Slugs

[Millet]

I have found Slug slime on my brood box , how do i stop it. ? ..

 

[bjosephd]

I have found Slug slime on my brood box , how do i stop it. ?

Just on it?

I really wouldn't worry about it.

 

[Teemore]

Wrap strips of copper around the legs of the hive stand.

I found that you can buy copper "tape" for the purpose of wrapping around plant pots to keep slugs away from the plants. I have experimented with this on a number of hives that are in an area favoured by slugs and am content with the results. The lack of slime speaks volumes.

I'll be trying strands of copper from old cables when I get a chance to strip off the insulation.

 

[nantmoel]

I find slugs all the time in both Poly Nucs and mating Nucs, I just kill them when I find them.

 

[bjosephd]

Aparently slugs and snails don't like (used) coffee granules.

 

[Millet]

Sorry just messing about Folks, i thought it may well draw newbies into the equation.

 

[Beefriendly]

I have found Slug slime on my brood box , how do i stop it. ? ..

Burn it......nothing for slugs to climb over hence no more slug slime on brood box and added benefit of no more laying workers

 

[Millet]

Burn it......nothing for slugs to climb over hence no more slug slime on brood box and added benefit of no more laying workers

I was thinking about poring petrol on the slime but then i had a brain wave, seriously lol .. stick two cocktail sticks through the said slug's back end, it will form two legs and they will be able to walk upright without leaving a trail of slime , Just a thought mind you..

 

[coffindodger]

Sorry to be a PITA with a serious comment - well my nurse says that it is nearly time for my cocoa and my bedtime ;-) , but there are a number of suggestions that the micro ecosystem in a natural setting (tree etc) will contain slugs, woodlice, etc and that these contribute to the overall health of the colony. Certainly, they are not attacked or sealed by the bees. Should we remove such creatures?

 

[Gilberdyke John]

Sorry to be a PITA with a serious comment - well my nurse says that it is nearly time for my cocoa and my bedtime ;-) , but there are a number of suggestions that the micro ecosystem in a natural setting (tree etc) will contain slugs, woodlice, etc and that these contribute to the overall health of the colony. Certainly, they are not attacked or sealed by the bees. Should we remove such creatures?

Most of my hives have never had a slug in or on them. I have found an occasional slug under the roof of a hive in a sheltered area next to a hedge. There's no significant difference in the health of the colonies. However I don't want slugs in contact with my honey combs from a personal (and public) sense of revulsion regarding what I consume.
Feral bees may not have the same inhibitions

 

[Teemore]

Sorry to be a PITA with a serious comment - well my nurse says that it is nearly time for my cocoa and my bedtime ;-) , but there are a number of suggestions that the micro ecosystem in a natural setting (tree etc) will contain slugs, woodlice, etc and that these contribute to the overall health of the colony. Certainly, they are not attacked or sealed by the bees. Should we remove such creatures?

I regularly find deceased slugs in mating nucs (Kielers and Apideas). I dont use slug pellets (or copper strips) near them and the only explanation is that the bees have been able to "deal" with the slugs. On occasion, you will see a slug begin to curl up when the bees have noticed it and start to give it a bit of attention.... I find earwigs on the crown boards of most of my hives as Autumn draws near but the bees appear to keep most of them out of the hives. There are hedgehogs back in our garden this year and they are helping to curtail slug numbers.

I have noticed that some of my colonies "chew" the comb away from the bottom bars in the Spring and yet they will happily draw out full frames of foundation, corner to corner, alongside those same chewed frames of comb. My 2017 Spring observation was that it looked like there was some slug slime on the bottom of the odd frame and this corresponds to the "chewed" area. It leaves me wondering whether some colonies object to comb that has been visited by slugs during the winter and they get rid of it as the colony expands. They do the same to comb that contains pollen that has gone mouldy.

Coffindodger's comment reminds me that wax moths are beneficial to honeybees as they get rid of manky old comb that may contain spores etc and thus contribute to colony health. We beekeepers can contribute to colony health by getting rid of old comb and letting the bees renew it.