Who uses entrance reducers? what are the pros & cons??
everyone should when you have a small (new) colony and when its cold. its helps with heat retention and protection for hive. gives bees a small area to defend
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I look from number of ventilators, how big opening should be.
If day is good and there is no ventilating, the opening is too wide.
I use reversible solid bottom boards with the 3/8" opening side up. Since the 3/4" standard entrance reducer does not fit into the opening properly it was getting pushed out of the way. So, this year I put a 3/8" shim in the main entrance leaving it about half open. I use an upper entrance between the brood nest and first super too. I leave it open across the whole front.
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Often I use dry tree twigs as reducer.
It's not a "pro or con" kind of thing. If you're in the middle of a major flow on a strong hive, it will block traffic. If you have a struggling hive you don't want robbed it's essential.
thanks for the input. i just set up 3 new hives. one has a standard bottom board, one has a screened bottom board, & one is screened with a beetle trap. all are from kellys. i bought the 3 different types to compare & also to have patterns. i am a carpenter & plan to build all of my hives from now on. i have noticed that the bees are congregating at the entrance of one of the hives. not so with the other 2 hives.
On the same subject, how long after introducing a new hive do people get RID of their entrance reducer?
it could be a couple months depending on your hive
When you see a traffic jam...