Mouse countermeasures

[eddiespangle]

I’ve been using some rather brutal looking metal mouse guards this winter – is there a better way? Yates recommends using an entrance block drilled with nine 9mm diameter holes at 2 inch centres – this seems efficient and bee friendly. But what’s to stop me using my queen excluder as a mouse guard during the winter by placing it below the brood box? I could do the same in the summer to stop swarming if I was unable to check the hives for a couple of weeks. Has anyone tried this?

Does anyone have any thoughts or suggestions?

Eddie

 

[oliver90owner]

For a start, if your excluder is not rigid, you would need to take measures to avoid 'sagging' which could easily allow entry of a mouse. Further you might now have zero or only a single bee space between the frames and the effective 'floor'. Checking and removal ofdead bees would be hampered.

Some drones may be present in hives during the winter (not that unusual) and they would be entrapped.

Some use excluder material as mouse guards - fitted to the entrance on the outside. Considered as not 'quite so good as a proper mouseguard' as the bees would/could lose some pollen as they enter; the same would apply to a full sheet of excluder, except that the resulting loss of pollen would not so easily be evidenced by the beek.

Sum total of this is why bother? Just fit a proper mouseguard. Holes would be less than 9mm if I were making them.

Regards, RAB

 

[Poly Hive]

I think he is but doesn't like the look of them?

PH

 

[Midland Beek]

Some geezer in Wigan has got some real brutal looking mouseguards. I am told just the sight of them scares the mice off.

I am going to experiment by making a papier-mache cat and sticking it on top of one of my hives. Might keep the woodies away as well ...

 

[oliver90owner]

I think he is but doesn't like the look of them?

That's right, I was suggesting/emphasising 'proper', as in comparison with the alternatives discussed in my post.

Thanks for the reminder, but I had not forgotten, or overlooked, that.

Do you have anything constructive to add to the discussion?

RAB

 

[eddiespangle]

It’s not so much the aesthetics of metal mouse guards but the fact that they can dislodge pollen from return bees and become cold sinks. I suspect they’re the coldest part of the hive and probably do little to help winter foragers – I may even endeavour to undertake a little experiment tomorrow to see how much colder the surface temperature of the metal is compared to the rest of the hive.

 

[Poly Hive]

I am missing something here.

Mouse guards dislodge pollen?

Mouse guards are too cold?

Not being funny but at this time of the year there is not a lot of pollen being brought in. Further you actually don't want it to come in now as they will start brood rearing and so will varroa. Longer they stay brood less the better really for now.

Of course metal is colder than wood. It always is. Makes no odds to the bees.

I really think you are worrying about absolutely nothing at all.

PH

 

[Tom Bick]

Yates recommends using an entrance block drilled with nine 9mm diameter holes at 2 inch centres – this seems efficient and bee friendly. Does anyone have any thoughts or suggestions?

Eddie

I have also been mentioned to me or at least something similar and in theory it sounds a good idea but if we think about it entrance blocks are say 19-22mm thick and the holes will be that long to go through the entrance block.

Now try and imagine one of the bees struggling to remove one of her dead sisters a bit of a struggle at the best of time not to mention having to push or shove the dead bee through a 19-22mm tunnel.

I think it’s a nice idea perhaps a modified thinner entrance block but even one 5mm thick may be a struggle.

 

[Hivemaker.]

Metal mouse guards are just fine,not much pollen stripped from bee's with these,and can't quite work out how they can be a huge heat sink, pinned over the hive entrance: would a metal queen excluder between floor and brood box, as you suggested not be a bigger heat sink? it would certainly strip more pollen.

 

[MJBee]

I have a mixture of English mouseguards with round holes as supplied by Th**nes and French ones that have arches rather than holes. The bees seem to prefer the arches in that there are fewer dead bees on the OMF because it is easier to clear out the corpses. They are gathering gorse and hazel pollen whenever the weather allows and there is less on the varroa inserts of the hives with "arches".

The only down side is that they are designed for the Dadant hive and are therefore too short small mod required with tin and pop rivits

 

[oliver90owner]

I suspect they’re the coldest part of the hive

Eddie,

All the outside of the hive (when not in direct sunshine) will be at the ambient temperature, or close to it. Perceived 'coldness' is a function of specific heat and conductivity. Not a lot of surface area for conduction through bees' 'feet', also the delta 'T' would be far less than for us humans with a body temp so much more above ambient. I would guess that bees' legs are fairly close to ambient after flight, anyway.

A better way of making your own would be to drill holes on the joining line of two pieces of wood clamped together. The holes would then be semi-circular for each piece.

Regards, RAB

 

[drstitson]

if worried about pollen shedding then i'd've though that QEs are just as good at that as the round holed mouse guards.

 

[oliver90owner]

if worried about pollen shedding then i'd've though that QEs are just as good at that as the round holed mouse guards.

See my post #2 para 3

RAB