GeorgiaWes · Georgia, US · Pests & Disease · Aug 13, 2026

Small hive beetle oil tray results, week by week — sharing my counts since installing

Georgia, 22 years, and this is my first season running oil trays under screened bottoms on all eight hives instead of just the worst two. Since folks ask about SHB every August, here are actual numbers. Week 1: trays averaged 40+ beetles per hive, worst tray had 71. Genuinely shocking given I wasn't seeing many on inspections. Week 2: average dropped to about 18. Week 3: 9. This week (4): 5-6 per tray, and inspections show almost no beetles running on the top bars. Two observations. First, the trays reveal how many beetles a "clean-looking" hive is actually hosting — the bees chase them down through the screen and into the oil, which is the whole mechanism. Second, my two weakest hives had the HIGHEST counts, no surprise — strong colonies are still the real SHB control, trays are the assist. Cheap insurance either way. Vegetable oil, changed weekly, dead simple.

#small-hive-beetle#oil-tray#ipm#shb

▲ 10 votes 💬 3 replies

3 replies

SourwoodGrace · Aug 13, 2026

This is really useful, thank you. Question — any issue with the oil going rancid in the heat between weekly changes? Mine's been stinking by day 5 in the NC sun and I wondered if that actually attracts more beetles or repels them.

GeorgiaWes · Aug 13, 2026

Rancid oil still traps fine, the smell is mostly a you-problem not a bee-problem. But if it bothers you, mineral oil doesn't go off like vegetable oil does and works just as well. Some folks use diatomaceous earth in the tray instead — also effective, just don't let it get damp.

NalediBees · Aug 14, 2026

Good data. We battle SHB year-round in Mpumalanga and I'll echo the strong-colony point louder: no trap saves a weak, over-spaced colony here. Match the box size to the bees so every comb is patrolled, and the beetles have nowhere to breed. Trays then mop up the stragglers.

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