# Complete Hive Beetle Killer



## bluescorpion (Sep 6, 2012)

Hi All

I noticed that my hives are currently teaming with hive beetles. My traps are working great. Problem is they are full of hive beetles and I'm constantly having to replace the traps. Seems like this has started happening recently. I guess the beetles are looking for somewhere to call home before it gets too cold.

My question is what can I put in my hives that will kill hive beetles so I can install fresh traps for the winter.

Thanks for any input.


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## bluescorpion (Sep 6, 2012)

Hi All

I ran across another thread about feeding Wintergreen Grease. Has anyone ever tried this before? Does it really work? Wouldn't the crisco harm the bees? :scratch:


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## Eikel (Mar 12, 2014)

Personal opinion but the traps are what you put in the hives to kill the shb and wintergreen grease would make a better lip balm than shb treatment. IMHO


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## roddo27846 (Apr 10, 2017)

You might try these guys: http://beetlejail.com/ I have no experience with their products but they look good. Give us a review if you try them.


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## Eikel (Mar 12, 2014)

A friend was slammed with shb this year, started a limited use of the external beetle jail and is very satisfied with the results. The problems are they're not cheap and they are an external trap which deters beetles trying to enter but does nothing for the beetles currently in the hive. Requires a sizable investment if you run very many hives


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## Jadeguppy (Jul 19, 2017)

I suggest diatomaceous earth under the hives. Safe and kills larve and ants. I found that using it keeps shb numbers lower. Not positive, but I think it also kills adult shb.


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## bluescorpion (Sep 6, 2012)

Any luck with the Wintergreen Grease? It looks interesting but I didn't know if it would harm the bees. Here's a link

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=amhWHNAF-OY&t=3s

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D_xdpRR0TOs&t=7s


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## Eikel (Mar 12, 2014)

I'm hesitant to "condemn" any method that I don't have specific experience with but I've only associated grease patties with a tracheal mite treatment. I've also not seen any type of a scientific/quantifiable study relating any success with wintergreen and grease so I'll just say I'm extremely skeptical.


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## GSkip (Dec 28, 2014)

bluescorpion said:


> Hi All
> 
> I noticed that my hives are currently teaming with hive beetles. My traps are working great. Problem is they are full of hive beetles and I'm constantly having to replace the traps. Seems like this has started happening recently. I guess the beetles are looking for somewhere to call home before it gets too cold.
> 
> ...


What beetle trap are you using? I use the Beetle Blaster which works very well if you put about a 1/4 inch mineral oil in it. Not sure what you can use in the hive external of the trap to kill them. I use one to two blasters per brood box and super.


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## beepro (Dec 31, 2012)

Unless you are running many traps inside, eventually the filled up traps must be empty out to
rebait the hives. I don't have any shb experiences but common sense to me is what you put in
must be taken out when they are full just like the garbage can on trash collection day. The more you
trap initially will reduced their population making cleaning less often unless your area is really infested.


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## ruthiesbees (Aug 27, 2013)

I use DE on all my solid bottom boards under the screened bottom of the hive. Need to keep the bees out of the DE, and keep the DE dry. Works great for catching larvae and adult SHB's. Especially helpful if you pull all the frames out and dust with powdered sugar since the bees start grooming and I get lots more adult SHB in the dust after that.

Here's a video from my topbar hive using the DE. https://www.facebook.com/topbarbeehive/videos/1756058667753989/


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## Eikel (Mar 12, 2014)

Last year the shb hit me hard, ran two beetle blaster traps in almost every box but never felt like I was gaining on them. Out of pure frustration I cobbed together a beetle vac, not my first choice as it's labor intensive to go trough each hive and each frame but it did knock their numbers down. Just another alternative for when the fun meter is pegging.


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## westtnbeekeeper (Oct 26, 2015)

Hive beetles have been a nasty problem for me this year. Lost 1 larger hive to some other problem then the beetles took over. Very gross. Also lost 2 splits to them around mid august. 

