# Started making hives w/fixed boards due to hive beetle issue



## PatBeek (Jan 13, 2012)

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No matter how perfectly you measure and cut follower boards, the walls of hive always expand/contract. Therefore, here in Florida and all over the south, movable follower boards create a haven for dozens of hive beetles to hide. 

This is my first prototype hive with fixed "follower" boards. So technically, they are no longer follower boards in this case. They can be opened up for populations to expand in to side chambers. Otherwise, side chambers are usually left to raise small nucleus colonies.


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## Nordak (Jun 17, 2016)

Not sure what kind of opening you have on the fixed board, but I would worry the bees might not pass it to enter the next chamber. I'm guessing you've tested this already?


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## PatBeek (Jan 13, 2012)

It's a huge circle almost the size of the metal covering. They'll go in.


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## Nordak (Jun 17, 2016)

Ah, gotcha. Hive looks nice.


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## PatBeek (Jan 13, 2012)

Nordak said:


> Ah, gotcha. Hive looks nice.



Thanks so much. 

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## bobsim (Jan 27, 2015)

Very nice looking hives. 

When I inspect or harvest from a full top bar I need the room allowed by removing the follower which is at the end and used more as a spacer now than a follower. (My hives have an end entrance so the opposite end has the follower.) Pulling the follower gives me room to see and cut the attachment of comb to the sides of the hive. The bees don't bother attaching the brood bars but the heavy honey bars are well attached. These are 48" hives and one is fully drawn out but all of the honey combs are only partially capped. How would you manage this with fixed followers? 

FWIW, when necessary I use aluminum foil to seal gaps between the hive and follower and it works well.


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## Jon Wolff (Apr 28, 2013)

You've done a great job of sealing up the hive. Like you, I seal my hives up so SHB can find no place to go. But I do have a few questions for you. Beetles will get in, so will there be traps of some kind where the bees can corral them? Also, won't having immovable followers create very large gaps between combs when you open them, prompting the bees to build comb inside the openings?


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