Mouseguards

[ebee]

Can anyone tell me when perforated metal strip mouse guards should be removed.

[Neils]

I tend to remove them from about now. The colonies are starting to expand so should be capable of dealing with any potential intruders and removing the guards makes it easier for them to come and go. I tend to find that the guards accumulate dead bees over the course of winter so as I remove them, if I'm not going into the hives themselves I try to make sure that the entrances are clear. Over time the bees will sort themselves out, but I like to just make sure that the entrances aren't blocked.

[Adam]

Mine came off a couple of weeks ago; once bees were starting to fly well.

[Jon]

I never got around to putting mine on this year. I did have a bit of comb nibbled in one colony but the bees are fine.
A mouse got into an apidea in November and chewed the comb to pieces.
It was so mild here this winter that the bees barely clustered so I reckon any mouse would have had a hard time.

[gavin]

Took mine off about 45 min ago.

Plenty of mice in the orchard so bee bees definitely need them - except those with entrance reducers.

[The Drone Ranger]

Hey ho !
time to put the mouse guards back on ?
Usual mixture of panel pins driven into the existing entrance as recommended by Ron Brown
and perforated steel as recommended by nobody (don't like much but they work)
amI too early this year 73% humidity 15.3C as I type this

[fatshark]

Try not to use them at all ... I use those Dartington-style underfloor entrances on most hives. The right angled 8mm 'slot' is impassable by mice and easily defended against wasps. 15-16C here as well and they're packing the pollen in ... a fantastic site, with ~50% of returning foragers heavily laden with bright yellow saddlebags.

[Jon]

Too early DR. My bees are still bringing in masses of pollen and the mouse guards knock it off.
I wait till the first cold spell if I bother at all.
The mice are easy to deal with. If you get a rat starting to chew its way in that's a bigger problem.
The rats had a go at a couple of apideas last winter and I had the entrances widened on a couple of my correx boxes.

[Trog]

I wait until the first frosts; bees are very active just now and there's lots of ivy and fuchsia for them. It would be a very brave mouse that went anywhere near the girls just now! It'll be interesting to see how the polynucs fare, though, as it's our first winter with them and our mice have very strong gnashers!

[The Drone Ranger]

I was surprised how warm it was today
some folks say only put mouse guards on when you don't have to avoid guard bees
There might be better entrances than I use like fatshark describes I haven't seen those

[fatshark]

Hi DR ... Graham White of Edinburgh Beekeepers has published details (http://www.edinburghbeekeepers.org.uk/downloads/diy_open_mesh_floor-graham-white.pdf) of these types of floor. See also this page of a commercial one (http://www.alanwadsworth.co.uk/page84.html) by Alan Wadsworth. I see that these cost £32 :eek: ... I reckon mine cost about £3-4 plus a sheet of wire mesh (and I'm hoping to stock up on the latter from the cheapo offerings at the NHS).

I make mine slightly differently and have just written a brief article for our BKA on them. Once they've knocked together a PDF I'll be happy to send you the link. Better still ... here's a picture of one I built this w/e for a nuc. There is an entrance block in place (the unstained wood) ... Jon would be proud, the landing board is Correx :D

1838

The only problem I've ever had was when an overwintering double brood managed to pack the entrance slot with corpses during a prolonged period of very hard weather. I now nip round once a month or so with a specially constructed high-tech tool to clear the slot (a bent coathanger).

[The Drone Ranger]

Thanks Fatshark they look good
I hadn't seen them before - smart idea

[Poly Hive]

Overly complex possibly? So long as you have an 8mm entrance you are mouse proof. The only hive I have had an issue with was a Paynes poly hive which I tested last winter and of course got a mouse in. Why on earth manufacturers engineer IN problems beats me.

PH

[Mellifera Crofter]

One advantage of that kind of floor, I think, is that it's a bit more windproof.
Kitta

[fatshark]

Overly complex possibly?
PH

Not really PH ... all OMF floors consist of a square frame with a bit of mesh nailed on top. This floor requires one extra crosspiece and the landing board tacked on underneath. Simples. I reckon they can be made from scratch - other than the painting - in an hour or less.

