When Do I Add or Remove an Entrance Reducer? - Foxhound Bee Company (2024)

FAQs

When Do I Add or Remove an Entrance Reducer? - Foxhound Bee Company? ›

While most beekeepers install entrance reducers during the winter out of habit, we recommend having them on the hive year around.

At most, the entrance reducers that come with the hives should only be used for the coldest few months of winter and should be taken out regularly on the warmer days. When you are comfortable outside in just a light sweater, then it is time for the entrance reducer to come out.

The beehive entrance reducer can be placed in several places. Typically on a Langstroth hive, it is on the bottom board on the bottom of the hive. But an entrance can also be placed on the top of the hive; this is up to the beekeeper's discretion.

Whether or not you use an entrance reducer is a matter of choice, and can be determined by local conditions, such as temperature and what types of animals in your area might get into the hive. For example, bee-eating lizards might be an issue in one area, and not be present in another.

There are a few ways in which it can be done, just like on a normal hive: Cut a piece of wood to the length you want and slide into gap, use a mouse guard, use a robbing screen or use tape to hold something to close the entrance. you can modify a Langstroth entrance reducer, or cut a length of wood to fit the entrance.

What happens if you block the entrance to a honey bees nest? Blocking the entrance to a honey bee nest rarely provides a good result. The bees will likely find an alternate route to get in and out, and whilst doing so will probably become bothersome within the property.

Should I remove the mouse guard? While mice can be an issue any time of the year, they typically don't bother beehives when the bees are active. It's ok to remove the mouse guard at any point, and may make it easier to clean some of the dead bees out of the way.

Bottom Entrances

This provides foragers with immediate access to the broodnest and can provide extra ventilation, especially when combined with a screened bottom board, upper entrances, and / or ventilated inner covers.

Add your next box once the bees have drawn out 5-7 combs in their first box. How long this will takes depends upon the weather conditions and your individual bees. Inspect every two weeks to monitor your hive's progress.

Beecentric Beehive Entrances

Built into the screened IPM bottom board, the bottom entrance has a reducer with an opening of 13 cm² (exact dimensions 3/8″ by 5.5″), which is in alignment with the preference of honeybees.

What direction should a beehive entrance face? ›

To get the most productive beehive, beekeeping experts, among many things, say you should face your hives to the southeast. The first reason is the sun rises from the east and for those of us who live in the northern hemisphere, it specifically rises from the southeast.

Bearding is a term referring to bees accumulating at the front of the hive, in a beard-like shape. Bees do this to make room inside the hive for added ventilation on a hot and humid day.

The top entrance will make it easier for foraging bees to directly access the supers of the hive. As a result, nectar does not need to enter the bottom of the hive, travel through the broodnest, and possibly pass through a queen excluder before finally making its way to the honey supers.

If you live in a really cold climate then the screen board might provide a little too much ventilation for your bees. But if you live in a warmer climate then the solid bottom boards could actually make your hives stuffy for the bees. So this is a personal choice you'll have to make depending upon where you live.