Mouseguards

[ebee]

Can anyone tell me when perforated metal strip mouse guards should be removed.

[Neils]

I tend to remove them from about now. The colonies are starting to expand so should be capable of dealing with any potential intruders and removing the guards makes it easier for them to come and go. I tend to find that the guards accumulate dead bees over the course of winter so as I remove them, if I'm not going into the hives themselves I try to make sure that the entrances are clear. Over time the bees will sort themselves out, but I like to just make sure that the entrances aren't blocked.

[Adam]

Mine came off a couple of weeks ago; once bees were starting to fly well.

[Jon]

I never got around to putting mine on this year. I did have a bit of comb nibbled in one colony but the bees are fine.
A mouse got into an apidea in November and chewed the comb to pieces.
It was so mild here this winter that the bees barely clustered so I reckon any mouse would have had a hard time.

[gavin]

Took mine off about 45 min ago.

Plenty of mice in the orchard so bee bees definitely need them - except those with entrance reducers.

[The Drone Ranger]

Hey ho !
time to put the mouse guards back on ?
Usual mixture of panel pins driven into the existing entrance as recommended by Ron Brown
and perforated steel as recommended by nobody (don't like much but they work)
amI too early this year 73% humidity 15.3C as I type this

[alancooper]

A mouse got into an apidea in November and chewed the comb to pieces.
It was so mild here this winter that the bees barely clustered so I reckon any mouse would have had a hard time.

Opened a poly nuc yesterday - dead mouse with bee corpses in its fur - no damage to the frames - occupants doing well. Well done the girls! and no talk about mice-resistant bees pleas
Alan.

[Mellifera Crofter]

One advantage of that kind of floor, I think, is that it's a bit more windproof.
Kitta

[The Drone Ranger]

Those inserts that flap and fly out won't have many varroa left on them to check for

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[The Drone Ranger]

Checked out the cedar varroa floor if I only had a couple of hives I would buy them they look very good
I bought a couple of varroa floors from Stamfordham once they were very open and everything just blew off them
I had a Thornes one once that had a correct tray and it wouldn't stay put
You hardly ever found a mite on those so I made my own
On the SBA website I think Ian Craig had instructions for building nice solid ones

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