Freeman Beetle Trap

Protect Your Bee Hives From Small Hive Beetles Before You See Damage!

Orders may have up to 1 week lead time.

Ventilated Beetle Trap - 8 Frame
SKU: 1530040
$63.00

Sturdy & Effective, This Hive Beetle Trap Fits All 8 & 10 Frame Langstroth Hives

The Freeman Beetle Trap is an economical and effective way to manage small hive beetles in most bee hives. Simply place the traps underneath active hives and replace the tray contents as needed. Freeman Beetle Traps come in two convenient sizes: an 8 frame and a 10 frame in both the standard and ventilated models. The ventilated Freeman Beetle Trap is ideal for hot climates and allows for additional air flow. It consists of two parts – a coated galvanized steel mesh piece and a plastic tray that slides beneath it.

The steel mesh component slides into the hive to create a false bottom of sorts.
The plastic tray is filled with cooking oil (or soapy water) and slid underneath the mesh.

How It Works: As the beetles invade the hive, the guard bees pursue them downward and through the mesh. With no ledges to hide on and unable to remain on the mesh, the small hive beetles fall through into the oil where they die.

Made sturdily from rot and insect resistant Cypress wood, your Freeman Beetle Trap is designed to last through many seasons. The plastic traps may begin to show signs of wear before the rest of your trap; if they do you can order affordable replacements.

For additional control against Small Hive Beetles, we also recommend treating the ground outside the hive (where they come from initially) with the beneficial nematode, Heterorhabditis indica.

How It Came About: In response to the threat Small Hive Beetles (Aethina tumida) pose, Jerry Freeman of Hamburg, Arkansas created the Freeman Beetle Trap for use in standard Langstroth Hives. Following extensive testing in universities, including Mississippi State and Clemson, this trap was introduced to the public and immediately proved successful.

Additional information about beekeeping can be found at PerfectBee. Check out their Learning Beekeeping article!

This Product Controls These Pests or Diseases: Small Hive Beetle (Aethina tumida)

Clean the bottom of your hive. Remove the plastic tray from the trap. Slide the trap into the bottom of your hive. Fill the plastic tray with oil and slide it inside the tray frame. Close your hive. When the plastic tray is full of dead beetles or needs more liquid, simply slide it out and take care of it.

Watch the video below for more detail on how to install the Freeman Beetle Trap:

Special Notes:

Other liquids (such as water with a little soap) may be used in the plastic tray, but cooking oil is highly recommended as it has been proven to be highly effective and inexpensive. Used cooking oil obtained from fast food restaurants works well and most places will give it away for free. You will only need one pint of oil per half gallon of plain water. There is an opening in the back for easy access to this tray for servicing.
If you notice that some of the hive beetles are not making it through the mesh into the trap, do not worry. Generally this is due to the bees not being aggressive enough in chasing the beetles out of the hive. In these cases, sugar dusting the hive is the best way to keep the bees energetic and active. Some Freeman Beetle Trap users have done this for up to six consecutive days until the number of trapped beetles subsides.
To reduce the chance of Varroa Mite and Wax Moth infestations, remove and clean the Freeman Trap frequently.

Orders may have up to 1 week lead time.

Dimensions:

8 Frame - 13 5/8" W x 20" L

10 Frame - 16 1/4" W x 20" L

#8 mesh is used to ensure that bees do not get trapped accidentally. While some hive beetles may be larger, they will turn sideways and fall through. Sugar dusting hives will stimulate bees to become more aggressive in chasing beetle down and out of the hive.

Shipping Restrictions: Cannot ship to PO Boxes.

What's In The Package: Standard Beetle Traps and Ventilated Beetle Traps come with collection trays.

Reviews

Write a review

Got hive beetles under control

Apr 27, 2023 | By Michael Kummer

Not had any hive beetle issues since installing those traps in all five of our hives!

