Photos: Bee Hive = Build a better beetle trap

2 Very common things that are causes that I know of in the bee hive.  1 is Verroa Mites.  Basically it's a flea to the bees.  The other is Hive Beetles.  Hive beetles can eat comb, honey and wax and deficate creating rotting comb that turns to slime. 

From reading my other past blogs I lost the owl house bunch to hive beetles.  It unfortunately presence was detected in 1 of the other 2 bee hives.  I have a screened bottom board on 1 bee hive.  Never seen hive beetles in the screened bee hive that I call #1.

BEETLE TRAP WITH THE OIL TRAY FOR THE INSIDE THAT SLIDES OUT

I dealt with it the easy way thinking to just buy a beetle trap that goes in the bottom board.  So I did and well.........  It fell way short of what it needed to be.  I had to modify my bottom board to accommodate the beetle trap.  I paid something like $47 for both of them with shipping.  I was going out of town up to Dallas, so the easiest thing was to order it and have it arrive since I didn't really have the time to make it.  Nor did I want to spend most of the day making one.    It was a BIG FAIL what I got in the mail.  Spend probably 2 hours modifying it to make it work the way it was suppose to.  Cutting and measuring and figuring out an angle, glueing and you know pretty damn mad about spending money trying to take the easy way out.

OIL TRAY SLIDES OUT EASILY FRONT OR THE BACK

Typically I make my own stuff as I have a pretty nice shop that I built and have pretty great equipment.  Lucky for me though I ended up spending my holiday today Monday making a Beetle Trap.  Took most of the day working off and on.  The thing about making anything from scratch is trial and error.  Sitting looking at some lumber the gears have to get turning.

I WILL CUT THIS ACRYLIC PIECE TO FIT I RAN OUT OF SCREWS

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Cutting wood I had it pretty much done, but when I cut the channel for the front piece it didn't align up with the sides.  The channel is where the tray slides in.  It's cut smaller cause I am having a piece of plastic as a landing board.  The thickness is 1/4", so I had to notch it.  Since the groove is up not down with the side boards you have to move the table saw fence the opposite way.  I messed this up twice.  Ended up using it anyways and cutting it the other direction and have a FAT groove now instead.  Heck it's just a prototype. 

RAILS ON THE TRAY

My intentions were to build this so I can sell them.  Probably not happening.  Because it took me way too long.  I might build a few and sell them, but it will only be to help anyone else that had the same situation that I am in.  Nothing more then ordering something that is suppose to work properly and get it and it's design is crap.  I should not have to modify anything to make it fit or work functionally for the purpose intended.  I would have ended up with beetles going to the bottom board and not in the beetle trap.  60% coverage when 100% is needed.

ABS PLASTIC TRAY FOR VEGETABLE OIL THAT DROWNS BEETLES

Cost of material was $33 for 4ft wide and 10 feet length of 1/8" hardware cloth or metal grid mesh.  They didn't have the 3ft available in 1/8".  It was only 22 bucks.  The lumber was $5 with tax I think.  Staples a pack of 5000 1/4" was Oh....... $9  The plastic ABS I could have done it the easy way and just used strips instead of 2 pieces and cutting out the inside.  I used ABS and not acrylic as it's just more friendly in bonding.  I work with plastic for a living.  www.txholeyrocks.com for some of the stuff I do if you want to see.

INSIDE TRACKS AND SUPPORT

Landing Board using acrylic.

The main thing is that I wanted a tray to slide into rails, but the rails be snug even if it rains.  I have this well thought out and hope that it works. 

Currently I am doing a Verroa Mite Treatment with Apivar stips. 

Thanks for your watching.