Greetings fellow beekeepers! I have seven hives and I'm looking to raising my own queens for 2001. My question is: can hardware cloth be used as an excluder? if so what gauge. If not, how can one manufacture an excluder at home? Thanks for the input.
Make sure you read the great post by Jack Griffes in the "Queen Production" Forum. Nice overview.
> can hardware cloth be used as an excluder? if so what gauge.
#8 hardware cloth will exclude all honeybees. #4 hardware cloth will only exclude the occasional drone. Queen excluders measure 5/32" to 3/16" between wire and as far as I know, there is not a hardware cloth that measures this.
When one can buy a plastic excluder for $4.00 and a metal one for $6.00, I can't see how you could possibly come out ahead by making one. Tell me there is a way.
Regards,
Barry
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