Freeman Beetle trap

Oct 15, 2022 | By Wendy

I love this trap. Before I started using I had 30+ beetles on top board every time I opened the hive. It was so bad that I was opening hive twice a week and killing beetles with hive tool. A day later they were back. Since I have put the freeman beetle trap on I have seen maybe 5 in one hive and the other hive I saw none. I do see beetles in the bottom tray- dead- in the oil. But I have noticed is it that it limits the amount of beetles that can enter the hive. I will be ordering more and I will use these on all hives. It is worth the price verses loss of hive. Thanks.

Great Trap

Aug 21, 2022 | By Richard Mckim

As soon as I started to put the oil in my trap I noticed that about 20 beetles had already fallen into the tray. I put the oil/water in and went back two days later and a lot more were in the oil. The number of beetles have reduced dramatically and now when I go through my hive I only see 1 or maybe 2 beetles.

Well built and effective

Aug 13, 2021 | By Brian

We are hobby beekeepers and only have places in the shade to keep our hives. We put these bottom boards on as an additional measure against SHB and there were several in the tray after the first week! These are very well built and I wish we would have started out with these bottom boards. We can also see varroa mites that have fallen into the tray. Having the vented option keeps our bees from bearding outside of the hive even with temperatures in the high 90s. We use cheap vegetable oil in the trays so we don't add additional humidity into the hive.

Freeman is not a beekeeper

Apr 25, 2021 | By Melissa

My husband had to change the wire because it was too small to let the larger females fall through and into the tray of soapy water (you can also use mineral or vegetable oil). The wire used for ventilation was too large and would let beetles and other pests enter the hive, so my husband changed that out too. The area for the bees to land he made larger and made some other changes. I do not call this device the "Freeman" but instead call it by my husband's name, since it is obvious from the amount of time that my husband spent making changes, Freeman himself is not a beekeeper. This device does not only kill Small Hive Beetles (SHB) but also drowns Verroa Mites that fall off the bees. I LOVE to see them dead in the tray... disgusting parasites! In conjunction with other things like the in-hive beetle traps and the honey, Crisco, and boric acid mix that can be found online, we are killing the horrible SHB and feel that we are doing our part as stewards of the bees.

Freeman Beatle trap

Jun 23, 2020 | By Joe

Excellent service, excellent quality, does everything stated and made in USA. 5 STARS

Mel

May 5, 2020 | By Melodee B. McDaniel

So far it is working s designed and described, we will see what summer brings!

Wonderful Way to control Beetles

May 4, 2020 | By Ingrid Jones

This is a wonderful concept and natural way to trap and kill small hive beetles. But I agree with the reviews above, the screen mesh is too small. I purchased two of these trays and had my husband switch out the screen for the #6 size opening and it works perfectly. All the beetles fall through, not just the small ones. There was also a small opening where the tray slid into the tray and a few bees were killed, it doesn't go all the way in. I simply clipped a thin piece of wood to block the gap. I have these tray under all my hives and it really helps to control the SHB. I'd give them five stars if the mesh was larger.

BEETLE DOWN!!!

Nov 5, 2019 | By Doug

No sooner installed this bottom board and by the next day dead beetles. Just what I asked for!

10 frame Freeman Beetle Trap

Sep 29, 2018 | By Ellis R. Hawkins

The screened bottom board is working wonders on the mites AND the small hive beetle infestation I had. I was surprised beyond belief at the success it had. I still have a few larger (female) beetles, but I'll get those. I believe if the hardware cloth was just a bit coarser, it would get them all.

Needs Alterations

Apr 28, 2018 | By beekeeper

The Woodwork is very nice and I love the oil tray but the wire mesh is too small. This is a small hive beetle trap that can't catch half of the hive beetles because they are too big. The wire mesh should be #6 instead of #8.

Owner Response: Hi There! Thank you for your inputs. We are not the manufacturers of this product, but will pass those observations on to them!

New Beekeeper

Mar 7, 2018 | By Cheryl Glover

This Freeman beetle trap was just the thing to curb our nasty little hive beetle population. We had tried many other methods with little success. This thing works.

Owner Response: The traps are a huge help! If you have issues with the hive beetles year on year, the Heterorhabditis indica nematodes may be helpful also.