POWDERED SUGAR AND SMALL HIVE BEETLES
Great youtube film by Jerry Freeman of Ashley Apiaries
beetle baffles
We no longer sell Beetle Baffles, but for those who have bought them in the past, the information is below.
What we are using no is Diatomaceous Earth on the White inserts that come with our boards. And powdered sugar dusting will knock them down through the screen into the DE and kill them. Check out this video with Jerry Freeman using powdered sugar and an oil tray.
It started with a phone call from a NASA scientist.
Haynes Haselmaier called me last summer to tell me about his new invention to keep Small Hive Beetles out of bee hives. I explained, in California, this pest has not been a problem. A few crop up every year after Almonds when beekeepers all over the states bring their hives here for pollination, but they do not seem to over winter. Maybe it's the soil, or our dry climate.
Haynes told me it doesn't matter because he was really interested in our Screened Bottom Boards and Oil Tray Traps that we sell. His invention needs a good screened bottom board and tray to be really effective.
Haynes came from a long line of beekeepers. When he lost his 6 hives in Mississippi to a bad Small Hive Beetle infestation, he was determined to find a solution. He realized that the beetles, once they fly into the hive, were not able to fly up or hop up into the comb. The pest would scurry to the side of the hive and run up the walls to get into the comb.
Haynes also realized that the SHB could not climb over a barrier and started to experiment with strips of metal bent at angles that would go around the inside of the hive.
These experiments were so successful at keeping Small Hive Beetles out of the comb that when Haynes went to take pictures, he couldn't find any beetles to experiment with. The inventor had to ask a beekeeping club in neighboring Louisiana to gather Small Hive Beetles for him to use in his hive, promising to return them when he was finished (grin).
The results were amazing. Haynes released 50 Small Hive Beetles into a closed empty hive, set up with a camera, on a solid bottom board and baited with frames of comb honey. After 3 days, all the beetles were huddled in the corners and along the edges of the hive, under the Beetle Baffle. There were none in the comb. The beetles were unable to scale the walls of the hive.
Now days, beekeepers are using Diatamous Earth in their trays or put a layer on their observation boards. Its a lot less messy and very effective in killing Small Hive Beetles and any Varroa that falls through.
