Integrated Pest Management for Houston Beekeepers

When people first approach beekeeping, they consider the positives: forging a human connection to nature, aiding in the pollination of your neighborhood and reaping the benefits of the products of the hive. And that is all true. Beekeeping is mostly a laissez-faire hobby, but we are beekeepers, not bee-havers. There is work involved. And if you choose to mindfully manage your bees, you will likely come across various degrees of invention to maintain bee health.  Having an evolving Integrated Pest Management (IPM) strategy is the crux of beekeeping.

WHAT IS INTEGRATED PEST MANAGEMENT IN REGARDS TO BEEKEEPING?

Integrated Pest Management (IPM) is a multi-pronged approach for dealing with pests of the honeybee and beehive. An IPM strategy discourages reliance on a single, repeating approach; it involves timely monitoring and action. There are many methods of monitoring and depending on the results, various forms of action (or non-action!) to take.

Our newsletters and group talks previously covered the various methods of monitoring and a discussion of pest biology and treatments. We also discussed the non-treatment method.

PESTS OF THE HOUSTON BEEHIVE

Here in Houston, honeybees face various pests (wax moths, ants, crazy ants, raccoons, possums, etc) but the main two I've seen devastate hives are Small Hive Beetles and Varroa Mites, which are a focus in our newsletters/groups etc. every summer.

One of the biggest benefits to a beekeeping mentorship is hands on experience with important tasks and processes, like inspecting your hive for mites. 

Bee2Bee's newsletters, Facebook group, and mentoring are all chances for our collective members to grow as beekeepers.

LEARN MORE ABOUT SPECIFIC IPM TOPICS:

SMALL HIVE BEETLES

VERROA MITES