Beemaster's International Beekeeping Forum

BEEKEEPING LEARNING CENTER => EQUIPMENT USAGE, EXPERIMENTATION, HIVE PLANS, CONSTRUCTION TIPS AND TOOLS => Topic started by: cinch123 on June 20, 2012, 12:43:06 pm

Title: Follower boards
Post by: cinch123 on June 20, 2012, 12:43:06 pm
I would like to build a couple follower boards to reduce the space a weak colony has to maintain until they get built up. Should they only go as deep as a frame, or should they go all the way down to the bottom board?
Title: Re: Follower boards
Post by: Sundog on June 20, 2012, 02:15:51 pm
I would think about moving the bees into a Nuc. 

A follower board will create more "dead space" for other vermin (spiders, roaches, SHB, etc.) to set up housekeeping in, whether you go all the way down or not, but I think by definition that a follower board seals off the unused area.

If you do decide to go with a follower, I would reduce the entrance so the bees can only enter their partition, and keep a close eye on the other side.

Have fun!