Another method that has been recommended and may work better is to run the strips across the back of the hive. This should catch the beetles in the corners as well. I am going to have to try that too.
Good luck with the towels Bruce. I used swifter sheets last year and they worked great. The SHB hasn’t been bad here yet but I did find 5 or 6 in a nuc today so I guess I had better start treating for them. You said the bees are about to work you to death, they will wear you out this time of the year! Mike Barry says he does bees and I tell him that the bees does me! I’m 67 now with too many health issues and they definitely wear me out. I wish that I had gotten into keeping bees at a much earlier age.
I'm in Richmond, VA. Been keeping bees for 12 years now. Beetle populations are out of control. Even in colonies that I cut out of walls. The beetle jails don't work, my bees close themup with propolis before beetles get trapped. I need to try this tech.
When u go back to check please make a video to show us how good it works. I have just jumped in and tried and bought all kinds of stuff to be just wasting my money so I want to see how good it works before I go running and buy the towels Thanks and u do a good job making the videos. Have a great day
I'm sure glad we don't have that much of an issue with hive beetles here in the Northeast. Hopefully, you'll get them under control my friend. Thanks for sharing.
@@brucesbees yeah I think everyone has those as well. And another downfall could be are short season but we do get a bumper crop of honey in just a few months.
I keep my hives in full sun and I put down on the ground carpet four to five feet wide 10 ft long with the backing up and the carpet side down next to the ground this makes a barrier between the beetle larvae going into the ground so it cannot pupate which in turn breaks the life cycle of the beetle.
Hi Bruce, wishing you success with this method for hive beetles from what I see on utube from other beekeepers they sure make a mess and contribute to a colony to die out, I’m real glad we don’t have these hive beetles over here in the UK but some countries in Europe like Italy have them and British beekeepers do buy packages and queens from Italy so it’s only a matter of time, dammed varroa and wax moths is enough to deal with add to that these nasty beetles. Well good luck Bruce mate.
Yes I hope they stay away for a good long while. Imagine what beekeeping was like before mites and beetles. Would have been awesome. I guess maybe wax moths have been around forever?
The Guardian shb entrance had helped my hives tremendously they're $9.95 for regular entrance reducer and 4.95 for a small round entrance. Pricey but I have seen dramatic decrease in shb here in SC.
Dixie Towels. H700. They work well for me. It’s the same principle as swiffer sheets. I also use Beetle Blasters and just about anything else I can figure out to kill the darn things.
@@brucesbees the towels are under the boxes but they chewed the entire towel up and hauled it out of there.the towels are sticking out of the sides but nothing in between
i placed mine along the edges,btw the brawny h700, i tore in half,...but shorter than those green stripe dixie,so i went sideways,and use the box edge,or inner cover edge to hold in place.these will help alot of us,i also left a bit hanging out ,tells you theyre in there
I myself have lost hive to the beetles. My friend suggested that I use swiffer sheet. The hive I lost had beetle blaster. I'm waiting for beetle barn to come in. Roughly 2 weeks ago when I put in the sheets I seen couple of hundred beetle corralled in the top. I'm also looking at the beetle guardian. Pricey but David at barnyard bees swear by them
Hey Bruce, thanks for the video and another idea to get these nasty bugs. I live in Michigan and I’ve seen more hive Beatles this year than in the last couple. I think it’s due to high temps and high humidity at least where I’m located. I had a hive swarm and moved some frames around and it was basically depleted and didn’t take long and the Beatles were on it. I do have those Beatle sheets also. Thanks again for sharing, hope you have a great rest of the season.
Yes they have been awful this year. I didn’t think mine were very bad but they have really increased lately and others all around the south where it is very hot and humid seem to be having similar issues.
Bruce, didn't use them as strips, but cut into 4" squares and placed them in the back corners. After a year of this I only caught a handful by year's end. I can vouch for The Guardian with secondary protection with beetle barns. I saw maybe one or three beetles this entire year. Good luck though.
