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ocba - Re: [ocba] For what it's worth - unscientific test of inexpensive SHB trap

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Chronological Thread  
  • From: John Rintoul <beecd AT icloud.com>
  • To: Michael Morrissey <mmorrissey AT fastmail.fm>
  • Cc: Orange County Beekeepers Association <ocba AT lists.ibiblio.org>
  • Subject: Re: [ocba] For what it's worth - unscientific test of inexpensive SHB trap
  • Date: Mon, 03 Oct 2016 16:30:19 -0400

Michael,
You raise a valid point about using scented pads. That's why I used the "unscented, untreated" version (see my original post). The Material Safety Data Sheet (MSDS) for the unscented, untreated pad makes no reference to either mineral oil or perfume. MSDS disclosures are federally required and monitored by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA). 

As for why the first pad was removed so quickly, I suspect that the bees were merely cleaning house. Much as they do when a leaf falls into the hive during an inspection. 

John Rintoul
(919) 414-4071
No trees or bees were killed in the distribution of this message, but countless electrons were seriously inconvenienced.

On Oct 3, 2016, at 1:25 PM, Michael Morrissey <mmorrissey AT fastmail.fm> wrote:

I have a few comments/questions.

If you read the ingredients for Swiffers on the Proctor and Gamble web site, they appear to be harmless, at least to us.
However, note the ingredient "fragrance".  While P&G does not give away exactly what goes into the smell of Swiffers, they do provide a formidable list the compounds used - http://www.pgproductsafety.com/productsafety/ingredients/Perfume_and_Scents.pdf.

Since bees rely heavily on pheromones and smells, this might explain why they carried the Swiffer down and out of the hive. Perhaps the smell is obnoxious to them, and perhaps it affects communication like static on a phone line.

And if the Swiffer's main ingredient is mineral oil, why not find an odorless cloth of similar texture (appears to catch the claws of beetles' legs) and moisten it with mineral oil?  'just an idea.

MM



--
Michael Morrissey
Durham, NC
919.236.3230



On Sat, Oct 1, 2016, at 02:17 PM, Marty Hanks wrote:
John this IS great news. 

Many keepers are using it with much success & in the end its just a layered mesh of fibers. 

A great tool for keepers. As this non chemical/natural product form can be used in any size hive. Nuc to 4 supers tall and anytime during the year! A win for keepers when weather & temps effect us in other ways. 

Congrats on your determination to use it 

Marty 

Sent from my iPhone

On Oct 1, 2016, at 2:00 PM, John Rintoul <beecd AT icloud.com> wrote:
In the 'can't hurt, might help' school of beekeeping I read about someone who had placed an unscented, untreated Swiffer® pad in the hive to trap small hive beetles. I decided to give it a try in the empty supers that enclose my tank feeders.

Within a week the bees in one hive carried the pad down through the hive and dropped it on the ground in front of the entrance. Undeterred I tacked the Swiffer pad down so that the bees couldn't remove it. After 2 weeks I pulled the pad. I've attached pictures of side 1 and side 2 of one of the pads. There were also live SHB under the pad as I pulled it out. The bees had corralled them there.

The pad also caught a few bees, but most were able to extricate themselves. The SHB do not seem to be able to do so. They settle in and die.
<image1.JPG>

<image2.JPG>
John Rintoul
(919) 414-4071
No trees or bees were killed in the distribution of this message, but countless electrons were seriously inconvenienced.
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