Sponge Box Beetle Traps

Description

These traps are chemical free!  They hold one sponge sheet/pad and keep the bees from pulling the sheet out of the hive.  These sponge sheets are similar to a swiffer style sheet to trap beetle’s legs in the sheet where they perish.  However, the pads used in these traps seem to grab their legs easier  The slots in the top and sides allow beetles in from any angle.

These traps are fully reusable!  Once a sheet has caught lots of beetles, simply slide the door open and replace the sheet with a new one, and replace in the hive.  (link below to purchase more sheets) You can even rough up the surface of the sponge sheet to make it even more prone to catch beetles using a wire brush or even sandpaper.

Each trap comes with one sponge.  The traps are 4″ x 4″ x 3/8″ to accommodate almost any location in the hive!  Each trap order comes with at least 1 cleanout tool that can be used to remove propolis that the bees might have closed up.  We added the black dot to help align the lid with the box when sliding it in place.

Placement in the hive:  They can lay directly on the bottom board or if you have enough clearance in your inner cover they can lay over your frames.  Or even over the inner cover.  Some people even opt to stand them up inside the box between the last frame and the side of the box.  Keep in mind that the bees will most certainly attach the trap to their comb and will be more work to remove later.

The traps are 3d printed in two colors of PETG and are food safe for bees.  Yes, they only come in yellow and black and they are a play on words for a former cartoon character that we cannot mention.

As with all beetle traps, a strong bee colony will chase the beetles into the hive.  However, the trap can be “baited” with a small ball of pollen or pollen patty.  Simply open up the sheet and smear or place the pollen patty inside and close the sheet and return to the trap.  This will help draw in the beetles where the sheets will hold them.  It is completely normal that the bees will attempt to propolize the holes in the trap.  We include a small tool with each Sponge Box order to help remove the propolis.  However, if the propolis is excessive, it might be easier to freeze the trap and then pop the propolis out of the trap once it is frozen.

When replacing the sheet, never do this over the colony.  Take the trap to a flat area away from the hive and have a flat bar or one of our beetle blasters available to crush any beetles that might still be alive.  You do not want them escaping back into the hive box.

NOTE: It is certainly possible that the bees will still attempt to pull the sponge pad out of the trap.  Some colonies will attempt to get the sponge out of their hive by pulling the sponge out of each hole.  A trap like this looks somewhat like a person getting perm with pieces of pad pulled out many holes!  When replacing the pad, take your time to slowly open the door and pull the pad back from the inside rather than forcing the pad through the holes as the bees were doing.

Add 12 more sponge pads to your order here: 12 Sponge Pads

Want to buy a 200 pack of sponges?  Here is an affiliate link to Amazon to purchase more of them.  https://amzn.to/4cK3wqv