Compress the hive. The problem is that the bees can’t guard all the comb. Remove any comb with small hive beetles. Remove any comb that looks wet and slimy even if you don’t see small hive beetles. Set those aside. I put them out in the sun with no lid and space them apart to let the air and sun in. If you have room you could put them in a plastic bag and put them in the freezer. Remove any empty comb. Make the hive small enough that the bees can cover the comb. If you need to remove comb with something in it, give that to a strong hive if you ahve one, or harvest the honey if not. When you have it small enough that the bees can cover the comb, stop.
I’ve never found small hive beetle larvae or wax moth larvae on combs or wax that was laying on the ground. They both require high humidity and no sun.
But she has a very busy hive! Already building comb in the roof and bearding during the day. I think compression is a great idea for fall in most of the US, but perhaps less so in Hawaii?
I don’t know about that. But if you have small hive beetle larvae you don’t have a high enough density of bees. If she has a high enough density of bees, she doesn’t have small hive beetle larvae.
No need to be sorry, just giving you some insight into how the forum works. It isn’t like Facebook. Glad to help out with beetle tips. I buy my traps from Mann Lake, but most beekeeping suppliers will have them. I put mineral oil in them, as it doesn’t go rancid. Just be careful not to tilt them once the oil is inside - it will kill bees too (not toxic, just drowns them).
Hi Cynthia, sadly draining the honey doesn’t get rid of all the larvae. SHB larvae exudes a slyme which is a bee repellant. A strong colony can repell a small outbreak & overwhelm it. However not even a strong colony can overwhelm a large outbreak. Take a look at the photos I posted earlier this year in the thread “When a new beekeeper loses interest”, Feb 20 & 25. I believe it is imperative to physically inspect the flow frames after seeing SHB larvae in the honey if one wants to avoid a total slyme out & the bees absconding, which in my case the bees were preparing to do.
Glad to help out with beetle tips. I buy my traps from Mann Lake, but most beekeeping suppliers will have them. I put mineral oil in them, as it doesn’t go rancid. Just be careful not to tilt them once the oil is inside - it will kill bees too (not toxic, just drowns them).