When to Remove Excluder

[Tulipwood]

I used a queen excluder during the honey flow. The bees are making burr comb all over it and I just scraped most of it off. Should I keep the excluder in place under three supers or remove it? This is my first year of harvesting honey.

[okb]

See the post below.

http://www.beesource.com/forums/showthread.php?t=211570

[Michael Bush]

Put it on top of the inner cover. It will get in the way less there. :)

[iddee]

>>>> When to Remove Excluder<<<<

YESTERDAY is the best answer in most cases. :D

[flathead]

the queen will not usually cross it anyway.

We don't use them anymore except when queen seaching and around our breeder hives etc.

Best place for them is in the shed.

[Oldbee]

"This is my first year of harvesting honey". I did this 3 years ago [1st year] when I put a queen EX. under a super [1] for comb honey because I did not have an extractor. The bees chewed it up "mercilously" and no honey was stored. I have not used a QEx. this year and have a super of comb honey from [of course] a very strong hive. It depends on the "type" of nectar flow you have in the area; if you think it is going good; remove QEx. BUT!!,.. if it's NOT going good maybe it would be advantagious to also REMOVE! it. You didn't say how those 3 supers are doing. If they are being filled with nectar, by all means remove QEx. A few brood cells in a honey super at this time of year will most likely be filled with nectar later. It all takes experience !!!!!!!!!!

[ScadsOBees]

If you have any large comb..ie drone comb up in the supers, the queen will crawl over capped honey, open honey, quicksand, tar pits, etc to get to them and lay in them. That comes from giving them empty frames or starter strips for honey supers. The excluder is very useful in this case.

If the three supers have honey in them already, then you can remove it. If it is drawn comb but empty, then they will go through fine to fill them. If you still have foundation up there, then remove the excluders.

They may burr the excluder all up, but they will always leave plenty of room to get up to the honey.

Rick

[Dan Williamson]

I use excluders and leave them in place until I harvest.

Bees don't seem to notice it after they've gotten used to it. Won't hurt anything.

[Benton2569]

I am trying an exeriment this year. Queen Ex. on one hive and nothing on the other. I was told to put the Queen Ex on sideways as this allows worker bees to maneuver up the sides. In addition it creates a smallgap between the brood chamber and the honey super (on the front and back) and thus increases ventiliation.

Either way it is not going to hurt anything. As you may have noticed the jury seems to be split as to whether they are good or not.

[Michael Bush]

If brood in the supers is a big deal to you (it is not to me), then do this:

Use 7/11 foundation in the supers or the medium depth honey super cell (6.0mm with a fake egg in it). The queen will not like them much.

Put some empty frames in the brood nest for the bees to make drone comb. LEAVE THIS IN THE BROOD NEST.

Try to get a cap of capped honey over the brood nest to keep the queen below it.

If you give the queen no reason to leave the brood nest (like drone comb in the supers but NOT in the brood nest) and you give her a disincentive to want to lay in the supers (wrong sized comb and/or fake eggs) then you will be unlikely to have a problem.

Another thing you can do is use all the same sized boxes. Since you won't care if she lays in the supers, Gumperson's law will then favor you. "The probability of anything happening is inversely proportional to it's desirability." ;)