# SHB questions



## aunt betty (May 4, 2015)

Have you ever seen a live one in the hive?


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## Norcalkyle (Apr 23, 2015)

No, I have not. I have not gone through the hives thoroughly in about 6 weeks though.


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## ToeOfDog (Sep 25, 2013)

Questions:

1>> Does OAV kill SHB? 
I dont know as I refuse to use it. There are much better ways to deal with varroa.

>> What should my approach be to make sure there is not a infestation? 

Make the entrance height 1/2" or lower so they cant fly past the guards. They can fly through a 3/4" gap. Make the entrance 3 to 4" wide mid summer.
Make sure there are no holes etc other than the two entrances.
Don't allow "excess" territory to patrol or stretching the troops too thin. Keep a good bee density. Don't put extra supers on when they aren't filling them, etc.
Be careful feeding artificial pollen, etc. They like the smell of cider vinegar. Make sure the colony is always queenright!!!!!

>>>I can easily add an oil tray.
And sprinkle some DE on it.

>>Is it possible that the SHB get chased down through the SBB and couldn't get back up?
My bees chase the SHB down into the oil pan and wont let them back up. They eventually die. Hopefully a slow and lingering death <GG>

>>Is there a time of year that is worse for infestations of SHB?
SHB came from Africa. They love heat. They peak in August.

There will always be SHB in your hives if you live somewhere "warm" like where I do. You will never get rid of all of them. The plan is containment. Practice good management techniques. Many try to substitute poison in place of good management. Ten of them is no problem.

Make a game. Paint the oil pan white. Take a 3/4" by 3/4" by 6" strip of wood. See how many of them you can smash in 10 seconds.


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## Norcalkyle (Apr 23, 2015)

ToeOfDog said:


> Questions:
> 
> 1>> Does OAV kill SHB?
> I dont know as I refuse to use it. There are much better ways to deal with varroa.
> ...


I have a hive that is in two deep but the bottom is basically empty. Numbers are good but I would imagine they could fit in 1 deep. Should I remove the bottom deep and make a point to replace it in early spring?

I was under the impression that space below the brood chamber is not a bad thing, and having a second deep of drawn frames can help them to avoid swarming.

will shb live in drawn comb without anything in them?


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## RayMarler (Jun 18, 2008)

Alabama has small hive beetles, California? not so much. 
I've never seen one in any of my hives, but I do know they are around in some areas of the state, but have not heard that they are a big problem here.


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## Norcalkyle (Apr 23, 2015)

I definitely have some. As a first year rookie, any sign of something bad I of course assume the worste. Would it be good to put an oil tray in and monitor? Is there any type of "normal" amount of beetles you can see in a tray over a period of time where you don't have to worry about further measures?


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## B52EW (Jun 3, 2013)

Norcalkyle said:


> will shb live in drawn comb without anything in them?


Yes. They are opportunists that hangout/hide on the periphery of the occupied hive area and dash in and through the hive. Here in NW Florida SHBs are a constant...keeping the hive to a volume the bees can control and manage helps avoid an infestation that will overwhelm the hive.


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## charmd2 (May 25, 2008)

Norcalkyle, I hate them. If I see a single shb I assume there are 100 more. I routinely kill 100 to 200 weekly in each hive using oil traps and swiffer pads. 

Basically, my rule of thumb is keep the hives as strong as possible and kill every single beetle possible. I like having a chance to save a weak hive before they get slimed. I lost several before I knew how bad our beetle problem had gotten in my area due to not monitoring frequently enough during a flow and having way too much space on the hives. (anticipating flow and preventing swarm at the same time was a negative) 

So my answer would be one beetle is too many. Kill it. Oil up the trays, monitor, know how many are really there.


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## gmcharlie (May 9, 2009)

No,, OA does not kill them, nor does it even bother them. Same with Formic. no effect. I don't know on Apivar.

paper cloth towels seems to be the cheapest and easiest, but its not the final answer.

More to come in Bee culture in Feb/March


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## RayMarler (Jun 18, 2008)

Norcalkyle said:


> I definitely have some. As a first year rookie, any sign of something bad I of course assume the worste. Would it be good to put an oil tray in and monitor? Is there any type of "normal" amount of beetles you can see in a tray over a period of time where you don't have to worry about further measures?


Sonoma County is a lot moister area than where I've kept bees more in the central valley. The coastal area there have higher humidity and perhaps more sandy soil? (My soil is hard packed red clay, and it's hot and dry in the summer). With those conditions, you have seen beetles whereas I have not here at my place. The times I have seen them was in other people's hives that they kept on the sides or edges of irrigated lawn areas. It will not hurt at all to put on your oil trays. That way you can at least monitor ongoing conditions concerning shb, and it may get a few varroa as well.


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## jimsteelejr (Sep 21, 2012)

Central and South Florida are hive beetle Central. Since we never have much cold weather we have hive beetle issues all year. A few things to add to above. 1. keep your hives in full sun. The beetles don't do as well there. Use beetle traps-lots of them. We have a number of our hives on a cement slab. The cement keeps the beetle larvae survival rate a lot lower than having the hives over soil. In Florida we have found that the hive lids that people use up north are great places for beetles to hang out. We use what is called migratory covers-basically just a piece of plywood. Beetles can reproduce in melons (I think that's how they originally entered the US) If you compost make sure any melon parts are buried in the hot part of the pile.


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## BeeBop (Apr 23, 2015)

I'm watching this thread closely. 
I'm not too far from Norcalkyle and yesterday I saw my first SHB. Just a single beetle laying on it's back on the tray under the screened bottom.
Last inspection was just over 2 weeks ago and there was no sign of beetles then.
Not sure when I can go in for the next inspection. Cold and rainy forecast for the next week or more. 

Trying not to panic now.

I brought it in the house for a closer look and it started moving a little when it got warmed up. I crunched it after it's photo session was over...


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