Yes I believe you. I have a friend, Chuck, who did something similar and he is not having issues. It is really just not feasible for me in my situation. But yes I think that is a great idea. If you can eliminate the grass and dirt underneath then you can greatly reduce beetle numbers from what I understand
I am from South Louisiana. What time are you putting these towels on? I watched your second video first. Right on. They take strong ones, too. Keeping them in full sun makes no difference. Great information.
I was watching another beekeeper channel and he was using 2 strips of the cloth on the 2 sides opposite of the bee entrance . Looked like he caught a lot of them .
If the ruff edges catch the hive beetles legs.. next time I would try ripping 1/2 inch of of both sides an that would make all strip edges ruff... But I am dieing to see if it works coz even if a person had to do it a couple of times if would be cents vrs dollars investment... I would be interested to see if you took the one strip an rip it down into 3 strips an put 1 in the middle an 1 on each side (( for an experiment)) coz instead of two ruff edges we would 6 edge's... Thanks for sharing 👍
That is a good thought. I think the bees will rough it up some trying to remove it. Three strips would probably work even better. The problem with thin strips is that the bees drag them out. I have used them in the past and stapled them in with mixed results. Yes it is a much cheaper way to go than most solutions out there. We will see!
I like beetle barns. Used beetle blasters with cooking oil and put diatomaceous earth on the ground in the past with not a lot of success. Have seen a lot of dead beetles in my beetle barns.
I tried them once and the bees dragged them out. I like the concept though. It’s time to pull out the stops. Maybe it would be worth a try. What to you use to bait the beetle barns?
brucesbees I use combat max roach killing gel. Went thru some of my hives today and out of 14 hives saw 2 live hive beetles. Lots of dead ones in the beetle barns.
Bruce, just removed supers from my hive but had to wait 4 days to extract the honey. The supers are full of SHB now. I put the supers in a old refrigerator and turn the temperature as low as it will go. Should be at least 40F or lower. Will this kill the SHB? Will leave them in there until I get a chance to work them.
Hey Bruce, have you ever tried THE GUARDIAN? I have over 4 beekeepers friends that swear by them--like zero beetles after 2 months of use. I also see beekeepers using tube entrances, which works as well. This sheet method is a great idea as well, yet THE GUARDIAN would prevent them from even entering. Give em a try.
Yes I keep a lot of my bees on 4 way pallets. Makes it easier to move them. But I also have a lot of my production hives on standard bottom boards. ua-cam.com/play/PL8TUJQAHFlHvv3FdrBTT57nxl2g8Z0FhM.html
I am actually not sure where I got mine. I ordered them a couple of years ago and haven’t used them that much. I think I ordered them from amazon maybe.
Yes me too! I am tired of losing bees. Need to treat for mites too but felt this was the most critical news and didn’t really have time to do that anyway.
@@brucesbees mine never haul them out, they typically glue them in. The biggest pain with them is that the bees propolize the entrances, so you have to clean them periodically. For bait, I use a small drop of roach bait. You can also use crisco mixed with boric acid.
Bruce I have bad beetle problem but just like treating veroa. With expensive strips I buy boxes of beetle blasters and haven’t had a hive slimed in 3 seasons the strongest hives have the most pollen so the beetles love em!!!
Another method that has been recommended but may work as well or better is to lay the towels perpendicular to the frames at the back of the hive. This allows for the beetles to be caught in the corners on the boxes.
sorry. did not finish comment...... We are trying using a top cover made out of a sheet of what we call linoleum that has a fluffy underside which we put upwards as a top board. The lino is trimmed to give approx a cm gap all around the top of the super so the bees and beatles can access. The cover reduces burr comb building. Bees chase the beatles up onto the fluffy side and they get their legs tangled.
yep thanks i may try the brawny flax towels f700 ,f900 f500,they look very fibery,a big box on amazon around 60 . cheapest ive found
Dollar store brand swiffer dry mop refills. Fuzzy side toward the lid on the topmost box. You can barely find a beetle in my hives.
"Strong hives" comment. I laugh any time anyone says that. Welcome to swampy South Georgia. Land of the beetles!
