# small hive beetle



## fat/beeman (Aug 23, 2002)

you can save money on traps go to U-TUBE type in fatbeeman its cheap any way
Don


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## deantn (Jan 3, 2007)

Thanks for the free instructions for your beetle traps, looks easy enough to build and then get on and off the hive.
Any plans to do one for TBH ? Might just make a smaller one to fit in the bottom of mine where the brood is, might work.:applause::applause:


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## mgmoore7 (Jul 6, 2007)

Thanks for the video on the SHB!! I am definately going to do this. Have you tried putting the traps on the end of a stick or wire so that the hive does not need to be dismantled to replace or is there some other reason that that would not work.


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## Texas Bee (Mar 21, 2008)

FBM, where do ya get that boric acid at ? Thanks.


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## fat/beeman (Aug 23, 2002)

*boric acid*

try the chemistry store online


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## Texas Bee (Mar 21, 2008)

got it , thanks FBM...


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## Big John (Feb 4, 2009)

http://beekeeperlinda.blogspot.com/2007/05/small-hive-beetle-trap-saga.html

this is another good site for making the small hive beetle trap.


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## USCBeeMan (Feb 7, 2009)

You can purchase the Hood SHB trap designed by a professor at Univ. of Clempsun. (Yes, I can spell.) I purchased 3 or 4 and found a few beetle in them. 

You are suppose to put the traps in the brood box but I didn't want to distrub the bees. Plus you must mount the trap on a frame which then takes a frame out of the brood box.

They can burr comb and propolize this frame and it doesn't really hurt anything.

Can't remember which site I purchased them. Might have been Bushy Mountain.

But as I posted in another thread, I am going to use some crisco and boric acid using the mite swatters. I will probably still use the Hood traps but will use the concoction that Linda had in her video above. 

Will be interesting to see which is best.


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## Da Yooper (Apr 13, 2004)

Fatmeeman.

I watched your video and have a question or two. You used a solid bottom board. Will this work with a screened bottom board? And if so, how and where does one attach it?

Thank you,
Fred


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## magnet-man (Jul 10, 2004)

Well I will say it is a lot more affordable than the Beetle Eater.:applause:

Have you tried this under the top cover?


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## fat/beeman (Aug 23, 2002)

*shb*

no I use it on bottom board. I don't use inner covers. if I see shb's up there I know its good time to change out the trap its full.
Don


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## Da Yooper (Apr 13, 2004)

fat/beeman said:


> no I use it on bottom board. I don't use inner covers. if I see shb's up there I know its good time to change out the trap its full.
> Don





> Will this work with a screened bottom board? And if so, how and where does one attach it?


Don, What about my question? :scratch:

Thanks,
Fred


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## fat/beeman (Aug 23, 2002)

yes=dayooper it works with screen bottom boards. but it is like leaveing the screen door open on your house flys come in. it works but much better on solid boards.
Don


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## mgmoore7 (Jul 6, 2007)

fat/beeman said:


> yes=dayooper it works with screen bottom boards. but it is like leaveing the screen door open on your house flys come in. it works but much better on solid boards.
> Don


I just made some up and put them on some hanger wire so they can be slid in the hive without taking it apart. I will try to take a picture so I can post it. They are going in my hives tomorrow.


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## Bee_Sweet (May 27, 2008)

*Boric Acid*

You can also buy Boric Acid at Lowes in the pest control area. It is in a bottle form for easy application.


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## tigerfankk (Aug 18, 2006)

*Can this be used on top of the inner cover?*

Can this be used on top of the inner cover?

Keith


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## fat/beeman (Aug 23, 2002)

*shb*

works best on bottom boards. I don't use inner covers.
Don


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## Maine_Beekeeper (Mar 19, 2006)

FatBeeman - nice job on the video. I still remember your beetle trap from when I came down several years ago. Thank goodness I haven't needed them up here yet. 

You can also get 20 Mule Team Borax at most hardware stores. 
Or try a Pottery Supply store in your area - among the many other uses, bulk borax is used to defloculate glaze. Less expensive than the 20 Mule team.


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## slickbrightspear (Jan 9, 2009)

borax and boric acid are two different items


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## beemandan (Dec 5, 2005)

slickbrightspear said:


> borax and boric acid are two different items


I looked at a box of 20 Mule Team Borax...and couldn't find the ingredient list...it may be there but I didn't see it. I wondered if it contained boric acid.


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## Grant (Jun 12, 2004)

*Question*

I think I prefer to call you, "Calorically Challenged Apiarist." It just sounds nicer.

Nice video, by the way. Am I to presume you leave the trap in the hive all year long? You mentioned when you see SHB under your outer cover, it's time to change it out. Do the beetles die in the trap? I'm wondering if they drag any of the boric acid with them and if it poses any threat to the bees.

Thanks for sharing your wisdom!

Grant
Jackson, MO


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## Bonsai (Mar 3, 2009)

*SHB Trap*

Has anyone seen or used the trap by Green Beehives.com?
I am new to beekeeping and should have my 1st hive in service within a week or so and I was wondering about using this trap.

http://www.greenbeehives.com/


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## fat/beeman (Aug 23, 2002)

*shb trap*

Grant that's a fancy word there you used for a beekeeper I am old just over look me. as far as hurting the bees they never come in contact with the boric acid. bees walk over the plastic sign used in treatment. when it gets filled you need to replace it last for several months.
Don


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## greenismycolor (Jun 3, 2008)

*installing shb traps*



mgmoore7 said:


> I just made some up and put them on some hanger wire so they can be slid in the hive without taking it apart. I will try to take a picture so I can post it. They are going in my hives tomorrow.


hi mgmoore7

Very interesting idea. I have everything to make the traps, but I can't lift my hives anymore. Can you explain how you are going to install them? How will you attach the traps to the bottom board, so the bees won't push them out?


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## BkprScott (Mar 10, 2006)

*Boric Acid Toxicity*

I think this is a great idea, so I checked with my local extension agent about the toxicity of boric acid and honeybees. He ended up forwarding it to the state entomologist, who found the answer. In the dry form, it is relatively low, with little risk. Fairly safe for humans as well. I think it may work as well on the inner cover as it would on the bottom.


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## Lutske (Apr 1, 2009)

*re-hiving foundationless - will it help?*

I have a colony with SHB that I was planning to re-hive (before I discovered SHB). It's new to me, but the comb is old and from an unknown source, so I thought it best to start fresh. (See stinky hives in Beekeeping 101.)

Am I just stuck with SHB now that it's in my yard? Will it move to other hives? (I just re-hived the colony next to this one and am building boxes to do this one.) I am also expecting a new package this weekend to install nearby.

Can I prevent SHB from entering the new hives? Also, I was planning to go foundationless with the replacement hive. Will this pose a problem or make any difference? All my hives have varroa screen bottom boards (drrg! guage appears too small to let beetles fall through if I were to try trapping from beneath).

These things give me the creeps. Am I just weird?


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