[dogsoldier13]

i know alot of people dont use excluders,i was just wondering if i should,i had a super above the brood chamber on my strong hive,when i checked it in the spring,i noticed that the super was full of honey and some drone cells were on the bottom of the frames along with some other brood,i placed an empty new super between the brood chamber and the other super,now the brood that was there has hatched and they are filling it up and capping the honey,no more brood has been laid in there.please advise :?:

 

[Iddee]

If you get your truck stuck in mud, use the excluder, it makes for good traction.

If you want pure comb honey, and don't mind getting half as much as you would otherwise, put the excluder on your hive.

If you want extracted or crush&strain honey, and the max amount, put the excluder in the barn.

 

[BjornBee]

I use excluders more now than I did years ago. Here is why? Years ago, I was told about fantastic fall flows and all the honey you can harvest. So I would not use an excluder as the bees had all year to back fill the top and push the queen down. But now I leave the fall honey for the bees, which coming off a dearth in July and August, they need the feed anyways.

So what I do now is use the plastic type excluders.

I have a upper entrance (Not top entrance) on all my second hive bodies. By the time I am ready to super, the bees are using the upper entrance. It consists of a 3/4 inch hole. When I place the supers on with an excluder, I'll plug the hole in the brood chamber. Since my supers also have a hole as an additional entrance, the bees just naturally seek out the hole postioned 6 or 8 inches higher. So within seconds of putting on a excluder and supers, I have bees going in above the excluder.

Now some will say "But you will have pollen in your supers!" And that is why you turn the plastic excluder sideways, which allows the bees a 1 inch gap in the front and in the back to allow bees to pass unobstructed. The queen almost never goes all the way to the edge of the excluder to pass around.

So what you end up with is an upper entrance above the excluder, bees willing to work the super as soon as you put them on, a lessening of congestion in the brood chambers, increased ventilation, and NO brood in the supers at the end of June, when I normally like to take off honey.

July and August around here are dry dearth periods. So I take the honey off and make my summer splits and actuaclly will start to get them ready for winter in late June when the flow lessens. Going out and finding brood in half your supers does not allow you to control what you are doing. The bees will still bring in nectar, but I'll use any excess for feeding splits, etc. But those days of waiting till September for harvesting honey are long gone.

I don't buy into any negative comments about excluders. It comes down to managing them, and using the in the manner that allows for the desired results. Excluders are like any other equipment option. What's the use of SBB without the use of hygienic bees? Whats the use of excluders without making the bees react and use them as you require?

 

[dogsoldier13]

thanks guys,i will stick with iddee

 

[indypartridge]

And that is why you turn the plastic excluder sideways, which allows the bees a 1 inch gap in the front and in the back to allow bees to pass unobstructed.

I've read about doing that before, but doesn't that leave about a 1mm gap between supers? Do they just propolise that shut?

 

[BjornBee]

And that is why you turn the plastic excluder sideways, which allows the bees a 1 inch gap in the front and in the back to allow bees to pass unobstructed.

I've read about doing that before, but doesn't that leave about a 1mm gap between supers? Do they just propolise that shut?

Absolutely. And that gap is just in time for all that nectar dehydration and needed increased ventilation..

The bees will propolise it shut since it's smaller than "bee space". But it's no big deal and at better than $8.00 a quarter pound (32 dollars a pound), I like some propolis now and then.

 

[barry42001]

Hi,
My expeience with Queen Excluders, comes from up north Upstate NY. and the problem was that you get chimmney brood or the queen goes up in to two or three supers, not filling them, just brood in small pattern on the middle two or three frames. Now I actually would not mind that, knowing that the honey flow will force her down eventually, but if your trying to set that super up for removal, and want to use the most passive removal method ( Bee Escapes ) then there is the problem--the bees will never abandon brood and more then a few will remain. Queen exculders might cause a drop in honey stored I really don't know that, as for propolizing the wires shut, found the brace combs more problematic then propolis that is a problem, for me, else where in the hive..
Thanks
Barry

 

[Iddee]

I think you will only see the chimney effect where they stay clustered for long periods of time. I have never seen it in the south. As stated many times, beekeeping is localized. That's why we require posting your location when signing up for the forum. I have seen much bad info given out on other forums that would have been good info in the area the poster lived in, but not where the one that asked the question lived.

Queen excluders are like alcohol, good when properly used, but too often abused or used excessively and for the wrong reasons.

 

[barry42001]

Thanks again,
While this will be my first year keeping bees down south, and all my other experience is from upstate NY, I can appreciate that there is a difference, ( already noted that it doesn't quite make is to -40 down here in North Florida, and the " severe weather " doesn't quite last as long, 2 monthes, maybe.
Barry