Sounds like you are having good success.
h700,...h for hef (hydro entangled fibers) ...the manufacturing process
Another method that has been recommended and may work better is to run the strips across the back of the hive. This should catch the beetles in the corners as well. I am going to have to try that too.
Good luck with the towels Bruce. I used swifter sheets last year and they worked great. The SHB hasn’t been bad here yet but I did find 5 or 6 in a nuc today so I guess I had better start treating for them. You said the bees are about to work you to death, they will wear you out this time of the year! Mike Barry says he does bees and I tell him that the bees does me! I’m 67 now with too many health issues and they definitely wear me out. I wish that I had gotten into keeping bees at a much earlier age.
Yes I wish I had done that as well. I started in 2013. I am now 53. I want to think I am still strong but age is beginning to catch up to me for sure.
I'm in Richmond, VA. Been keeping bees for 12 years now.
Beetle populations are out of control. Even in colonies that I cut out of walls. The beetle jails don't work, my bees close themup with propolis before beetles get trapped. I need to try this tech.
When u go back to check please make a video to show us how good it works. I have just jumped in and tried and bought all kinds of stuff to be just wasting my money
so I want to see how good it works before I go running and buy the towels Thanks and u do a good job making the videos. Have a great day
Yes I plan to do a follow up. I am actually closer to OBAMFSpike now than home (I’m in Utah) but will be checking them soon after I get home.
I hope it works I like that 5 gallon bucket feeder. 🌱🌸🐝🍯
Maybe it will. Thanks for checking in!
I'm sure glad we don't have that much of an issue with hive beetles here in the Northeast. Hopefully, you'll get them under control my friend. Thanks for sharing.
That would be nice but you have other issues I am sure.
@@brucesbees yes sir it's called the wax moth LOL.
No doubt. We have those too haha!!
@@brucesbees yeah I think everyone has those as well. And another downfall could be are short season but we do get a bumper crop of honey in just a few months.
Yes I hope you have a good one!
I keep my hives in full sun and I put down on the ground carpet four to five feet wide 10 ft long with the backing up and the carpet side down next to the ground this makes a barrier between the beetle larvae going into the ground so it cannot pupate which in turn breaks the life cycle of the beetle.
Makes sense. Thanks for checking in!
Some of us in Aus are yri
Hi Bruce, wishing you success with this method for hive beetles from what I see on utube from other beekeepers they sure make a mess and contribute to a colony to die out, I’m real glad we don’t have these hive beetles over here in the UK but some countries in Europe like Italy have them and British beekeepers do buy packages and queens from Italy so it’s only a matter of time, dammed varroa and wax moths is enough to deal with add to that these nasty beetles. Well good luck Bruce mate.
Yes I hope they stay away for a good long while. Imagine what beekeeping was like before mites and beetles. Would have been awesome. I guess maybe wax moths have been around forever?
Thanks for watching from across the pond.
The Guardian shb entrance had helped my hives tremendously they're $9.95 for regular entrance reducer and 4.95 for a small round entrance. Pricey but I have seen dramatic decrease in shb here in SC.
A lot of people seem to have success with it. Sounds like a good option.
Sounds like that is the way to go what is the number on those towels
Dixie Towels. H700. They work well for me. It’s the same principle as swiffer sheets. I also use Beetle Blasters and just about anything else I can figure out to kill the darn things.
@@brucesbees thanks I’m going to try it I appreciate the video and the reply
Good luck!
I tried this and when I checked the hive the towels were gone.the bees took them out.maybe I need to check my hives more often
Yes they will do that. You need to make sure the towel is caught under the edge of the box t hold it in place.
@@brucesbees the towels are under
the boxes but they chewed the entire towel up and hauled it out of there.the towels are sticking out of the sides but nothing in between
Yes over time they either propolize them like crazy or chew them out. Industrious little critters.
i placed mine along the edges,btw the brawny h700, i tore in half,...but shorter than those green stripe dixie,so i went sideways,and use the box edge,or inner cover edge to hold in place.these will help alot of us,i also left a bit hanging out ,tells you theyre in there
Bruce, when do SHBs start disappearing? Is in like now, in the cooler days?
