Hi! I’m trying to make a new entrance reducer based on Tom Seeley’s measurements (thanks for the tip JeffH!) and was curious if there is a downside to making it so that it sits against the front of the brood box and not inside the actual entrance. Basically it would be a tall flat piece of wood that would attach to the box the same way that flow hive’s entrance reducer attaches (with those L screw things).
I had made a temporary one to help them defend easily while they were growing in numbers but I think I want to make one with two openings (so they can circulate the air if needed). I have pics showing the temp one attached to the outside of the box (in the way I described above) and was wondering if this would cause problems in the long run. (There’s a gap because I did a crappy rush job making it and it wasn’t screwed in tight, but the new one I make will sit flush.)
Hi! The piece of wood shown in the pic was all I had at the moment so that’s why it’s so thick. The one I plan to make will be much thinner. The link to the original post about the “Seeley Size” I mentioned is here: Is this an active robbery? - #4 by JeffH
Foxhound Bee Company sells an entrance reducer based on these dimensions but I don’t think it will fit in the flow hive entrance.
Hi Cat, when I was still using the bottom boards with landing I would reduce the entrances using a stack of 3 paint stir sticks. These are free at paint stores or the paint counter at home improvement stores. They’re easy to shorten to your desired length to create two openings - one at either end of the stack placed in the middle. @JeffH can tell you more about the benefit of this configuration
Thank you Eva, the benefits are self explanatory in the must watch video “City of Bees”. I love that Cat has a stack of unused paint sticks Problem solved.
Problem solved.