Queen excluders

[pahvantpiper]

Just curious what others are doing. I go back and forth on this. Honey excluder or queen excluder? Last year I had almost no problems with the queen moving up. This year I have over a thousand supers with a substantial amount of brood in them and I'm not going to exctract the brood thank you very much. The brood will eventually hatch but I wanted to extract this earlier, lighter honey a couple of weeks ago not later when darker honey is being brought in.

Anyway, messing with brood is extremely time consuming. I want white comb in my honey supers not dark comb - less problems with wax moths and hopefully better honey?? What's the consensus among y'all?

[Joseph Clemens]

Maybe this thread will help: http://beesource.com/forums/showpost.php?p=332284&postcount=5

Wow, queen excluders are certainly a popular subject. I am certainly thankful for that or I might never have learned how to use them efficiently.

[greenbeekeeping]

I use some excluders. I hate waiting to pull honey too. This year I am trying something different then what I have in the past. I pull the excluders back 1 inch or so. Seems to get the bees through real quick and so far no queens. She usually stays towards the center anyway.

[high rate of speed]

It just matters how fast your flow is,and how patient you are.:)

[JohnK and Sheri]

Up here in the north country it would be tough getting the honey off and extracted in a timely manner if we had to wait for a bunch of brood to hatch, plus we want light supers too. We try to run excluders on everything, but sometimes don't get them on. If not John has the time consuming job of consolidating brood.
Sheri

[Eaglerock]

I have always use one super of comb honey between the hive body and extracting supers. I never had a problem with the queen going up. However, having said that, if you find the brood chamber filling up you better add another hive body or super for her to lay in.

[pahvantpiper]

When pulling honey, do you pull the excluder out before putting your fume boards on or do you just force the bees right through the excluder?

[JohnK and Sheri]

When pulling honey, do you pull the excluder out before putting your fume boards on ....
We leave them on. We have several colonies with fume boards on so don't have to wait for them to go down. Any remaining bees get blown out.
Sheri

[mike haney]

removing the excluder first would work better but one or the main advantages of fume boards is less handling of the supers.

[greenbeekeeping]

I leave the excluders on when I throw the fume boards on. I have 8 or so fume boards. Time I get the last one put on most of the bees are out of the first one. Then blown out like Sheri does. Hmmm. I seem to alot of stuff like Sheri and John.

[JohnK and Sheri]

Hmmm. I seem to alot of stuff like Sheri and John.
That is because we are all so smart;)
Sheri

[Junqueyardman]

I've tried using queen excluders but gave up for two reasons: 1. A high wind actually blew a super off the plastic was so slick 2.A state bee inspector told me he felt they were unnecessary here in the deep steamy south. I use one deep super and no more than two honey supers. Yeah, I get a lot of splits but what the hey !

[greenbeekeeping]

I'll agree to that Sheri. haha. Smart yep thats me... Just like my good sentence in the previous post. Its not my fault though. My brain works faster than my hands can move. haha.

[Ian]

>>I leave the excluders on when I throw the fume boards on. I have 8 or so fume boards. Time I get the last one put on most of the bees are out of the first one. Then blown out like Sheri does.

Right on the money, exactly what I do! That is when set aside dosesnt work anylonger

[Michael Bush]

http://www.bushfarms.com/beesfaqs.htm#excluders

[Joseph Clemens]

Since I began using queen excluders in the configuration I presently use, I realize that the comment, "queen excluders = honey excluders" is most accurate in my experience, but my queen excluders help keep surplus honey out of my brood nests, where it doesn't belong, and encourages it to be deposited into the honey supers, where I do want it, in that sense my queen excluders are honey excluders, and I'm glad that they are.