# Wintergreen + Salt Grease Patties



## Ishi (Sep 27, 2005)

A few years ago I used it in August after I took off the honey and before it cooled down so I could do other treatments and it seemed to help. I did not use it the last 2 years and I had to combine more hives for almonds. I am going to try it again this August again. Some of the hives remove it quite fast and others leave it in and I have to remove it in Dec.


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## Brent Bean (Jun 30, 2005)

If you can’t get your honeybees to eat your grease patties, not to worry Small Hive Beetles love them.


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## allrawpaul (Jun 7, 2004)

dont have shb here so I use the formula. I havent been consistent with it and I also fog with thymol so difficult to tell if its working. Dont seem to have a tracheal mite problem, so maybe its helping. Its harmless, cheap and easy so why not. Only drawback is its a little messy and kills a few bees. Directly over the cluster in winter may inhibit tight clustering when the colony moves upward. I prefer to put them around the cluster.


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## BEES4U (Oct 10, 2007)

*adding more wintergreen to the grease patty repelled and sometimes killed the hive be*

Modification For the Small Hive Beetle, Aethina tumida Murray (Coleoptera: Nitidulidae) -
In South Carolina, Georgia and Florida, where the small hive beetle is a pest, our friend Mr. Crocker in SC
found that adding more wintergreen to the grease patty repelled and sometimes killed the hive beetles.
Thus we increased the wintergreen to 2.2 ounces or 65 ml. Too much wintergreen will cause the queen to
be balled; we do not recommend adding more than 60 ml or two ounces to a batch of grease patties.
Mr. Crocker also observed that the small hive beetle was seldom a problem if varroa mites were controlled.
But, in colonies with varroa mites, the small hive beetle often became a severe problem.
RAYMOND E. CROCKER
2786 CANNONS CMP/GRND RD.
SPARTANBURG, S.C. 29307-2825
(864)579-2652


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## Grant (Jun 12, 2004)

BEES4U said:


> Mr. Crocker also observed that the small hive beetle was seldom a problem if varroa mites were controlled. But, in colonies with varroa mites, the small hive beetle often became a severe problem.


Absolutely! Any stress, whether nutritional or from varroa (likely spreading viruses) will invite and entice SHB. The best SHB defense is to reduce the things that stress the hive.

Grant
Jackson, MO


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