Making entrance smaller - when should it be done

[beesleybees]

Hi,

Keep reading how people are closing down their entrances on their hives, do I need to do that too? I've seen a couple of wasps hanging about but nothing major, won't making the entrance smaller slow them down

Advice appreciated

 

[madasafish]

Ideally you should do it before robbing starts..

I've closed ALL mine down - some smaller nucs 2-3 weeks ago.

Once wasps start robbing it's very hard to stop. Prevention is better than cure...

 

[itma]

Hives should have the entrance reducer block in place most of the time.

What may be necessary at this time of the year is reducing them further - bits of foam poked in with a hive tool is the easiest way.
You want the entrance to be well-filled with bees, all the time, to deter intruders.



Nucs are especially vulnerable due to their lack of bee power. They need particularly careful watching and the entrance reduced right down.

 

[Teemore]

About two weeks ago I felt that one of my colonies was a little edgy and whilst I had not seen any wasps around, I thought it might be worthwhile replacing the entrance blocks in all my hives. On the last inspection that colony had settled again and I have since seen a few wasps floating around hives in that apiary. On packing up in that apiary, I noticed that an errant wasp got a little too close to a hive entrance and a trio of bees tackled it.

 

[YorkshireBees]

Using OMF's I never bother to remove my entrance reducers anytime anymore. Doesn't seem to bother the bees unless they are trying to swarm!

 

[oliver90owner]

Tell us how much of the entrance width is currently being used. Tell us how wide your entrance is currently. Tell us if you are using solid floors, because they can quite easily be turned t'other way up to reduce the height by 50%.

I use narrow, as in height, entrances and most of the time there is part of a bottom frame bar or wedge piece stuffed in it.

 

[beesleybees]

I'm using bs nationals, using OMF the right way (so inspection board can be placed below OMF) allowing bees to use the full enterance space.

I just thought it was easier for the bees to pass in and out therefore making it less congested during a flow.

I have added an enterance block now

 

[Nige.Coll]

I saw wasps and on inspection my bees were very defensive so i closed the entrances down. That was about 2 weeks ago.
They are happier now and i have a wasp trap with about 30 dead wasps in it as a war trophy.

 

[Hachi]

Mine have been reduced to 2 bee spaces

 

[REDWOOD]

OMF, 8x100 entrance in the block, in all year.

 

[Swarm]

OMF, under floor entrances, 8mm full width.

 

[itma]

Hives should have the entrance reducer block in place most of the time.
...

Mine come out on those hives getting conventional mouseguards (after the wasp menace has passed).
And I've taken them out a couple of times on a couple of hives when the extent of the flow they had found was causing a scrummage at the entrance. Perhaps I should just widen the cutout on those blocks.
Incidentally, I rather like the look of some entrance blocks that came with my last (sale) purchase of assembled (for about a quid more than BoaB sale flatpacks - bargain!) Thorne floors. Very low and quite wide. They'll do as mouseguards!

 

[joctcl]

I enlarged my entrance block 2 or 3 years ago and leave them in 12 month of the year foaming them down to an inch this time of year.

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

underfloor entrances the whole length of the hive - all year around.

 

[victor meldrew]

Likewise


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

 

[charlievictorbravo]

Three Beekeepers Agree!

underfloor entrances the whole length of the hive - all year around.

Is it generally accepted that underfloor entrances do not need to be reduced in width for the resident bees to defend against mice, wasps and robbing bees. Do we know how bees defend the vertical part of the entrance?

CVB

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

Can you imagine popping your head up through a trapdoor? the design of the under floor entrance means you can have guard bees lined up each side of the slit, once wasp pops head up - bang!

 

[oliver90owner]

They don't defend against mice when the bees are clustered. Or even against late-surviving wasps.

As extra protection for my Dartington entrances, I used to insert a piece of timber full width and leaving just enough space at the top for the bees to crawl through and then up. The right angle turn would defeat a mouse. Not done it for years and not had mice in the Dartingtons, ever, anyway! I don't think mice particularly like mesh compared to solid floors, which may be another advantage of OMFs (not to be relied on, of course - added to make it clear to nearly all).

 

[Dishmop]

At the moment all of my hives have full width entrances. Solid floors.
Luckily (so far) never had a problem with wasps..Odd one or two trying to be brave but they soon get sorted......Late in the season I have seen the occasional wasp looking for bees in the grass that they can pounce on.

No mice.

Early in the year this unknown alien jumped over the wall one day, but after realising that it may not be a good idea, decided to beat a hasty retreat.......in fact so hasty that it broke the trellis...