The Great Queen Excluder Debate: Helpful Tool or Honey Blocker 🍯
Should I Use a Queen Excluder?
This is a widely debated topic in the beekeeping world—and it largely comes down to personal preference.
Cons of Using a Queen Excluder
- When a queen excluder is used, bees tend to store less honey in the supers and more in the brood nest below. This is especially true for weaker hives or during a poor honey flow.
- Bees are often slower to begin storing nectar in a super when an excluder is used.
- Bees will not begin drawing out a new super with foundation if a queen excluder is in place. You must let them start without the excluder, then place it back on the hive once drawing begins.
Pros of Using a Queen Excluder
- Using an excluder prevents the queen from laying in the honey super. While not a huge problem, dealing with brood during the honey harvest can be a hassle.
(See “What if the Queen Lays in My Honey Super?” for more information.) - The excluder makes honey harvesting a bit faster and easier, as brood and honey are clearly separated.
How Do I Use a Queen Excluder?
If you decide to use a queen excluder to keep the queen out of your supers, here are a few basic tips:
1. For supers with drawn comb:
Place the queen excluder between the super and brood boxes when adding the super.
2. For supers with new foundation:
Bees won’t start drawing out a box of foundation if a queen excluder is already in place. Instead, add the super without the excluder and allow the bees to draw out a fist-sized patch of comb on three or four frames.
Then, ensure the queen is not in the super (shake or brush the bees out), add the queen excluder, and replace the super. The bees should continue working through the excluder.
3. Winter:
Don’t use an excluder during winter. The winter cluster often moves upward through the hive to access stored honey. If the queen can’t follow due to the excluder, she may be left behind and freeze.
Remove the excluder after honey harvest.
4. Plastic vs. metal:
Both types work well. Metal ones last longer, but if they become bent, the queen may be able to slip through. Plastic queen excluders are less expensive but tend to warp and don't last as long.
I Used a Queen Excluder—Why Is There Still Brood in My Supers?
Unfortunately, this can happen occasionally. Here are the most common reasons:
1. Damaged or bent excluder:
If your excluder has a broken bar or is bent, the queen may be able to pass through and lay in the super. Inspect it carefully. If damaged, replace or repair it.
Then, find the queen or shake all bees from the super into the brood boxes to ensure she ends up where she belongs.
A good method is to smoke the supers and gently brush or shake the bees off the super frames into the lower boxes.
2. Queen was trapped in the super:
This can happen when placing the excluder if the queen was already in the super.
The quickest way to tell is to check for eggs and larvae in the brood boxes. If there are none, the queen is likely still in the super.
If there is brood in both the super and brood boxes, see number 1.