Glossary
Devices placed inside or under a beehive to capture and kill small hive beetles (Aethina tumida). Common designs include oil-filled tray traps, between-frame baffle traps, and entrance traps that exploit the beetle's instinct to flee from bees into dark, narrow hiding spaces.
Small hive beetles instinctively flee from guard bees into tight spaces where bees cannot follow. In the wild, this means crevices in the hive walls. Beetle traps exploit this behavior by providing inviting dark crevices or gaps that lead into a killing chamber filled with vegetable oil, mineral oil, or diatomaceous earth. The beetles flee into the trap, fall into the oil, and drown. The bees cannot access the trap interior.
Between-frame traps (Beetle Blaster, Beetle Jail): Thin plastic traps that fit between frames in the top bar space. Filled with a shallow layer of vegetable oil. Beetles hiding between frame top bars enter the slot openings and fall into the oil. Inexpensive ( to 3 each), effective, and easy to monitor. Bottom board traps: Oil-filled trays that slide under a screened bottom board. Beetles pushed down by bees fall through the screen into the oil below. These also serve double duty as varroa monitoring boards. Entrance traps: Devices that create narrow passages at the hive entrance, funneling beetles into an oil chamber as they try to enter the hive.
In Florida's warm climate where small hive beetle pressure is year-round, most beekeepers use a multi-pronged approach: between-frame traps in the top super (1 to 2 per hive), a screened bottom board with oil tray, and keeping colonies strong (populous colonies actively corral and imprison beetles using propolis). Trapping works best as part of integrated pest management, not as the sole defense. Strong colonies, adequate ventilation, and avoiding leaving supers of unattended comb in the apiary are equally important.
Vegetable oil (canola, soybean) is the most common and cost-effective choice. Mineral oil works equally well and does not go rancid. Some beekeepers add a splash of apple cider vinegar to the oil as a beetle attractant, though beetles find the traps readily through their hiding instinct alone. Check and refill traps every 2 to 4 weeks or when the oil becomes full of beetles.
Traps reduce adult beetle numbers inside the hive, which limits egg laying and larval damage. However, traps alone cannot eliminate beetles because reproduction occurs in the soil outside the hive. Effective SHB management combines in-hive trapping with strong colony management and soil treatment (permethrin drench or beneficial nematodes) around hive stands.
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