# SHB's aka Small Hive Beetles



## quigibo (Jun 23, 2014)

Hard to believe how fast the little SHB's can ruin a hive. Did a walkaway split from a hive that had it all. Checked it a week later and only a few bees remained in the new split. It stunk really bad and there were maggots and quite a few little beetles under the lid. I moved the entire setup to the concrete drive and took it apart. Hard to believe the quantity of SHB larvae crawling all over the frames. I spread it out and let the little chickens work it over. At least the chicks were happy. A ton of larvae remained so I scraped the frames down and sprayed the pile to kill the little pests. I've only seen 1 or 2 SHB's on the other hives when I check them. Never thought they could do that much damage that quick. http://www.beesource.com/forums/images/icons/icon8.gif

What are the best treatments that others are using?


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## Shutrbug (Feb 8, 2015)

I've only been doing this for a year, so take that for what it is worth. But this is what I found from the folks in my local bee club:

http://greenbeehives.com/ipk-small-hive-beetle-trap-assembled-and-painted.html 

At the club meeting last night the owner showed us a letter he received from a state inspector in North Carolina telling him how well it was working in his area.


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## curt.anderson1867 (Apr 17, 2015)

I use GardStar as a prevention/treatment method. The beetles require soft soil to pupate and the larva leave the hive and drop to the ground. Using the "drench" method of soaking the soil in late evenings, will give you around 30 to 90 days of protection, depending on the soil type. Use great caution and do not let it get on the hive board or the hive. Directions on the bottle say to cover about 18-24 inches around the hive. A good strong hive will generally control the level of infestation by killing off the larva in the cells. Once a heavy population of larva have infested the hive and the bees can not control it, I have found there is little you can do. The wax moth is due to follow since the hive is now to weak to defend itself. I made a mistake on my very first hive of putting it under some shrubs so it would have a lot of shade and setting on the grass. I lost the hive that first summer. If I find frames with SHB larva, I pull them and put them in the freezer for two weeks. It kills the larva and the eggs. Hope this helps. I am a total novice and learning every day.
Have a great day,
Curt


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## curt.anderson1867 (Apr 17, 2015)

I did some more reading on SHB and found an excellent article put out by the University Of Arkansas written by Jon Zawislak entitled:
"Managing Small Hive Beetles". You can go to their web site at: http://www.uaex.edu and search for the article.
Have a great day,
Curt


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## ruthiesbees (Aug 27, 2013)

I have been using diatomaceous earth on my IPM board underneath my screened bottom boards. (I run all topbar hives). Beetles get driven down in the dust and die. The larvae also fall into the dust and die. None of them make it to the dirt to pupate. It has worked pretty well for me, but you need to be sure the bees can't get in it, or they will die too.


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## Barhopper (Mar 5, 2015)

West beetle traps in the screened bottom board. Solved my problem.


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## Jamie D (May 25, 2012)

This year I'm trying predator nematodes. I applied 4 weeks ago, and saw very few yesterday when I was out in the hives. I'm reapplying next Saturday, at the 5 week mark. They attack & take over the bodies the pupating beetles in the ground; dead before adulthood so they can't fly up into the hives. The company I got them from is called Nature's Control.


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## David LaFerney (Jan 14, 2009)

SHB ruined your split because it didn't have enough bees to cover all of the brood and pollen resources. I guarantee it.

Traps and chemicals and IPM are good, but here in the south a weak/queenless hive is a sitting duck. Keeping your hives strong to prevent SHB is like locking your doors to prevent being burglarized - the first and best line of defense.


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## Dave1958 (Mar 25, 2013)

I have yet to see a small hive beetle this year. I think a below freezing continuous will kill them. That said they will move back in when the few survivors multiply


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## beemandan (Dec 5, 2005)

David LaFerney said:


> SHB ruined your split because it didn't have enough bees to cover all of the brood and pollen resources. I guarantee it.


Maybe...... but....I'd suggest that walkaway splits are especially vulnerable. Any queenless period seems to reduce the workers' brood defense. I've had hugely populated hives go queenless...and within days be overrun by shb.


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## Brad Bee (Apr 15, 2013)

I went completely through 4, 10 frame hives yesterday. I tore them down to the bottom board. I saw ONE SHB all day. I don't know if my local source mutt bees don't tolerate them or if running reduced entrances for 10 months a year, or having them or a combo of the three is what keeps me from having problems, but I don't have problems with them.


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## beemandan (Dec 5, 2005)

Brad Bee said:


> I don't have problems with them.


I hope you knocked on wood when you wrote that. Otherwise...you've surely cursed your hives.


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## Harley Craig (Sep 18, 2012)

Dave1958 said:


> I have yet to see a small hive beetle this year. I think a below freezing continuous will kill them. That said they will move back in when the few survivors multiply


they will overwinter in your hives.


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## Bird Man (May 30, 2012)

I've got the same problem. I had very very few going into winter and they made it through the winter along with my bees and now I have a bunch in all my hives. When I swapped my boxes and did all my spring cleaning my bottom boards had a bunch of the larva sitting on them. My bee population is pretty good, and the queens are laying up a storm. I've tried those ones you fill with oil and put in between the frames and the bees are supposed to herd them into the traps, and I never managed to catch a single thing in those.

Curt where did you get the GuardStar?


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## jbeshearse (Oct 7, 2009)

Queenless hives tend to accumulate lots of SHB. It may be a pheremone thing. This time of year the populations are low, July and August are our worst months. Ground has to be warm enough for the larva to pupate. I switched to complete bottom traps with DE and then still put Beetle blasters at the tops. This seems to work well. I will know better after this summer as compared to previous summers. 

But As David said, queenlessness is a major contributor to hive collapse from SHB. Also if mites weaken your hives, the SHB will move in and polish them off, afterwhich the Wax moths move in......

First defense is to insure you are queenright, then have no large Mite load. Then the traps work.


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## psfred (Jul 16, 2011)

SHB fly further than bees, and even if you have none now, they will find a weak hive.

DO NOT feed protein patties to weak hives in the summer, you will raise millions of SHB instead. Dry protein supplement outside the hive works much better as the beetles won't lay in it. Prefect incubation medium for a SHB explosion.

Do not allow hives to accumulate empty comb, either. Foundation is fine, but empty comb is a breeding ground for small hive beetles, provides lots of places to hide from the bees. This means for packages and splits you have to limit the drawn comb to what the bees can cover and use only foundation for the rest. You can swap in drawn comb as they can use it if you want, but not until they will actually use it. 

I'm trying microfiber pads this year -- used dryer sheets (unscented) or Swiffer pads (unscented, no detergent) seem to be the best. The SHB have hooks on their feet that get entangled in the pads and they get stuck. Can't lay eggs on your stored pollen if they are stuck on that microfiber in the top of the hive. Put the sheets on the top bars of the top box.

We will see how that works.

Peter


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## quigibo (Jun 23, 2014)

Thanks for the replies. Could not find the GardStar locally and I saw where some have used the Permethrin 10. Picked up some at Tractor Supply and drenched the area around the hives last night after dark with a watering can. One of the hives the bees sure did not like the smell outside. They bearded up around the entrance. Hopefully I did not run them off.


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## curt.anderson1867 (Apr 17, 2015)

Sorry for the late reply. Busy weekend. I bought it from Rossman Apiaries via internet. www.gabees.com/store/
Expensive but I have had a four oz. bottle for several years. Only takes a small amount to treat around one hive.
Have a great day,
Curt


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