Problems with triangle escape boards

[kbee]

I have used triangle escape boards for many years without any problems but my experience today has me rethinking useing them at all. I put escapes on 4 hives Saturday. Each hive had 2 full supers. Went back on Sunday but could only pull supers from 2 hives because of the all day rain we got. There were quite a few bees left in the supers and I had a hard time getting them out. There usually are a bunch of drones because they can't get out the escape but this time there were alot of workers also. I thought that the wet rainy weather had slowed their movement out through the escape. Then today I pulled the last supers and agin there were alot of bees in the supers from 1 hive. I put the supers on the truck tailgate and started smoking them and brushing them off when they came up to the top bar. They did not want to leave and then what to my wondering eyes should appear but a nice fat queen. No wonder they wouldn't leave. But she shouldn't have been on a fully capped super anyway. I put the super back on the hive. if I used a fume board I would have saved alot of bees, time and nearly killing one of my best queens.

[Fuzzy]

Yeah, had that happen a couple of years ago. After a few days there were still many bees in the super and when I removed the triangle board the queen took flight. In a minute or so she returned to the top of the super. I held the super near the top of the hive and she went right in.

But, I still use them because they work well.

Fuzzy

[Troy]

I had a queen go through the queen excluder once last year. She must have had a hard time getting through as she had both wings cut off completely and was looking rather thin and sickly.

She still had a heck of a brood pattern going in the super though.

[Tia]

I think this has happened to all of us at one time or another! Now I know that if they bees haven't left, there's a good reason for it!

[Billy Y.]

Yep, escape boards won't work that well if there is brood in your supers.

[kbee]

At least I didn't use a blower. That would have been a disaster.