish. Then another, squish. We did this until it was too dark to see any more. I'll bet we killed 100 that night, no exerazation. I used to open the hives every day and kill all of SHB that were on top of the screens that were trying to get into the hives. I still use the STB but I do not have more than a couple trapped in them now a days.
Jim

Carol · March 17, 2014, 03:48:38 PM

How often do you have to change the oil or soapy water? I have to leave at times for 6 to 8 wks....but it sounds like it would help with the SHB and mites.

Wolfer · March 17, 2014, 05:19:38 PM

I change mine at least in the spring and fall. It's pretty grungy by then. This year I dumped them after frost instead of running oil all winter.

Every 30 days or so would be good I think.

Carol · March 17, 2014, 07:01:44 PM

OK...guess I should order a couple. There is only one time a year when I am gone that long. Rest of the time it's only a week or so at a time.
Seems like it would be good for mite control also.\?