New beekeeper here - got my hive mid March
I noted some small hive beetle in my hive a couple of months ago and implemented the vinyl table cloth method at the time to catch some beetles and didn’t notice any major issues when I did my inspections.
I had another look today (didn’t do a full inspection of the hive, I only had a look at the corflute slider with the vinyl cloth) and only saw 1 or 2 beetles, but quite a few maggots. I also have an oil trap inside the hive. I feel like I want to open the hive to take a better look, but a bit worried that it may be too cold and breezy at the moment. We are located in the Scenic Rim, QLD, Australia. Day temperatures are around 18 - 20 degrees Celsius at the moment.
My questions 1) do I need to be worried about SMB at this stage, especially given it is a fairly new hive?
2) did I do something wrong with the tablecloth method if I can only see 1 or 2 beetles, but a lot more maggots?
And 3) should I open the hive to take a look or just let it be for now?
Thanks