How to Effectively Control Small Hive Beetles for $0.20

This video shows me breaking open a test hive, which was using Swiffer sheets to control small hive beetles. I was amazed at around 200 dead or dying beetles in this one hive alone. Totally amazing!!!

[@tomasjosefvela1]

"I took out the traps to make sure not all the beetles would be dead" Now there's a line I never thought I'd hear from a bee keeper! lol I think its really awesome that you did this especially because you sell the beetle traps. Got a new subscriber here, I look forward to watching your videos, Thank you!!

[@FunnyBugBeesandWoodWorks]

thanks T.J.

[@jh7504]

Unfortunately, the bees chew up the swiffer into microplastics which then ends up in bee products like honey and wax. There are researchers working on this and able to detect the microscopic fragments using electron microscopy. While bees ultimately pick up microplastics from the environment, adding swiffer sheets to the hive will pretty much guarantee that your honey has microplastics in it. I have used them and seen how effective they are, but after speaking with some of the researchers working on this, I quickly pulled them out of my hives.

[@great0789]

Good Info. Thank you.

[@CrusherMEC]

Ball up the used sheets and chuck in the lit smoker. I love the smell of smoked beetle in the morning...it smells like...victory...

[@FunnyBugBeesandWoodWorks]

Lol, you and me both!

[@benca6151]

I was thinking the same thing. Burn those little bastards!

[@HMallory1]

Instead of putting a whole sheet in the hive I cute into 3 in. strips and place on both ends of the hive and that for me works very well. Thanks for your videos

[@merlefunk1205]

Where do you find swifter sheets?

[@ironsticksportinggoodsllc2417]

@@merlefunk1205 Any grocery or dollar store. I use the generic one from the dollar store and they work just as good. I cut them into 4 pieces and place one piece in each corner. I capture the edges between the boxes or inner cover to keep the bees from pulling it down into the hive.

[@FunnyBugBeesandWoodWorks]

every grocery store and wal-mart. they are in the section with the mops and dusters.

[@johnhawes1927]

You are right about the Swider sheet. I have found it most effective to cut them in 2-3 inch strips (usually three strips per sheet) and place them all around the outside of the hive. I would have placed it also under the queen splitter not on top of it. Great video, good luck with the battle.

[@FunnyBugBeesandWoodWorks]

Thanks John and next time im in that hive, ill try it your way and see how well that works.

[@KirBeesFarms]

Have you tried using a smaller sliver of the swiffer? I’ve seen people using small strips and getting less bees trapped.

[@garywright6048]

Cut the sheet in half and place 2 halves in opposing carners

[@brucewallace2754]

Beetle Buster Base Board is the answer for controlling Small Hive Beetle.

[@johnburns2510]

Really informative video. We never use queen excluders because adult workers filled with honey sometimes get stuck in the excluders.

[@FunnyBugBeesandWoodWorks]

I call them "honey excluders" for a reason :)

[@goodcitizen3780]

Top entrance. Problem solved

[@FunnyBugBeesandWoodWorks]

Let me know when you are able to train the bees who are full of honey to only use the upper entrace to bypass the excluder :P

[@goodcitizen3780]

@@FunnyBugBeesandWoodWorks Full of Nectar? Easy. About 6 years ago. Management. If you manage brood box and supers well it's a breeze. Ime they know what's full and what's not. Maybe it's my environment but I don't run vertical anymore really. Maybe I'm talking out of my dass. Nice video btw tho. You taught me about the Swiffer. Pretty neat.

[@FunnyBugBeesandWoodWorks]

@@goodcitizen3780 yes full of nectar is what i meant, although to be technical the enzymatic reactions to turn the nectar into honey have already begun before it ever gets back to the hive. Anyway, no one here is talking out of their class, its a place to talk and share ideas. my comment was more of a joke than anything. I run rear upper entrances as well, but so far ive not been able to train my bees to use only the rear upper entrance when the boxes are full, lol, reminds me of those little flea circuses back in the day.

[@1docg]

If you are shooting video with a phone please hold it horizontal when shooting. Your video quality looks good and the audio is pretty good as well so take that final step to make your videos look totally professional.

[@FunnyBugBeesandWoodWorks]

yes agreed Dave. All my other videos except one are in landscape orientation...I usually use a gopro anyway, but this time had my phone, and of course, held it the wrong way :(

[@scotthenderson4376]

I had the guardian entrance on a few hives still had the beetles add the sheets and see a couple bees but a group of beetles caught in it. also tried the bated traps (cd case and between the frames) bees just sealed them up. cant beat the sheets but will try the DE with grease in future

[@reelinhuntin]

I've heard you can roll the sheet into a sort of tube shape with the nappy side in and bees won't get caught in it.

