I, too, am having to deal with a growing presence of small hive beetles.  I have used beneficial nematodes and tried the commercial beetle traps, but think I am losing the battle.  I need to bring in new weapons.  I have been reading about the DIY beetle traps that use boric acid.  In checking the BEE-L archives I find little discussion on the effect of boric acid on honeybees.  I believe it is ultimately poisonous, but from what I have seen on YouTube (yes, that great source of irrefutable knowledge) methods of having it in the hive with little damage the bee colony.

I searching for new techniques for the new bee season.  I would be curious to hear the groups thoughts on using boric in or around beehives.  Thanks to all for the many thoughtful BEE-L conversations I eavesdrop on.

Larry Krengel
Marengo, IL

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