# Bean beetle trap?



## BOOSHIFIED (Jun 23, 2009)

I seem to have a ton of escapee bean beetles. This is not too good especially since my tanks are in my bedroom. 

So I'm curious to hear peoples ideas for traps or any other ways to control escapee beetles.


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## Ed (Sep 19, 2004)

Try a couple of glue boards with some fresh beans in the middle. After the first mass escape of newly fed hydei, I went through and made sure all of the lttle openings were resealed. 

I'm not sure what is a good trap as the form that emerges from the type of cultures we used are programmed to disperse. If I spill some, they do sometimes congregate on top of the tanks near the lights so they may be phototropic to some extent. 

Ed


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## BOOSHIFIED (Jun 23, 2009)

Youre idea was basically what I had. Some sort of sticky trap with some beetles on it.


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## Freeradical53 (Jan 25, 2008)

These bugs are extremely driven to dispersal! And they are fast. Ed, how do you feed these to the frogs?


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## Boondoggle (Dec 9, 2007)

I've kept small bowls of black eyed peas under the rack. Many will congregate there, you just have to make sure and change the beans before they start reproducing in the bowl. I think the sticky trap sounds like a great idea and will try it.

Another thing that helps is not overfeeding. I try to feed only enough beetles that the frogs will consume quickly.

Escapees are inevitable though. Bean Beetles are natures army tanks.


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## Ed (Sep 19, 2004)

Freeradical53 said:


> These bugs are extremely driven to dispersal! And they are fast. Ed, how do you feed these to the frogs?


THis is the method I use as discussed in this thread http://www.dendroboard.com/forum/food-feeding/60638-bean-beetle-collection-2.html#post526406. 

Just make sure to swirl dust in the funnel and collection cup to prevent the beetles from being able to climb out. 

If you seal up most of the holes, you can greatly reduce the escapees and the hassle. I get very escapees anymore.


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## motydesign (Feb 27, 2011)

new idea im giving a shot at over sticky paper


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## tclipse (Sep 19, 2009)

motydesign said:


> new idea im giving a shot at over sticky paper


Combination fly & beetle trap? Niiiiice.


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## motydesign (Feb 27, 2011)

hahaha, yeah it is, i was putting out a fresh batch of death juice for the flies and thought i need one for the beetles. so here is my SS wire and bean trap

i think i should have bolded "giving a *SHOT* over..."


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## Freeradical53 (Jan 25, 2008)

A waste of good beer. Hope you poured Old Milwaukee or something.


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## motydesign (Feb 27, 2011)

Freeradical53 said:


> A waste of good beer. Hope you poured Old Milwaukee or something.


OH NO!!! its applecider vinegar and a few drops of soap


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## Freeradical53 (Jan 25, 2008)

Sighhhhh...What a relief!


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## DannyMeister (Sep 30, 2010)

motydesign said:


> new idea im giving a shot at over sticky paper


How has this been working out? I constructed one today and am hoping for the best.

My wife is very close to banning bean beetles because they are getting everywhere! My tank that I feed them into is as air tight as I think it could possibly be. The luecs have a very hard time finishing the beetles off, however, because they immediately start climbing to the top of the tank waiting for the next day's feeding for a chance to escape. I do my best to brush them back in without any escapees and crush the one or two that I see make it out. Somehow we are getting quite the population of free range beetles around the house now, though.


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## hillblazer (Jul 1, 2013)

Did this work?



motydesign said:


> new idea im giving a shot at over sticky paper


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## Kas (Oct 6, 2013)

Will the beetles that escape get into kitchen cupboards and invade bags of rice, flour or noodles or will they just go for the beans? I have a couple cultures of BBs but I've been afraid to open the container and feed them to the frogs.


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## DannyMeister (Sep 30, 2010)

For Kas's question, these beetles seem interested in nothing but beans. And even those you probably have sealed up, so shouldn't be a problem. They are also picky about what type of beans. They breed freely in cups of black eyed peas, but just wouldn't in pinto beans.

I'll also relate my experience a couple years later on trapping bean beetles.

First of all, I don't need to trap them any more. I found a small, previously undiscovered, gap around a siphon tube coming out of the top glass in the back of the viv. That was how I was getting escapees. Plugged it up and now i have fewer roaming bean beetles than I do fruit flies... mostly the spiders get em or they die under the t5's.

Back when I did need to trap them, I tried motydesign's _ahem_ design, and it did catch a fair number. But then my paper clip that i had hot glued to the bottom of the cup detached and the beans submerged to no longer be a lure to the beetles... and I continued to catch just as many. I noticed that the bean/cider trap caught only slightly fewer more than some empty cups near it were. Turns out that the beetles just like to get to as high a locality as they can, and will fall into or stick onto whatever you have up on top of the viv. Sticky paper or small cups of vinegar on top of my aquarium-hood style light fixture cut down on them significantly.


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## Dendrobait (May 29, 2005)

Feeding just enough that the frogs eat them all helps a lot with this too.


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## Kas (Oct 6, 2013)

How about a few beans in a tiny bowl inside of the tank? Would that help keep the beetles where they belong?


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## DannyMeister (Sep 30, 2010)

Not the way a banana slice works for flies. As soon they go in, the beetles will disperse. The black eyed peas will quickly sprout in our humid vivs though, so that's kind of cool


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## Kas (Oct 6, 2013)

Oh yeah. Forgot about the humidity.


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## Kas (Oct 6, 2013)

As long as the bean beetles will only invade beans, I don't care if a few escape. If someone sees them in my house I'll just tell them they're BED BUGS!

Fed some out to the Azureus and Leucs and they went nuts! All 8 frogs devoured them. Made me so happy to see the little guys stalking and eating the beetles. The past couple of months my FF cultures have been crashing so these bean beetles have been a life saver....literally.


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