Yes they seem to back off some when it cools but never really seem to completely go away.
Thanks
Thank you for watching!
I myself have lost hive to the beetles. My friend suggested that I use swiffer sheet. The hive I lost had beetle blaster. I'm waiting for beetle barn to come in. Roughly 2 weeks ago when I put in the sheets I seen couple of hundred beetle corralled in the top. I'm also looking at the beetle guardian. Pricey but David at barnyard bees swear by them
I swear by them with barns as backups. Buy from the company. They also give a great military discount, like 25% off.
It is an all out war right now with beetles in the south. Good luck!
Hey Bruce, thanks for the video and another idea to get these nasty bugs. I live in Michigan and I’ve seen more hive Beatles this year than in the last couple. I think it’s due to high temps and high humidity at least where I’m located. I had a hive swarm and moved some frames around and it was basically depleted and didn’t take long and the Beatles were on it. I do have those Beatle sheets also. Thanks again for sharing, hope you have a great rest of the season.
Yes they have been awful this year. I didn’t think mine were very bad but they have really increased lately and others all around the south where it is very hot and humid seem to be having similar issues.
How did this method work for you?
It works.
But you have to get on it quick.
Bruce, didn't use them as strips, but cut into 4" squares and placed them in the back corners. After a year of this I only caught a handful by year's end. I can vouch for The Guardian with secondary protection with beetle barns. I saw maybe one or three beetles this entire year. Good luck though.
Yes I tried them in smaller pieces in the past with mixed results. Maybe this will work better. My friend swears by them.
@@brucesbees Standing by for a follow up vid. thanks!
It will be coming in the next week or two. Thanks!
I build my hives on hardscape. I use roofing tar paper. Started doing this 2 years ago and those hives do not have hive beetles. Hard scape works.
Yes I believe you. I have a friend, Chuck, who did something similar and he is not having issues. It is really just not feasible for me in my situation. But yes I think that is a great idea. If you can eliminate the grass and dirt underneath then you can greatly reduce beetle numbers from what I understand
@@brucesbees I have 12 hives and saw 1 last year and 1 so far this year. I check hives ever other week most of the time.
Yes sounds like you are doing well. Where are you located Wayne?
@@brucesbees Cincinnati and we have bad shb for what I understand.
Sound like you have found a good solution!
I am from South Louisiana. What time are you putting these towels on? I watched your second video first.
Right on. They take strong ones, too. Keeping them in full sun makes no difference.
Great information.
I usually just monitor it as time goes on. Be sure to remove/replace them as needed. The bees will propolize them to everything.
I was watching another beekeeper channel and he was using 2 strips of the cloth on the 2 sides opposite of the bee entrance . Looked like he caught a lot of them .
Thanks for checking in
If the ruff edges catch the hive beetles legs.. next time I would try ripping 1/2 inch of of both sides an that would make all strip edges ruff... But I am dieing to see if it works coz even if a person had to do it a couple of times if would be cents vrs dollars investment... I would be interested to see if you took the one strip an rip it down into 3 strips an put 1 in the middle an 1 on each side (( for an experiment)) coz instead of two ruff edges we would 6 edge's... Thanks for sharing 👍
That is a good thought. I think the bees will rough it up some trying to remove it. Three strips would probably work even better. The problem with thin strips is that the bees drag them out. I have used them in the past and stapled them in with mixed results. Yes it is a much cheaper way to go than most solutions out there. We will see!
I like beetle barns. Used beetle blasters with cooking oil and put diatomaceous earth on the ground in the past with not a lot of success. Have seen a lot of dead beetles in my beetle barns.
I tried them once and the bees dragged them out. I like the concept though. It’s time to pull out the stops. Maybe it would be worth a try. What to you use to bait the beetle barns?
brucesbees I use combat max roach killing gel. Went thru some of my hives today and out of 14 hives saw 2 live hive beetles. Lots of dead ones in the beetle barns.
Sounds like success!!!
