Beehive Entrance Reducer Winter

In the winter the hive should be fitted with mouse guards.

Beehive entrance reducer winter. An entrance reducer gives the hive a smaller entrance making it easier to defend against these dangers. Reduce the size of the hive. So when you add the smaller reducer for the hive entrance it still allows the bees to move in and out easily but stops the entrance from being so large which reduces the amount of wind and cold that can enter the hive. We are no longer sending out entrance reducers because we have decided that they can cause the hive to overheat.

Entrance reducers may be used during treatments with essential oils or organic acids. Simple rules for using entrance reducers 1 when installing your package of bees for the first time. The bees are not strong enough to move the entrance reducer out of the way. 3 when the hive is being robbed by another hive.

A metal entrance reducer with minimal traffic going in and out. Entrance reducers are often used in the winter to reduce drafts through the hive to keep snow and rain from entering and to discourage small mammals such as mice from entering. However yesterday when cleaning hive floors after the winter i found a dead pygmy shrew on one floor. I m going to talk about when to do all of this winterizing in greater detail a little further down.

They can still come and go but it keeps them from wanting. Another reason to use an entrance reducer is during the winter months to protect the hive from becoming too cold. For brood to survive and thrive the hive should be kept around 96. Due to climate anomalies many areas are experiencing unusually warm days during the winter months.

2 in the winter when you are trying to keep mice out of your hive. There isn t any need to remove this one based on the amount of traffic. Perhaps it managed to squeeze under the mouse guard but once it was fat with bees could not get out. There is less.