I picked up a bottle of gardstar and I was wondering when the best time to apply would be. I assume it would be during a time of minimal bee activity as this is pretty nasty stuff and just about anything that contacts it would surely die. Active ingredient Permethrin. The bottle says to mix .17ml per gallon of water for apiaries in the evening at a rate of 1 gallon per 6 hives. Also states that it is better to use on sites prior to establishing the apiary... Too late for that. 

Also I found nothing in the fine print about residual effectiveness or how long this stuff is supposed to last. Seems like 3 to 6 months rings a bell from some prior research but I am not sure. My plan for now is to apply this stuff late winter to early spring when there is a decent cold snap forecast and rain to wash the chemical into the ground and in the mean time keep the traps going and smash as many as I can on inspection days.


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## enjambres (Jun 30, 2013)

I've gotten so I can just squash the adults with my bare finger tips. They make a satisfying little crunch and not too much goo. Trying to apply the famous "hive tool test" was too cumbersome, and the beetles usually escaped. 

This was a worse year than previous ones, and I am braced for a bigger problem next summer. 

The only good thing about the current cold snap is that way more adult beetles are on my sticky boards than usual. I also changed out all my woodenware late in the fall and found many dozens of SHB lurking around in crevices on the old gear, so a lot of them were removed from the hives that way. Since the EFB outbreak this summer forced me to nearly double the amount boxes and bases I have in use, I may try a base and box swap-out as a control technique next year. (My excess gear will have all been gamma-rayed by then so it will be safe to re-use.)

Nancy


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## mcce (Jun 13, 2014)

Check out Jerry Freeman beetle trap on u-tube. I put them on our hives after trying one on a hive that had hundreds of beetles and did a very good job reducing their numbers. You can leave them on all winter the oil tray fits tight enough to keep the winter wind out.


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## Hedghawg (Apr 25, 2016)

I was told by an experienced beekeep who has hundreds of hives about a trap using coroplast and combat roach bait in the syringe, the beetles can get in the "tunnels" but the bees can't.
For the record, I am a first year (for the second time) beekeeper. I have just found our local club and will be joining this week. I'm watching, listening and reading everything I can find. This trap may be the worst thing you've ever heard of but I'm putting this out here because I've found nothing on it, I have no idea of the danger to the bees or the legality of it (probably couldn't use them with honey supers on but I don't know). I installed several of these last month and I still have a hive full of bees. I have also made several of the "neverwet" flanges that you put around the bottom board but that was only last month too so I have no idea how well any of this works but I will say I have found a few dead beetles on my sticky board and saw just a couple live ones above the bees on the feeder board.


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## FlowerPlanter (Aug 3, 2011)

I agree with others the freeman beetle trap if probably the most effective way to reduce beetles. combine that with "never wet" shim and you will have the best beetle protection.

EOs are hard on bees, winter green specifically will get you queenless, it's not a good time of the year to be queenless.
Other threads suggest shb like grease; Fat Bee Man's Crisco boric acid corrugated plastic shb traps; the beetles eat through the grease to get to the poison inside. If you look up this video I don't recommend it, as I suspect the beetles don't die right away and may track boric acid through the hive where bees can consume it. It's just an other long list of internet ideas that never amounted to anything.


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## roddo27846 (Apr 10, 2017)

Hedghawg said:


> I was told by an experienced beekeep who has hundreds of hives about a trap using coroplast and combat roach bait in the syringe, the beetles can get in the "tunnels" but the bees can't.
> For the record, I am a first year (for the second time) beekeeper. I have just found our local club and will be joining this week. I'm watching, listening and reading everything I can find. This trap may be the worst thing you've ever heard of but I'm putting this out here because I've found nothing on it, I have no idea of the danger to the bees or the legality of it (probably couldn't use them with honey supers on but I don't know). I installed several of these last month and I still have a hive full of bees. I have also made several of the "neverwet" flanges that you put around the bottom board but that was only last month too so I have no idea how well any of this works but I will say I have found a few dead beetles on my sticky board and saw just a couple live ones above the bees on the feeder board.


Yeah, I watched a commercial beek fill his hives with traps like that. It's a totally illegal act as the poisin is not approved for use in beehives. This seems to be a widespread problem, and the beetles can be controlled without it.


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