Does anyone have any trouble with mouse guards? I was worried that it may make the entrance difficult to clear dead bees when it gets colder. I use them for precaution since I can't get to the hives as often as I would like.
Mark
Only in the winter do I use them. The bees don't seem to have a problem with clearing dead bees.
I used one last year on a 1 season old hive. They had a hard time getting bees out. I used 1/4 inch hardware cloth. The bees seem to get in and out fine, but as soon as they got all the holes plugged, they where trapped inside. I removed the guard twice during the winter and used a long stiff curved wire to pull out all the deads on the bottom board. Either way I lost the whole hive in late Feb. Believe it was because of a cold snap and to much moisture.
I always leave the top cover cracked a little bit, they always use the top entrance by spring time anyway. Then I can clean the bottom and they'll start using it again.
Better than the alternative (cleaning a sour-smelling deadout is full of frass and leaves and the comb is all chewed up).....