You’re in WA, you still have the luxury of no SHB to deal with, except maybe in the far north.
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Cool. I mever knew that. Thanks.
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One clarification. SHB does exist in WA. Just not in our South West corner (yet)
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Noooo, have you had the. Before?
No I haven’t. It isn’t yet a pest where we live.
This file might also be of interest regarding bee pests in WA:
https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&source=web&rct=j&url=https://www.agric.wa.gov.au/sites/gateway/files/Endemic%20Honey%20Bee%20diseases%20and%20pests%20in%20Western%20Australia.docx&ved=2ahUKEwi3hd3m8oXsAhXB7HMBHZQ5BUUQFjABegQIDhAK&usg=AOvVaw2tBPwe5ZHXUu2lYRuE11yu&cshid=1601091682610
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Thanks for the article Steve, I came across it some time ago and it is an interesting read with food for thought. All my hives have vents fitted, except for the poly hives, and since fitting them starting some years ago the bearding and moisture levels are no longer an issue. In the hot and wet Summers water dripping from the roofs was a big issue and I’m sure some bees died from being wet. They can cope better from being cold than being wet.
You might be right about an open mesh and SHB, I found placing SHB traps hanging in shrubs and trees around the perimeter of my apiaries works very well and finding very few in the internal hive traps now, with plenty in the external traps. It makes sense that any way a SHB can get into a hive they will have a go at it and a mesh base board gives them another access.
Cheers
I think those gabled roofs are available in the US, not here. I much prefer them than migratory lid, much more versatile and functional for backyard 'keepers.
I pretty much turned mine into one like that that, and integrated a quilt box in it. My original Flow roof was very light - if a bee sneezes it blows off.
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I don’t have SHB and am finding open mesh floor beneficial. I wonder whether the mesh size can be small enough to let air through, but not SHB.
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As SHB can fall thru the mesh from inside of the hive I figure they can crawl into the hive with no problem thru it.
I had one of my ‘original’ Flow Hive roofs blow off, and never did find it. I fitted a migratory roof and an em-lock. 
Cheers
Definitely, normal flyscreen would work, I’m just talking about a base I have that’s almost identical to the one in the article, I just followed the advice to remove the tray during some very hot weather last year, and it resulted in a slimeout of a strong hive in a matter of days.
Some people will swear that beetles cannot fly up into a hive, but I have watched it happen, just forgot to video it.
The new baseboards do seem to be helping the bees gain the upper hand in controlling SHB, I’m finding loads of dead ones in the tray and very few on the frames. My bees do chase any beetles they find quite aggressively which helps.
I’ve always favoured practicality over how pretty my hives are so I’m giving up on gabled roofs and sticking with the white filing cabinet look lol.
My understanding is that SHB in WA is confined to Kununurra, in the far north west… if you notch the border a bit, it will in the Northern Territory. I’m not sure whether it has been eradicated… and whether there were any records after the initial confirmed specimens 13 years ago. Maybe the guys from the apiary society or the agriculture dept can let us know of the status.
I do have a lot of confidence of WA’s biosecurity measures, one of the few things we get mostly right.
In any case, it’s a reminder for all beekeepers everywhere to exercise good stockmanship - do not let them swarm and spread disease.
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I think it is too late for that. Wild colonies of european honeybee are everywhere. In Pilbara in the middle of nowhere any water leak from equipment attracts hundreds of bees.
Very true, but we can only control what we can. I don’t think there is any justification for not taking good care of the bees. I know that in some parks they eradicate them.
If some careless 'keeper has a diseased colony and takes no action, it can only spread to other colonies, feral or otherwise. Nothing too serious here, yet. Let’s keep it that way.
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The quarantine area is everything North (East) of Broome. Not many commercial beekeepers but SHB numbers are low.
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When it comes to protective clothing.
I am using my Dads suit atm which is to big and makes me clumsy, so going to invest in my own.
I have my eye on a the 3 layer mesh suit with goat skin gloves.
Do jean’s work as just high protection from waste down so I can just get the jacket?
Thanks.
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I just use a oz armour jacket with work pants. The biggest problem is the odd bee crawling up the inside leg of my pants. Much prefer it to a full suit.
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I prefer a full suit. I bit longer to put on/off but less problems if bees go nuts on occasion. I wish it also had a round hat. With fencing veil I always need to watch that mesh does not touch chin and nose. Quite annoying.
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I wear a baseball cap under the veil and the brim keeps it away from my face. Never had an issue and I have a big nose.
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I tried. Helps with nose but not chin. When I bend forward back part of the suite pulls whole hood back against my face. Suit size is not small for me though. Probably it is shape of suite or body. I prefer to think it is suit 
The can sometimes get through my jeans and they will also sting through leather gloves. Although with clothing the sting tends to go in and out of your skin.
I’m getting quite good at freeing them with their stinger intact rather than it being embedded in the fabric.
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