Learning how to get rid of beetles in bee hives is one of those annoying tasks every beekeeper eventually faces, but it's totally manageable if you catch it early. Small hive beetles (SHB) are the uninvited guests of the apiary world. They show up, mess with the furniture, and if you aren't careful, they'll ruin the whole party. If you've ever opened a hive and seen those tiny, dark, oval-shaped bugs scurrying into the corners, you know exactly what I'm talking about. It's frustrating, but you don't have to let them take over.
The key is understanding that these beetles are opportunists. They aren't looking to fight a strong colony; they're looking for a weak spot where they can lay eggs and let their larvae feast on your hard-earned honey and pollen. Let's get into the nitty-gritty of how to kick them out and keep them out.
Why These Tiny Terrors Are a Problem
Before we dive into the "how," it's worth mentioning why we care so much. It's not just that they're gross. The real issue is their larvae. Once the eggs hatch, the larvae tunnel through the wax combs, eating pollen and honey. As they go, they defecate in the honey, which causes it to ferment and turn into a bubbly, foul-smelling "slime."
Once a hive reaches the "slimed" stage, the bees will often just give up and abscond—which is just a fancy way of saying they move out because the house smells like rotten oranges and fermented gym socks. To prevent that disaster, you have to be proactive.
Keeping Your Colonies Strong and Crowded
The absolute best defense against beetles is a strong, healthy colony. If you have enough bees to cover every single frame in the hive, the beetles won't have anywhere to hide. Bees are actually pretty good at harassing beetles; they'll chase them into corners and keep them from laying eggs.
However, if you give a small colony too much space—like putting a tiny swarm in two deep boxes—the bees can't patrol the whole area. The beetles will find a quiet corner in the upper box, lay their eggs, and the cycle begins.
If you notice your hive is struggling, reduce the space. Take off the extra supers they aren't using. Keep them crowded. It might seem counterintuitive to keep them in a smaller space, but a crowded hive is a protected hive.
Using Traps to Thin the Herd
If the beetles have already made themselves at home, you're going to need some mechanical help. There are a few different types of traps that work wonders, and most of them are pretty cheap.
The Classic Oil Trap
One of the most popular methods involves using small plastic traps, often called "Beetle Blasters," that hang between the frames. You fill these about halfway with a little bit of food-grade oil—vegetable oil or mineral oil works fine.
The idea is simple: the bees chase the beetles, and the beetles look for a place to hide. They see the little slots in the trap, crawl in, and drown in the oil. It's incredibly satisfying (and a bit gross) to pull these out during an inspection and see dozens of dead beetles. Just be careful not to spill the oil on your bees when you're taking them out.
The Unscented Dryer Sheet Trick
This is a bit of a "beekeeper's secret," though it's well-known now. Many people use unscented dryer sheets or specialized "beetle towels." You place a sheet or two on the top bars of the hive.
Because beetles have fuzzy little legs with tiny hooks, they get hopelessly tangled in the fibers of the sheet. The bees, however, have different legs and can usually walk right over them without much trouble. After a week or two, you just pull out the sheet, which will hopefully be covered in stuck beetles, and throw it away. Just make sure you use the unscented kind; you don't want your honey smelling like "Spring Meadow."
Sunlight and Soil Management
Small hive beetles have a specific life cycle that gives us a window of opportunity to stop them. After the larvae have finished eating your honey and pollen, they crawl out of the hive and burrow into the dirt to pupate. After a few weeks, they emerge as adults and fly back into a hive.
Because of this, where you put your hive matters. Beetles love shade and moisture. If your hives are tucked away in a damp, shady corner of the woods, you're basically giving the beetles a 5-star resort.
Try to move your hives into full sun. The heat helps the bees, and the dry, hard-packed soil in sunny areas makes it much harder for the beetle larvae to burrow and survive. Some beekeepers even put down a layer of heavy plastic or carpet under their hives to prevent the larvae from reaching the ground at all.
Biological Warfare with Nematodes
If you have a persistent problem every year, you might want to look into beneficial nematodes (Heterorhabditis bacteriophora). These are microscopic worms that you mix with water and spray onto the soil around your hives.
These "good" worms hunt down the beetle larvae in the dirt and kill them before they can turn into adults. It's a great organic way to break the life cycle without putting chemicals inside the hive. It's best to do this in the spring or fall when the soil is moist so the nematodes can move around easily.
What to Do When the Slime Starts
If you open your hive and find that things have already gone south—you see "slime" and the bees are huddled in one corner—you have to act fast.
First, remove any slimed frames. Don't try to let the bees clean it up; it's too much for them and it'll just discourage them further. You can wash the frames off with a strong stream of water from a garden hose to get the slime and larvae off. Some people soak them in a light bleach solution, then rinse them thoroughly and let them dry in the sun.
If the infestation is really bad, you might need to move the bees into a clean, fresh box with new frames and start over. It's a setback, sure, but it's better than losing the entire colony.
A Few Final Tips for Prevention
- Be careful with pollen patties: Beetles love supplemental protein. If you feed your bees pollen patties in the spring, only give them what they can eat in 24-48 hours. If a patty sits there for a week, it becomes a massive breeding ground for beetles.
- Keep it clean: Don't leave burr comb or old wax sitting around the apiary. The smell of wax and honey attracts beetles from miles away.
- Screened bottom boards: These can be a double-edged sword. While they help with ventilation, some beekeepers find they give beetles more places to hide. However, if you use a screened bottom board with a trap tray underneath filled with oil or Diatomaceous Earth, it can be a very effective way to catch beetles as they fall.
At the end of the day, figuring out how to get rid of beetles in bee hives is mostly about consistency. You can't just put in one trap and forget about it. Check your hives regularly, keep your colonies booming, and don't give the beetles an inch. If you stay on top of it, those little black bugs will be nothing more than a minor nuisance rather than a hive-ending disaster. Happy beekeeping, and may your honey always be slime-free!