# My "Pest Control and Easy Feeder" design.



## Jon Wolff (Apr 28, 2013)

Hey, All! I've been busy working on a design that will hopefully help control small hive beetles while also making feeding the bees a quick and easy job. Using this design, I'm currently able to feed my bees directly below the cluster, which means during cold weather they don't have to travel far, and I don't ever have to open the hive. I fed them 2:1 syrup earlier in the fall, and now they have dry sugar. I can change it out to be a small hive trap during the summer when the beetles start becoming a problem. It's easy and inexpensive to make, requiring some basic tools and come canning jars, lids, rings, plastic screen, and soda bottles. Take a look. http://imgur.com/a/3YTzK


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## Rader Sidetrack (Nov 30, 2011)

That is qute a photo essay!

What are you using for bait in the beetle traps? Approximately how many beetles do they catch?


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## Barry (Dec 28, 1999)

Everything makes since, but I can't figure out what in the world the item circled in red is. Help me out.


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## Honey-4-All (Dec 19, 2008)

How come new cell phones and such don't come with great pics and explanations like you provide. Not sure what you do for work but I agree with Radar....quite a great explanation.


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## Jon Wolff (Apr 28, 2013)

Honey-4-All, I'm a teacher. I guess it shows 

Barry, it's a fossil I dug up. Seriously, that flip phone won't die and I refuse to spend money on another until it does. It meets my needs, which aren't many.

Rader, I came up with the idea a little late in the season, so I only caught a few beetles. It's too cold here now and there aren't any to be found. Once things warm up and they reappear, I'll try the various baits I've seen posted. The trick, I think, is to keep it dark to create the illusion that going down the funnel is a safe thing to do, both to escape the bees and to get to the bait. I might start with what they want most since I have some extra comb with a bit of honey and pollen. I had some sugar water in one trap and ended up with some drowned beetles. I guess they didn't realize there was no safe place to go once they went through the funnel.


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## Barry (Dec 28, 1999)

I had one of those myself long after everyone else were sporting the iPhones. I'd always get razzed for it.


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## Jon Wolff (Apr 28, 2013)

Well, I may not have it for much longer. The screen is starting to do funny things.


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## Daniel Y (Sep 12, 2011)

One suggestion place the screen and lid assembly on wax paper to glue it. super glue does not adhere to wax. It should make it easier to remove the paper after it dries.


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## jim lyon (Feb 19, 2006)

Jon Wolff said:


> Well, I may not have it for much longer. The screen is starting to do funny things.


Ignore the peer pressure and check this out.
http://www.cnn.com/2013/10/11/tech/...s-matters-jerry-jones-billionaire-flip-phone/


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## Jon Wolff (Apr 28, 2013)

Daniel Y, I might try that, but the petroleum jelly works great so far. 

I have to say, it was nice to go out to my test hive last night, pull the insulated sleeve off the feeder bottle and check the syrup without having to open the hive in the cold. The bottle was empty, so I unscrewed it and found two bees had somehow gotten between the glass and screen. I slid out the screen and flicked them back into the hive through the open hole, popped in a screened lid, and then placed a funnel over the bottle and screwed that in, and replaced the sleeve. I doubt there are any active pests right now, but I did recently see a few small ****roaches, and I'll be happy if the traps catch them. Once it gets really cold, I might glue some insulation to a few lids and replace the screened lids with those to better hold the heat in the hive.


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## Guest (Feb 5, 2014)

Well that was really nice discussion. I have seen the link Jon complete process of making best design that will hopefully helps to control small hive beetles.


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## David LaFerney (Jan 14, 2009)

Great work Jon, and excellent presentation. Just in case you don't know - standard home canning lids come in two parts - a flat lid that seals to the jar, and a ring. Using rings would eliminate having to cut out the centers for the traps. Or is there another reason for that?


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## fruitveggirl (Mar 8, 2013)

Pretty cool! Thanks for sharing!


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## shannonswyatt (May 7, 2012)

I like the idea, but it would be hard to retrofit into an existing hive, at least one full of bees! Nice presentation!


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## Jon Wolff (Apr 28, 2013)

David LaFerney, we do canning and that's why I have all the jars, rings, and lids at hand. The reason for cutting out the centers of the lids was to create the screens I can place between the jars and rings to keep the bees out of the funnels that lead into the jar traps. I tried just screening the funnels (cutting a hole in the cap and sticking a screen in the cap, then screwing it on the mouth of the funnel), but found bees had trouble climbing out and were piling up and dying.


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## Jon Wolff (Apr 28, 2013)

Shannonswyatt, I actually retrofitted two hives full of bees with these bottoms. The bees had no problem with me messing with their hives.


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## Jon Wolff (Apr 28, 2013)

To update, feeding this winter has been easy. I learned, though, that any syrup that spills onto the mouth of the jars should be cleaned or it can be very difficult to unscrew later. The traps have caught a few small hive beetles, but I didn't expect much during the winter. The real test will come later in the summer.


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