When mouseguards?

[AndreaW]

As it says in the title. When should I put on mouseguards? Someone told me when the first frosts come. We do get mice in our garden, so I am confident I need them when does everyone put them on? Does the wierd weather make a difference i.e. forecast heatwave!

 

[oliver90owner]

I put them on when needed. Date is irrelevant. When the bees are clustered they are at risk.

 

[Cazza]

Put them on when the ivy flow has finished and activity has slowed up, when the weather has turned truly Autumnal.

Cazza

 

[Blue Spinnaker]

Sorry to jump on your thread Andrea - I'm interested in the replies too! Can I also add....how much entrance do people leave open before fitting the mouseguards?

 

[drstitson]

"how much entrance do people leave open before fitting the mouseguards?"

full entrance otherwise likely to get jammed with corpses.

 

[oliver90owner]

"how much entrance do people leave open before fitting the mouseguards?"

Depends on the size of the mouseguard. Does it really matter with OMFs?

 

[Flatters]

I think the size of the entrance depends on whether the colony needs protecting against robbing so with a strong colony it will have the full entrance during the foraging season (ie no entrance block). I put the mouse guard on when activity has slowed down which may be another 4 weeks yet as the ivy up here has not started yet, the HB is still coming in.

If I do put a mouse guard on I have moved from using the metal plate with punched holes to a simple wooden block entrance but with panel pins knocked in about 8mm apart.

 

[Erichalfbee]

If I do put a mouse guard on I have moved from using the metal plate with punched holes to a simple wooden block entrance but with panel pins knocked in about 8mm apart.

Same here.... when the bees begin to cluster

 

[susbees]

"how much entrance do people leave open before fitting the mouseguards?"

full entrance otherwise likely to get jammed with corpses.

Ain't that a fact. Of course clearing the floors beforehand is also a good idea as the dying bees in autumn may have got a bit ahead of the undertakers...

 

[drstitson]

also good idea to have the ones that fit in slots rather than pinned to front of hive - makes it easy to clear corpses - gently lift guard and sweep floor with a thin stick.

 

[Steve_gts]

Can a mouse fit through with an entrance reducing block in place? I bought mouse guards but looking at the size of the entrances with blocks in, I can't imagine a mouse being able to fit through the gap anyway.

 

[greatbritishhoney]

Can a mouse fit through with an entrance reducing block in place? .

For sure. You'd be surprised.

 

[user 6228]

hive on top of a greased metal pole (no nearby branches of trees) keeps ants and other stuff out as well

 

[drstitson]

mice can flatten their heads and squeeze through a slot around 5mm high.

that is why we use mouseguards not entrance reducers!!!!

 

[Erichalfbee]

What do you lot with MB hives do? My first winter with two and I just have the entrance reducer in. What else please?

 

[The Cumbrian]

mice can flatten their heads and squeeze through a slot around 5mm high.

that is why we use mouseguards not entrance reducers!!!!

Interesting.

Graham White in his web article "Building Open Mesh Floors" says under advantages of his design "No mouse guard is needed, mice cannot climb through the narrow 8mm slot".

Do I gather experience has proved this to be wrong?

 

[AndreaW]

"how much entrance do people leave open before fitting the mouseguards?"

Depends on the size of the mouseguard. Does it really matter with OMFs?

We don't all have OMF - I don't, I needed to know that as well

 

[oliver90owner]

Do I gather experience has proved this to be wrong?

Not necessarily so. I can (but often don't) leave a piece of wood in my Dartington entrances such that the bees can negotiate the right-angle thus formed (leading to the 8mm entrance slot) but hopefully the mice are deterred, if they get to that point.

Never had a mouse in a hive yet. Don't always mouse-guard all of them. It will happen one winter, I daresay.

 

[drstitson]

presume they can squeeze through a short length of reduced height but not a longer passage - their bits and bobs (technical scientific term, note) need to go somewhere (think gok wan - or ideal world presenters - squeezing those well built lassies into hideous control garments).

 

[BBG]

What do you lot with MB hives do? My first winter with two and I just have the entrance reducer in. What else please?

Get full width mouse-guards

Use strongish scissors to trim to fit like the entrance reducer does, with a right angle each end.

Fit mouse-guard

Put entrance reducer (right way up!) in with mouse-guard behind it and voila!

Ensure entrance is reduced and for this buy the green garden kneelers at a £1 a time from cheap shops and trim.
For hives, a snug fit is achieved by trimming an inch wide and stuffing in.
For nuclei trim a fair bit wider and stuff in - experimentation necessary!

As mouse-guard reduces entrance too, have regard to amount of to-ing and fro-ing.

Hope that helps.