Bruce, just removed supers from my hive but had to wait 4 days to extract the honey. The supers are full of SHB now. I put the supers in a old refrigerator and turn the temperature as low as it will go. Should be at least 40F or lower. Will this kill the SHB? Will leave them in there until I get a chance to work them.
Not sure but I imagine it will. Hopefully things will work out fine for you.
I freeze my frames. A 10 frame medium will fit in most older freezers.
Good info. Keep it coming.
Hey thanks for watching!
I am replacing my beetle blasters and adding beetle barns tomorrow. For some reason SHB are bad this year.
Yes they are. Not sure why they are so bad!
Hi dear friend I see you going in that place 24 acres for sell can you let me know some information about the place thanks
It recently sold. My uncle still owns the area where the bees are but the rest of the land has sold.
Thanks
look fwd to the follow up with those strips. I was told to never put swiffer over brood frames. but looks like these you do? interesting
My friend swears by them. We will see.
@@brucesbees well it makes sense coz the brood frames are usually where the Hive beetles are the heaviest...
Yes it does make sense. I am excited to see.
Hey Bruce, have you ever tried THE GUARDIAN? I have over 4 beekeepers friends that swear by them--like zero beetles after 2 months of use. I also see beekeepers using tube entrances, which works as well. This sheet method is a great idea as well, yet THE GUARDIAN would prevent them from even entering. Give em a try.
I may try it. Would they work on pallets?
@@brucesbees pallets????
Yes I keep a lot of my bees on 4 way pallets. Makes it easier to move them. But I also have a lot of my production hives on standard bottom boards.
ua-cam.com/play/PL8TUJQAHFlHvv3FdrBTT57nxl2g8Z0FhM.html
@@brucesbees it will only really work with an entrance reducer.
I have looked into them a little bit but maybe should look into them a bit more.
Great video! After a year, what is your weapon of choice for the beetles.
Dixie Towels and Beetle Blasters still. And this year I am trying Peppermint candies as suggested by Hillbilly Bee Keeping
Where do you find the towels.? Thanks
Here is one link you can go to:
www.cleanitsupply.com/p-76119/dixie-h700-disposable-foodservice-towel-13-x-24-150-carton-gpc29416.aspx
I am actually not sure where I got mine. I ordered them a couple of years ago and haven’t used them that much. I think I ordered them from amazon maybe.
Hope it works
Yes me too! I am tired of losing bees. Need to treat for mites too but felt this was the most critical news and didn’t really have time to do that anyway.
I am lucky my hives in full sun so next to no bettles
Yep if you don’t have beetles you are lucky.
What method do you use to control small hive beetles?
I use beetle barns and also guardian entrances
Great. Thanks for checking in. How do you keep the bees from hauling the beetle barns out of the front of the hives and what do you use for bait?
@@brucesbees mine never haul them out, they typically glue them in. The biggest pain with them is that the bees propolize the entrances, so you have to clean them periodically.
For bait, I use a small drop of roach bait. You can also use crisco mixed with boric acid.
Bruce I have bad beetle problem but just like treating veroa. With expensive strips I buy boxes of beetle blasters and haven’t had a hive slimed in 3 seasons the strongest hives have the most pollen so the beetles love em!!!
Another method that has been recommended but may work as well or better is to lay the towels perpendicular to the frames at the back of the hive. This allows for the beetles to be caught in the corners on the boxes.
Bettle traps
I use Beetle Blasters too but I believe these towels saved some of my colonies this past summer
Hope it works. God had a sense of humor when he created some of these pest . Mosquitoes, roaches, knats, Hive Beetles !! 😂
No doubt! Geesh!!! I hate SHB!!!😬😬
Some of us in Aus are yri
sorry. did not finish comment......
We are trying using a top cover made out of a sheet of what we call linoleum that has a fluffy underside which we put upwards as a top board. The lino is trimmed to give approx a cm gap all around the top of the super so the bees and beatles can access. The cover reduces burr comb building. Bees chase the beatles up onto the fluffy side and they get their legs tangled.
That sounds like a great idea. Thanks for sharing!