[@FunnyBugBeesandWoodWorks]

even with it unrolled i caught maybe 5 bees and 200 beetles. So im guessing the few i caught are not worth worrying about. Besides, you would have to get the roll smaller than 3/8 of an inch to prevent bees crawling into it, im not sure how I would manage that. Maybe roll it around a pencil then tape it? Anyway, seems like a lot of trouble to save 5 bees :)

[@texasfriendlybeekeepers8210]

Swiffer Sheets are queen killers also....Ask me how i know

[@CluelessHomesteaders]

I’ve been using oil traps, but probably will try the swifter sheets this year, plenty of people staying they work...

[@FunnyBugBeesandWoodWorks]

i dont like the blaster type oil traps. they require the bettles get into the hive and on top of frames before they can catch them. That and i dont like having to take a hive apart to change oil. The freeman style traps are still my favorite method. These sheets though have been added to my arsenal for sure!

[@jasongentry7405]

Dollar General has their sheets for much cheaper than the swiffer brand. I think I will try those as well.

[@FunnyBugBeesandWoodWorks]

Great Tip Jason, Thanks!

[@jasongentry7405]

@@FunnyBugBeesandWoodWorks I used them and they worked really well. I inherited a hive that had 20 shb per FRAME!! I used a beetle barn in the bottom, two beetle busters on the frames with oil, and swiffer sheets on top of the frames. I am pleased to say that now a hove inspection yields less than 10 in the whole hive. I call that a win.

[@FunnyBugBeesandWoodWorks]

@@jasongentry7405 thats awesome man. Ive about got mine under control now as well. Though im being more proactive next season and also putting beneficial nematodes in the ground three times per year as well. Just did the first application to kill any larva in the soil and will do it again in March. If your interested in reading about this I wrote an article on it you can find here: www.funnybugbees.com/pest-control/beneficial-nematodes-for-controlling-small-hive-beetles

[@19vendetta19]

Are you sure that hive didn't have a queen? I've found that heavily infested hives will appear queenless, and also found out that the adult beetles will devour eggs. I've tested the latter, by installing frames of eggs. When I come back a few days later...guess what! No larva, no eggs.

[@FunnyBugBeesandWoodWorks]

yes, beetle larva actually prefers larva and eggs to honey.

[@TheRainHarvester]

Isn't there a specific product instead of swifter sheets? It seems like a tested product for this would exist.

[@Xray.71]

Mannlake sells them but their version of it and 100x more expensive go figure…

[@hcaveman6954]

If they actually work well, (the mann lake product) it might be worth it!!! If not, just profit margins!!!

[@effingbeesapiary2599]

I heard dryer sheets work but will try this not sure what is cheaper.

[@FunnyBugBeesandWoodWorks]

I heard about the dryer sheets as well, but finding them unscented is hard, and bees don't need anything interrupting the queen's pheromone. That said since I've done a fair bit of laundry in my day, I'm not sure they would be as effective. The reason is that the Swiffer sheets have a really long nap, and the dryer sheets are relatively speaking smooth, with nothing to catch the beetles feet. Just food for thought. Whatever works though right!

[@airlar4857]

Did you see the bees caught on the bottom of the sheet? No big deal if it's a couple workers, but if your queen gets tangled up you can kiss that colony goodbye. There are unfortunately documented cases of this - risk isn't worth the reward for me

[@FunnyBugBeesandWoodWorks]

you dont have to worry about the risk once you learn to raise your own queens though. Ive lost far more hives to SHB than anything else....The number of actual queens ive lost to swiffer sheets though equals zero.

[@redbone5363]

Just put hard peppermint candy In the corner of each hive, top and bottom and you will not have beetles in your hive. Simple, harmless to your bees and you will be amazed.

[@doozowings4672]

Put the stiffer sheet in the smoker.

[@jpthedelawarebeeman7887]

So the swiffer sheet goes on the top most hive body? Could you use it on the bottom board and first hive body?

[@FunnyBugBeesandWoodWorks]

im sure since the trap rate for bees was really low, that you could put them anywhere. I may have had like 6-8 bees caught in mine after a week in the hive, so its a method I would call pretty much bee-friendly with low kill count for the bees.

[@brucejarrell5707]

Outstanding Ty

[@krovlin8377]

I tried this and watched the beetles just walk right across the sheets

[@charger4312]

Don’t care for your partial video viewing. Would like to view a “Full Screen” instead of what you have. 👍

[@donstanley8514]

I cut them into 2 inch squares and pinch one in every corner on every box, been doing that for 2 years, no more beetles.

[@FunnyBugBeesandWoodWorks]

what do you mean by "pinch"? Can you send a photo of your application method showing it i a hive to [e-mail] so i can check it out?

