pros,cons about QUEEN EXCTRUDERS?

lisnnbeerawhoney · March 21, 2012, 03:31:26 PM

:bee: whats the pros and cons about the queen exctruders? used them a little bit and my exprerience is it keeps the queen from laying eggs.. thaks peter

beyondthesidewalks · March 21, 2012, 04:18:28 PM

They don't call them honey excluders for no reason. I used to use them but stopped. I get very little brood in the supers and found that they are more trouble than they are worth. Of the few times I've seen brood in the supers most of the time it has been Drone brood. That's varroa control for me. If I find a super frame with worker brood I just let it hatch out and get it later. They are something else to keep track of. You have to be careful with them or the wires will bend, rendering them useless. You will stop workers from drawing comb in a super if you put a super of undrawn frames above the excluder. Too many negatives and not enough positives in my opinion. I'm sure that some people love them.

Shawn · March 21, 2012, 07:01:20 PM

There is a big post on this but I cant find it right now, sorry. I think most people hear dont use them. I have them but never have had them on a hive yet.

Michael Bush · March 22, 2012, 01:58:10 AM

http://www.bushfarms.com/beesfaqs.htm#excluders

lisnnbeerawhoney · March 23, 2012, 05:04:31 PM

Thanks for everbody advice.

stewroten · March 31, 2012, 09:30:35 PM

I think I'd like a queen extruder :-D

Michael Bush · April 01, 2012, 12:01:00 AM

I have thought about that. What does a queen look like after you "extrude" her?

jredburn · April 03, 2012, 10:37:55 PM

Michael
She pouts like a little girl and holds her breath until she turns blue.
Regards
Joe

BeeMaster2 · April 04, 2012, 12:24:29 AM

I have 2 hives with q excluders on them. I put them on the bottom of the hive to keep the q in the hive for the first week after putting these 2 swarms in the hives. Once they have some brood I remove it. I learned that here on this site.
Jim

beyondthesidewalks · April 04, 2012, 02:05:25 PM

"I put them on the bottom of the hive to keep the q in the hive "

That's the only reason I keep a few around. They have become almost useless since I started buying the WTK metal disk entrances with the QE built in. That's the way to go IMO. Don't have to worry about the wires bending.

TwT · April 27, 2012, 07:20:13 AM

they have some good uses, put between the bottom board and hive body in the fall to use it for a mouse guard, I also use them to keep queens out of my cell builders, had a few queens that were marked in nuc's move into my cell building hive after they started laying and destroy all my cells, also use them when I catch a swarm to hold the queen for a few days....

yockey5 · April 27, 2012, 10:06:50 AM

I don't use them anymore.

beyondthesidewalks · April 28, 2012, 08:25:41 PM

They are great in the melting part of the solar wax melter. The molten wax flows through them and most of the trash stays above them. Keeping the brood comb elevated while in the melter helps the wax fall out of the cocoons. That's a great use for an old wooden bound excluder that's lost its wood. :)