My brother and Dad ran a small commercial apiary in the coastal Alabama area. They tried everything, but, in my opinion, what seemed to help the most was always keeping a torch handy. The bees won't kill the beetles, but they will corral and trap them in propolis. Anytime you open a hive, you break the trap and hoards of beetles start scrambling. That's where the torch came in handy. We would singe as many beetles as possible before they reached the main cluster of bees. We would do this, progressing all the way to the bottom board. Nothing will eradicate SHB, but you just have to try your best to control them. As far as the hives they lost, most of the hives showed signs of other diseases such as foulbrood or mites. It seemed that the beetles would only kill a hive if it were weakened by something else. Basically, staying on top of beetles means staying on top of everything. Best of luck.
