Author Topic: Anyone use Beetle Baffle?  (Read 1916 times)

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Offline Bakersdozen

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Anyone use Beetle Baffle?
« on: March 04, 2018, 09:32:00 am »
https://www.kelleybees.com/beetle-baffles.html
Has anyone ever used this product?  I wondered if adding $12 to the cost of equipment is worth it.  Perhaps just to weaker colonies?  Kelley Bees also recommends using the baffle with cleats https://www.kelleybees.com/beetle-baffle-cleats.html
Feed back, please.

Offline Wandering Man

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Re: Anyone use Beetle Baffle?
« Reply #1 on: March 04, 2018, 11:03:01 am »
I replaced one of my Freeman Bottom Board with the beetle baffle this winter. 

I've not dug down to the bottom of the hive yet, so I can't say whether I've got hundreds of beetles milling around with a lost look on their faces.

3Reds says she thinks it was the BB hive that had fewer beetles in it than we had seen the time before.  So, it may be working.

My Freeman Bottomboards work well when I remember to keep the trays filled with soapy water or cooking oil.  They had the advantage of killing any mites that may have fallen off of bees.  But, I've become lazy and don't check the trays every three days like I used to.
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Offline Wandering Man

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Re: Anyone use Beetle Baffle?
« Reply #2 on: April 01, 2018, 11:33:09 pm »
I've had the Beetle Baffle on for several months, and finally pulled all of the boxed off to look at the bottom board.

I still had beetles in the upper boxes.  I can't say for certain that there were fewer beetles.  3Reds seems to think so.

When I looked on the bottom board, I saw a few beetles, as well as some bees chasing them around.  There were probably more beetles tucked away in the crevices.

Looking at the two other hives with the Freeman bottom board and the trays filled with soapy water, I found a few beetles, but I also found a lot of larvae floating around.  One wax moth larvae, and several SHB larvae.  I could also see quite a few mites that had fallen in.  I didn't count things because there was a ton of trash in there too.

My conclusion is that I'd rather stick with my Freeman bottom boards.  The beetles, larvae and mites that fall into the soapy water die.  I don't know what happens to the beetles, larvae and mites that fall onto the wooden bottom board.

I use soapy water rather than oil because the oil begins to smell rancid after a while if you don't replace it, and it gets expensive.  We don't fry foods enough to keep a big supply on hand, so I was using fresh, cheap vegetable oil.  When I switched to soapy water, I realized I need to check the trays every three days or so.  Otherwise the water evaporates.

Freeman suggests pouring water into the tray and then adding enough oil to cover the surface, which would be cheaper than filling the whole tray.  But I still prefer soapy water.
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