I have gone through the past posts (5 yrs old now) regarding the SHB control called Apithor which is registered for use and is legal to use in Australia. The active ingredient is .04 concentration of Fipronil.
Does anyone know of any activity on trying to get it (Apithor) registered and approved for use in the USA?
Some of the BEE-L users may be fortunate not to have encountered the SHB (yet). However, it is a major problem here in the midwest and probably even more so in the Southern states. Most of the huge "swarms" here in late August or in September actually turn out to be a colony absconding due to the SHB.
I am aware of the legal controls we have at our disposal (re-usable and disposable) SHB traps, various types of sheets which the bees shred and the SHB get trapped in), oil traps beneath a screened bottom board, pemethrin drench to kill SHB larva in the ground, Neverwet barrier approach. The varroa chemical control, coumaphos based Chekmite also kills SHB.
Do not know how much the drench reduces SHB because the adults will fly 5 to 10 miles in search of a honey bee colony and there is some speculation some leave with a swarm. It only takes one colony in your area to become a SHB bomb to defeat your drenching efforts, be it a managed or feral colony. So killing the larva may not really reduce your adult SHB population.
Several times at dusk, I have taken the outer cover off of a colony and put an empty deep on it and observed the activity.
Within 5 to 10 minutes, I have seen adult SHB fly into and land on the inner cover (and they were prompty dispatched with my fingers or hive tool). On more than one occasion, after I would kill the adult shb, one or more bees would rush in, grab the carcass and fly out the top to discard it. The colony was pretty well bearded up on the front so there was no easy access to the colony through the "front door" so the SHB took the back way "in".
I have found SHB hiding in the smallest of crevices between two hive bodies. When doing inside top feeding (syrup jar inside of an empty hive box or a spacer box), the SHB can slip into the space between the tightly screwed on lid and the syrup jar.
Lesson learned - If you are ventilating your colony in the summer, use some metal or poly window screen to make the vents SHB. The #8 hardware fabric will allow SHB to enter. You may need to periodically replace the window screen if the bees propolize it. It is also one of the prime reasons I have discontinued use of screened bottom boards. SHB adults can enter through the #8 mesh normally used on the screen bottom boards and it also provides an easy exit for the shb larva to crawl out and drop to the ground (putting an oil tray below will make this an exit of doom for them).
I have not yet tried the Neverwet barrier approach, this is a winter project to get the solid bottom boards and the bottom brood boxes equipped with it to swap into service next spring.
I tried the "sheet" method. In my brief experience I had as many or more bees getting trapped in the sheets than SHB. I could not see the benefit of killing the bees which were running the SHB into the sheet to begin with (seemed self defeating). However, many other beekeepers in my area have not experienced the bees dying in the "sheets". I discontinued use of the sheet method.
By the way, the "disposable" SHB traps can be recycled and resused by putting them into a half gallon or gallon container and filling it with house hold ammonia and then sealing the jar for a day or so. The lid must tightly seal or the ammonia will evaporate and be useless.
The ammonia disolves the propolis. The ammonia will turn brown or a putrid green as it disolves the propolis. In a day or two (or when you remember), pour the liquid out and fill the jar with clean water and a few drops of dishwashing liquid soap and shake a few times. Rinse (and shake out whatever SHBs remain) after they dry, they will be ready to re-use.
It is better than paying a $1.09 per trap (the qty 100 price) or the $1.59 price per trap for a single strip of 10. It will not eliminate the need to purchase new disposable traps in the future, but it should reduce the quantity and frequency you need to purchase them.
If the trap does not rest completely flush between two frames because it has warped or been bent a little, (or in my case stepped on because I set it on the ground and then inadverttenly stepped on it) then time to replace it, because even the smallest sliver of space is enough for the SHB to slip into.
It may only be feasible for the hobbyist or small scale beekeeper who has the time to do it themselves and not for the larger or commerical bee keepers who would need to pay someone to do it.
Back to the original reason for this post. It would be great if we had a legal control such as Apithor to use in the USA.
There is an illegal bootleg control using the thin jewel DVD cases (DVD cases will soon be extinct I think). Small holes are put in the sides of the case and then the center is baited with a smear of protein patty surrounded by a ring of a .01 concentration of Fipronil. Even though it is .01, it is still deadly to the SHB (and the bees as well if they should ever come in contact with it).
Thanks,
Steve Petrilli
Central Illinois
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