Kitta might be correct about the windproofness, but I suspect the benefit is minor assuming the floor is mesh. Robbing and wasps are definitely less of a problem though, possibly because they are easier for the guards to defend.

Vita have a floor designed to trap Asian hornets in trials (I think it's featured in BKQ) ... this design lends itself very well to similar modifications should (when) they arrive.

[Mellifera Crofter]

... Kitta might be correct about the windproofness, but I suspect the benefit is minor assuming the floor is mesh. ...

About 50mph wind outside (gusts - but I think it is just one long constant 'gust'). I keep varroa trays in. All my hives are polys for winter, so I'm not actually using that particular floor just now. I have a few kinds of poly hives (still looking for the right one). The one with a floor nearest to the one you've described, Fatshark, is a hive from Beehive Supplies (http://www.beehivesupplies.co.uk/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=16&products_id=24). The downside is that the varroa trays can blow out quite easily. I've just run around in the wind and rain trying to secure them. It's wild up here on my hill.
Kitta

[The Drone Ranger]

Mouseguards
Yes it's almost that time again
Pelting down rain horrible day but not too cold
The bees were out and about this morning and I thought that was unusual for the time of year
Reading this thread though it appears it was the same in 2011

[alancooper]

A mouse got into an apidea in November and chewed the comb to pieces.
It was so mild here this winter that the bees barely clustered so I reckon any mouse would have had a hard time.

Opened a poly nuc yesterday - dead mouse with bee corpses in its fur - no damage to the frames - occupants doing well. Well done the girls! and no talk about mice-resistant bees pleas :)
Alan.

[fatshark]

The one with a floor nearest to the one you've described, Fatshark, is a hive from Beehive Supplies (http://www.beehivesupplies.co.uk/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=16&products_id=24). The downside is that the varroa trays can blow out quite easily. I've just run around in the wind and rain trying to secure them. It's wild up here on my hill.
Kitta

And for those wanting cedar there's also this one (http://www.alanwadsworth.co.uk/page84.html).

I use simple Correx sheets for Varroa trays and they can get dislodged, even in the zephyr-like breezes we get here in Fife. To solve this you can add a hanging flappy handle of duck tape (just stuck to either side of the board with a 2-3" bit folded over and stuck to itself) and pin it to the outside of the hive at the back.

[Greengage]

Thanks for the link another project.

[The Drone Ranger]

Those inserts that flap and fly out won't have many varroa left on them to check for :)

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[The Drone Ranger]

Checked out the cedar varroa floor if I only had a couple of hives I would buy them they look very good
I bought a couple of varroa floors from Stamfordham once they were very open and everything just blew off them
I had a Thornes one once that had a correct tray and it wouldn't stay put
You hardly ever found a mite on those so I made my own
On the SBA website I think Ian Craig had instructions for building nice solid ones

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[The Drone Ranger]

That should read a correct tray
But Tapatalk won't let me edit it
Frustrating ever changing annoying must find something else

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[The Drone Ranger]

And for those wanting cedar there's also this one (http://www.alanwadsworth.co.uk/page84.html).

I use simple Correx sheets for Varroa trays and they can get dislodged, even in the zephyr-like breezes we get here in Fife. To solve this you can add a hanging flappy handle of duck tape (just stuck to either side of the board with a 2-3" bit folded over and stuck to itself) and pin it to the outside of the hive at the back.
Correx fn correx stop auto correcting my spelling you bloody annoying thing ###££%&**???

That should read a correct tray
But Tapatalk won't let me edit it
Frustrating ever changing annoying must find something else

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[gavin]

Correx fn correx stop auto correcting my spelling you bloody annoying thing ###££%&**???

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I know, I know, bugs me too. Either:

- teach it that Correx is a real word, or

- is it an Android? ......

Settings> Language and input> (select the keyboard you use)> Auto (or Text) correction. Not sure whether 'Low' will do it but 'Off' certainly will.

Don't mention it :).

G.

[fatshark]

I don't think it needs emphasising that Correx = correct on here ... just ask Jon.

[The Drone Ranger]

Thanks Gavin

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