[Gray Goose]

[/QUOTE]
This is not true IMO

"i dont think mice eat bees they just move in(for the warmth) and mouse everything up and the bees cant keep a cluster and slowly die off till the hive is to weak to survive this is a bucket trap "

Mice move in and eat a few bees a day "protein" and a bit of honey" carbs" if it warms they hide in the grass nest or leave, temporarily. Almost never in spring are the bees and the mouse both alive. As well the agitation cause the bees to break cluster too often. Warmth can maybe attract them, but I see them in empty hive as well hive stacks, firewood piles , etc.

GG

 

[Roland]

The "Bull of the Woods" would also say "The best mouse guard is a hive full of bees". Don't forget he ran single deeps in winter, so there was little space for the mouse to hide. It was common for his unpacking crew to find dead, partially propolized mice on the bottom board.. That upset the unpacking crew, because it took time away from the game of "How many possums can you keep on the fence?"

Crazy Roland



'

 

[massbee]

I have had mouse problems before, when I first started keeping bees. They make a **** big mess. Chewed themselves a hole through 3 or four frames and made a nest in it. Haven't had a mouse issue since switching to polystyrene hives. The opening isn't big enough, but apparently is big enough for a shrew....

I was planning on going in tomorrow afternoon as it was supposed to be close to 50F, but now it won't get that warm. . . @Roland which is the worst of two evils? leaving the shrew or cleaning out the hive?

 

[massbee]

Alright - Good news all the way around. There's no shrew! And, there's a good sized cluster.

Was just warm enough today to get in and take a good look. There's no evidence that a shrew was inside, but someone has definitely been hanging out on the tray beneath the screened bottom board. I've pulled the tray altogether as I don't typically keep them in during the winter anyway. Not sure why I left this one in except that I was worried about their ability to keep warm as they seemed small in December.

The cluster is a nice size. I did move an outside frame of honey next to them as the adjacent one was empty. They are between the brood box and the super of honey I left, but I frankly don't think they needed the super.

So for me, crisis averted.... for the OP?

 

[username00101]

Too early to tell. Still somewhat early in the season, so the smaller entrances have hopefully stopped the attacks.

 

[username00101]

Those new entrances appear to have resolved the shrew situation within the hives, but those shrews are still at large.

 

[CosmoBee]

Get the bees way up off the ground and reduce to 3/8 inch or 1/4 inch entrance and leave no way for them to climb up your hive.
There's a reason why season beekeepers put their entrances up so high up - so shrews/mice can't reach them.
Don't leave them a way to crawl up and eat your bees.

 

[username00101]

Reporting back.

Quite impressed with how well 3/8 inch holes have worked.

Zero evidence of shrew activity.

 

[username00101]

The fight isn't over yet. I do not see any evidence of the shrews entering colonies at this point. However, the shrews are still at large.

the other day I removed the bottom entrance reducer because of the snow, and what do you know? chewed up bees the next morning.☠

 

[Mud Songs]

A couple of my colonies have obvious signs of shrew damage. Headless bees, piles of chewed up bees. It's definitely a shrew.

I've removed the 1/2 inch mesh, that's obviously not small enough to stop the shrews.

One of the colonies is bleeding headless bees...

Shrews are worse than mice, in my experience. I had to switch to 6mm / quarter-inch mesh to keep them out of my hives. I heard from a beekeeper in my area who had pygmy shrews squeeze through his 3/8-inch mouse guards too. I've written a lot my experience with shrews and everything I've done to keep them out of my hives here:

Shrews – Mud Songs

mudsongs.org

But basically, quarter-inch mesh is the way to go.