[@donstanley8514]

By saying pinch , I mean I place them all the way in the corner so the bees can’t carry them out. The wood keeps them in, as the bees pull at them they fluff up and the beetles get caught.

[@thomasbridgeman5815]

Try murder sauce for hive beetles worked great

[@angelaharris7755]

Hey all I'm kinda new at Owning my Bees.last year was great this year so far not good I've lost three brrd hives to nettle s .I'm doing everything I've been told to do spent lots of money on stuff .now I'm looking today and worse than it was .anybody have or had and cleared it up please tell me what to do . I'm so safe. Icant keep replacing them .and its getting summer .I Oh so need the rite advice .

[@FunnyBugBeesandWoodWorks]

How did you lose your bees to nettles? Nettles are one of the preferred foods of bees and are harmless to them. Or was this an auto-correct mistake and you meant "beetles"?

[@garywright6048]

Go to the dollar store for your sheets. Buck a box

[@sonofthunder.]

dixie or brawny towels,ive heard work too

[@pruppers]

Remember to get unscented

[@JeffsTrades]

Friends don't let friends film vertically....

[@perrybarrett3292]

Swiffer sheets kill too many bees

[@great0789]

I suspect... that each beetle not laying eggs... is saving a LOT more bees though. Also, the colony not needing to send off as many bees to chase them down, frees up workers for other jobs and is a major bonus. I will give this one a try.

[@corneliualdea5385]

Were are u located in U.S.A

[@FunnyBugBeesandWoodWorks]

North Carolina

[@corneliualdea5385]

Because where iam at don't have that problem,,, only mites ,, afther the honey season in fall.

[@FunnyBugBeesandWoodWorks]

consider yourself lucky :(

[@drillingarg9714]

Thanks brother

[@FunnyBugBeesandWoodWorks]

Welcome

[@snugnodge]

Do they just get caught walking on the swiffer or could you add something to attract more beetles onto the sheets and beetles that don't just happen by the sheets

[@FunnyBugBeesandWoodWorks]

Beetles get on the sheets because no matter what, they always end up corralled in the corners of your boxes by your bees. So that is why we put the sheets at the corners. I would caution using anything to lure beetles in your hives as your bees keep a draft going to the outside to remove excess moisture, which beetles around your yard can smell. Enough beetles find your hives as is without putting a beetle lure in them :(

[@snugnodge]

@@FunnyBugBeesandWoodWorks lol never thought about additives luring them in to the hives. Don't you got to love a newbee with dumbass questions😛😭

[@FunnyBugBeesandWoodWorks]

the only dumb question is the one you dont ask!

[@slipshankd1307]

Your volume was kinda low. Was better after the intro.

[@ROD_OF_IRON]

Post full screen Bro

[@FunnyBugBeesandWoodWorks]

yes i agree, sorry all i had that day was my cell phone and i was holding it vertically, instead of horizontally. Lesson learned. Ive only created about 50 videos so far, so im still learning.

[@richardpraeger6357]

I've had better luck using the fluffy style Swiffer dusters cut in half.

[@FunnyBugBeesandWoodWorks]

im not sure ive ever seen a "fluffy" vs. "non-fluffy" type of swiffer at stores here. Ill have to look for those. TBH though, catching 200 beetles in the non-fluffy sheet was amazing.

[@Jim26D]

@@FunnyBugBeesandWoodWorks they are the ones that you use for the yellow duster wand, they are really fluffy though, I'd imagine more bees would get caught in it

[@joeallen7037]

A queenless hive for some reason will attract smb.

[@johnhenson2481]

WTF is a 'swiffer' sheet?? Love from England

[@georgeford6439]

They are disposable duster sheets, use the unscented kind. Swiffer is the brand name.

[@ezeqielcastillo849]

It's a bloody cleaning sheet

[@carrollrhodes4050]

not for cleaning your bum or bonnet@@ezeqielcastillo849

[@perrybarrett3292]

Don't use them they catch and kill bees also.

[@k.j.m.9357]

More volume please...thanks

[@FunnyBugBeesandWoodWorks]

Sorry about that

[@harvestmaid5669]

deaf???

[@boscodog4358]

Put used pads in a empty bread sack.

[@krovlin8377]

Learn how to use your camera phone turn it sideways where we can get a better view

[@nunyah64]

My math and yours aren’t the same! I saw 10 to 15 on top 15 to 20 on the bottom! Must be liberal math!🤨🤨🤨🤨🤨

[@FunnyBugBeesandWoodWorks]

Previous owners video that I got when I bought the business so I can't argue or deny it LOL

[@nunyah64]

@@FunnyBugBeesandWoodWorks fair enough!!

[@jessefields9535]

Vertical sucks iPhone guy

[@bilaylor2552]

Good show, except, don't handhold camera, and be CONCISE. Life is short.