Author Topic: Small Hive Beetles & Compost  (Read 1627 times)

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Offline rober

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Small Hive Beetles & Compost
« on: September 10, 2016, 08:52:20 am »
SHB are attracted to melons. I sometimes hit the local farmers market & produce stands for tossed produce to compost. yesterday I got a load & there were several cases of cantaloupes & honey dews. would these melons be an attractant to SHB?
there's already a boatload of black army fly larva in the bins. if you've never encountered these larva they are amazing. they can convert garbage to sludge to dirt in a week. I should add that these are the plastic tumblers with lids.

Offline Bakersdozen

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Re: Small Hive Beetles & Compost
« Reply #1 on: September 10, 2016, 10:51:55 am »
It is my understanding that SHB like compost.  That's bad for most of us hobby beekeepers because many of us garden and compost.  The compost is soft and easy to complete their life cycle in. 
You might have something there about using melon as a lure to trap for SHB.