What Does the Novice Beekeeper Need to Know?

Number 14

Pest control in the hive

"And Why"

Pests are any creature other than honey bees that go into the hive.

Bears are a whole discussion of their own.

Mice, Hornets, wax moths, hive beetles, and ants are your biggest concerns. Praying mantises, skinks and lizards, birds, and skunks are small concerns.

Wax Moths will be a concern starting in the spring when you see other moths and butterflies flying. Their job in nature is to clean out old deserted honey comb making the hollow tree available to a new swarm. There are two kinds of wax moth, little ones and big ones. If you find them in an active hive colony it is a sign that the colony is too weak and/or has too much space to protect and keep clean. Large strong populations in the colony usually keep the wax moths at bay. If you have a small starter colony only give them enough frames for the bees to cover and work on. A package might only need 4 frames in a nuc box. If you put them in a 10 frame hive body just put the frames along one side. Add frames as the colony population grows. Add frames one on each side as needed, keeping the brood area pretty much in the center. When storing honey supers and especially brood frames "para moth" crystals are about the only help. You are supposed to be able to cross stack the hive bodies in open air where light can get to them and the moths will stay away. Sometimes that is true. Stacking the hive bodies square and tight, inside of a large plastic garbage bag, placing para-moth crystals in a lid on top of the stack and then sealing the garbage bag will keep the moths out for a long time.

Mice are mostly a fall problem as they seek a warm location to overwinter. They can get in the ½ inch opening of the normal hive front. They will go into a corner and tear up a 6" ball for a nest area. They come and go enough to bring in leaves and grass for the nest. They will eat some honey but prefer going out for grass seeds. Reducing he height of the entrance to 3/8" will stop the mice. Sometimes the bees will kill the mouse but usually not. Rat poison in the bee yard is the best method of control. I place jar in its side with the poison in it. This keeps the poison dry and allows access to the mice.

Hornets and wasps like to eat honey bees they are carnivorous insects. All bees are vegetarians. You can keep the European Hornet out of the hives by reducing the entrance to 3/8"X3/8". Yellow jackets (and small hornets) may get through. The big red or black wasps and mud daubers can still get in. A large population of strong bees is the best deterrent here. Yellow jacket traps hanging around the apiary also help.

Ants (sugar & carpenter) are not a serious concern. Tiny sugar ants can co-exist with the bees. They do eat a little honey but it does not seem to bother the bees. A little cinnamon dusted in the inner cover will discourage them. Big black carpenter ants can be a problem as they come up from the ground and burrow into the hive box to make a home. Ant poison the ground under the hive can help some.

Hive beetles are a major problem. They can smell honey 5 miles away and are good fliers. They want to lay their eggs in the honey or a syrup feeder inside of the hive. The hatched out larvae crawl around pooping and causing the honey to ferment. They the bees can't eat the honey and starve to death. A strong hive can keep the beetles "at bay". They round them up and keep them in jail in a corner. This keeps the beetles from laying eggs. There are nucs and crannies where the beetles can hide and not get put in jail. The most popular is rabbet where the frames rest. This gets caked with propolis. The beetles will lay their eggs in the propolis. Just clean the rabbets with your hive tool when needed. Theoretically, 300 hive beetles in the hive is okay. I panic when I see 6. I do the "whack a mole" smashing the beetles when seen. There are many types of beetle traps. Most work to some degree but all require constant maintenance to work. Oxalic fumigation to kill varroa mites also kills hive beetles.

Praying mantis are cute. They will sit right at the front door and snag bees. I just let them be. Share and share alike. You can always pick them up and throw them to the side. They can bite.

Lizards/skinks/birds again these are also cute. There are pine lizard, blue tailed skinks, bronze skinks, and occasional snake. The lizards are live and let live. They are too fast for me to grab. They don't eat much. The snakes help keep the mice down. Black snakes and garter snakes can stay. Copper heads usually die.

Skunks can be a concern. They will come by at night and sit in front of the hive. They stick their grubby little paws in the entrance. The bees jump on and sting. But that doesn't bother the stinky ole skunk. He pulls out his paw and eats the bees. Repeating the process all night long. One skunk and empty a hive in one week. Take a 4" board, drive lots of nails through it and lay it nail up so it is uncomfortable to sit. No more skunk problems.