Summer Hive Pests: Live Beekeeping Q&A with Dr. Jason Graham

Dr. Jason Graham answers your questions on summer hive pests in our second monthly live Q&A. Jason first got into beekeeping at the University of Delaware, earned his master's and PhD in bees at the University of Florida, and has worked with nonprofits and endangered bee species. He's kept bees for about 20 years across top bar hives, wooden hives, and Primal Bee. The session opens with a short walkthrough of the pests you're most likely to meet, then moves into questions from the chat, our Facebook group, and LinkedIn. What's covered: • Telling small hive beetle damage from wax moth damage, including the bakery smell that gives beetles away • Integrated pest management, and why the order you try things in matters • Mite thresholds, three-day drop counts, and starting with drone brood removal • Oxalic acid in an insulated hive, why concentration runs higher, and why you start with the smallest dose • Whether to pull honey supers before treating • Ants: why cinnamon and petroleum jelly fail, and what holds up instead • Feeders, syrup, and keeping patties from feeding the pests • Wasps and yellow-legged hornets, entrance reducers, and robbing screens • What to do when beetle traps aren't working • Storing frames over winter without inviting wax moths • Whether follower boards invite pests • Bears, skunks, and whether one fence handles both Written recap with links to every guide mentioned: [BLOG LINK] Usage guides: https://primalbee.com/tools/usage-guides Help center: https://help.primalbee.com Join The Hive Mind community group:   / primalbee   We run one of these every month, plus office hours twice a week. Tell us what you want covered next. Questions for Jason: [email protected]