Entrance reducers don't quite fit...

[Bennettoid]

What to do??

 

[Cindi]

Bennetoid, if they are too wide, simply cut a little bit off of one end.  I presume you meant they were too long.  Have a wonderful and great day.  Cindi

[BMAC]

I made my own entrance reducers.

I cut a piece of plywood the width of the entrance of the hive and made it about 4 inches high.  Then I too my router and cut 5 semicircles in the plywood.  I covered the semicircles with 3/8" hardware cloth and dipped everyone in cheap paint to seal off the wood.  Then I screwed them to the hives directly.

Done.  It took about 8 hours to make all of them, but putting each one on the hive was less than 1 minute with my cordless drill.

[Kathyp]

if you are using the wooden ones, bring them in and make sure they are dry. then paint them.  they swell in the damp.  mine are a tight fit, but i set them with  my hive tool and they work well. 

[annette]

Same thing happened to me this fall. I had to cut off a bit on both sides and also top to bottom. I never painted mine and for sure that is the problem. Now they are on, so will leave them until spring, but next year I will paint them.

Annette

[Bennettoid]

Well, temporary fix:

[KONASDAD]

SO LONG  A MOUSE CANT GET IN, ITS REDUCED SUFFICIENTLY. DOESN'T HAVE TO LOOK GOOD, JUST REDUCE THE ENTRANCE IN ONE AREA OR TWO. i ALSO DONT LIK'EM SO TIGHT INCASE SOEM DEAD BEES CLOG ONE AREA YOU CAN GET AT IT.

[Cindi]

Bennetoid!!!  What a picture!!!!!   I have looked and looked and looked at it again!!!!  What on earth are you doing there?  It looks like something from outer space!!!!  Have a wonderful and beautiful day on our greatest of planets, Earth. Cindi

[CBEE]

Any one ever pull the reducer off and rake some of the dead bees out ?

[Cindi]

CBEE.  Yes, always, this is common for me to do this during the wintertime.  The bees are in the cluster and don't even bother me  :) ;).  I think it is good hygiene to remove any dead bees that the bees can't get around to cleaning out.  Have a wonderful and great day. Cindi

[Michael Bush]

Always remember the carpenter's creed:

Measure it with a micrometer.
Mark it with chalk.
Cut it with an axe.
Drive it in with a sledge hammer.

Seriously, though, a plane is a handy thing to have around and I would plane it down.

[randydrivesabus]

if its too long you could notch one of the 1x edges on your bottom board.  ;)

[Jerrymac]

if its too long you could notch one of the 1x edges on your bottom board.  ;)

But then you would have to do it to other bottom boards if you wanted to use it on other hives.

[randydrivesabus]

if its too long you could notch one of the 1x edges on your bottom board.  ;)

But then you would have to do it to other bottom boards if you wanted to use it on other hives.

but then you would have unique bottom boards.