> It would be good to hear from others regarding how you treat for beetles and what can be done to stem the tide

In my area (Orange County in the central Piedmont region of North 
Carolina) everybody has hive beetles -- they've been here for about 10 
years -- but they are not usually a problem if beekeepers manage 3 
things: Sun/Space/Strength. Keep hives in full sun (or as much as 
possible), don't have more space on a hive than the bees can cover (e.g. 
remove supers after the flow and as the population decreases) and ensure 
that the population is strong and healthy (e.g. by controlling varroa 
mites and not making splits that are too light).

Folks can be challenged when they use mini-nucs for mating, are backyard 
beekeepers with limited sunlight available or have neighbors who don't 
manage hives well (they raise lots of beetles and those overflow to 
others' hives).

We see SHB problems come in cycles, perhaps due to warm winters or other 
factors. A few years ago we had a really bad year with respect to 
infestations but other years they may not even be apparent until late in 
the season. Normally if we only see a dozen or so beetles during an 
inspection, we just ignore them. The red flag for a problem is usually 
the presence of SHB larvae, not the presence of a small handful of adult 
beetles.

I have no doubt that other folks in other regions may have different 
things going on, but this is what works for us around here.

Randall Austin

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