When should I remove my screened bottom board corflute slide in board and my entrance reducer?
Based on other articles in the winter I added an entrance reducer and a corflute slider to cover the screened bottom board with the hope of helping prevent heat loss and robbing \ mice and such.
Well, it’s 3/26 and our spring here has been pretty rainy, cloudy and cold H 40’ day mid 30’s night) with patches of 60 deg periods. I’m not sure they are helping at this point but mainly I do not want to do more harm than good by leaving or removing them at the wrong time. With all the rain and mostly cold weather, will the reduced airflow and humidity be an issue leaving them in place until the weather is nicer?
Is there generally a proper time to remove these items?
(I am a 1st year keeper so this is my 1st spring with the bees.)
Little bit difficult to tell you forsure. I live up in the foothills SE of Seattle. We are dropping into 30’s n maybe low to mid 50’s. Really don’t use winter entrance reducers but up here I never remove the slider ever up here. Our summers are as hot n humid as down there but I’d leave the conflates/slider in for now … I only use to reducers to help the hive protect itself from predators ( yellow jackets, other colonies, etc. ) …
Good decision. I completely agree with @Gerald_Nickel (my friend Jerry). In fact, my entrances are reduced all year round to no more than about 5 inches maximum, and my 3 hives are thriving. I use solid bottom boards, or leave the slider in the upper slot, but I also use a slatted rack, which improves ventilation.
