# Blocking entrance after installing bees



## Montana Bee (Feb 1, 2011)

I will be installing 2 packages this spring. One in a langstrof and one in a TBH. A commercial beekeeper friend of mine said he would block the entrance with dried grass for 4 days until I removed the queen cage. This is my first dance so I would like a second opinion.

Thanks very much,

JQ


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## NCSUbeeKEEPER (Feb 28, 2011)

You definitely want to reduce the entrance on a new package. I know some people like to use the "any old junk" technique to reduce the entrances on their hives, but I would just get an entrance reducer. Basic ones are less than a dollar. I use the smallest setting for the first 4 weeks and then switch to the medium setting. At 7 weeks it can be removed completely. Good Luck!


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## Walliebee (Nov 17, 2006)

The idea of blocking the entrance for a few days is to force the bees to stay. Sometimes with new equipment and non drawn comb the bees will abscond for greener pastures. By blocking them in they are forced to stay and drawn comb. Once the queen is laying, they will stay on the new brood with little fear of absconding. Some beeks do this, others don't.

Reducing the entrance works best as described above once they have settled and the queen is laying.


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## mythomane (Feb 18, 2009)

Best thing to do is to put a frame or two of brood in. They will not abandon it. I have had excellent results with this method.


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## Michael Bush (Aug 2, 2002)

I'm sure it has it's advantages, and excessive heat usually isn't an issue the time of year you're installing packages. I always leave them free flying. The bees always seem to shift somewhat and some hives end up with more bees because they like the smell of that queen better, I suppose.


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## iwombat (Feb 3, 2009)

If I'm away in an outyard and I'm doing a direct release, I'll put a queen excluder between the bottom board and the hive body for a few days, or until I can get around to making another trip out. (I've had bad luck with direct release queens just taking off). Otherwise, I'll just put on an entrance reducer.


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## wcubed (Aug 24, 2008)

We believe that Micheal is absolutely correct in his postulation about free flying bees during package installation. A condensed story:
We hived 9 packages in proximity on the second day after pick-up at the source. With no prior package experience, they were allowed to free fly - dumped the bulk of the bees into each hive and leaned the shipping cage up against the front for the remaining bees to find their way. The next day, two packages had abandoned the foreiner in the queen cage, except for a small handful of bees remaining. Three hives had more bees than a package count. Of those three, two looked like they had been stocked with two packages each. Conclusions: The free-flying bees had gravitated to the hives that had smelled the most like Momma. Secondly, It takes some time for package bees to endorse the queen shipped with them.

Have since seen a couple of recommendations that make sense. Increase the caged queen's protection from the old 3 day period to five days, and leave enough space in the hive to have room for the shipping cage. Button them up long enough for the bulk of bees in the package to switch allegiance to the new queen shipped with them.

If MB gets away with free-flying package installation, he must have several days in transit of his packages. In short, know how long the package bees have had to endorse their new queen.

Walt


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## HVH (Feb 20, 2008)

I've also experienced that drifting over the years and wonder if a queen smells more like momma or if some of the queens are just producing more pheromone. Commercial operations don't let queens reach their peak before shipping and it could be that some queens have not really begun maximum pheromone production while other are a bit further along. Its hard to imagine with bees shaken from a huge number of colonies that so many bees would have a preference for a new queen because of genetic similarity rather than overall pheromone production. Along those lines, it is said that about 30% of packages supersede within 30 days so perhaps the same queens that lose their workers to drifting are also the ones that are going to be superseded due to inferiority or delayed pheromone production. I think this would be hard to test because delayed pheromone production would resolve on its own with a delay in colony expansion being due to a loss of the initial workforce.


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## Sundance (Sep 9, 2004)

I've used hardware cloth to keep swarms in place
for a day or two. I also like the idea of the queen
excluder on the bottom board, make sense.


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## Ravenseye (Apr 2, 2006)

Two years ago I had a problem with drifting. Same type of situation as Walt describes. Last year my always busy schedule forced me to pick up 6 packages on a Monday morning but I couldn't hive them until very late in the afternoon on Tuesday. It rained Tuesday night and all day on Wednesday. By sight, I had virtually no drifting across those six new colonies although I did have queen problems later in the year. I'm thinking that waiting an additional day before hiving the bees, putting them in the boxes near nightfall and the fact that they barely flew at all the next day effectively increased their "contact time" with their new queen and that helped out. I can't say for sure but it seems to make sense.


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## minz (Jan 15, 2011)

So is this not a problem with nuc’s because they should have some brood and more “queen contact” time? My nucs are coming with “5 full frames and a new queen” which makes me wonder how new. Should I put the entrance reducer (bottom entrance) on the single slot or larger slot? I have been reading MB’s posts a lot and was considering doing the top entrance (actually built two middle entrances by the Beesource plans); do you do a entrance reduction on the top entrance?
Recap, 3 questions:
1.	Reduce entrance with a nuc
2.	If yes which size
3.	How do you do an entrance reducer with a top entrance?
:scratch:


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## Sundance (Sep 9, 2004)

minz said:


> So is this not a problem with nuc’s because they should have some brood and more “queen contact” time?


Good Nucs have a laying queen that the mini colony is
used to. No need to reduce the opening as it will be
small anyway.

1. Reduce entrance with a nuc *Nope*

2. If yes which size 

3. How do you do an entrance reducer with a top entrance?

Most my top entrances are small to begin with, usually a
dado saw cut on the front and back about 1" wide.


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## RiodeLobo (Oct 11, 2010)

What about when buying frames of brood, bulk bees and a separate queen (the place i am buying the frames doesn't have high quality queens).

I would think it was the same as placing brood in a package, any suggestions?

Thanks, Dan


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## Sundance (Sep 9, 2004)

Not exactly sure what you mean here. Frames of brood
come covered with bees, and the seller usually gives
an extra shake of them.

I buy queens from another source..... 

But bulk bees?? Are you saying to add bulk bees to
frames of brood from another colony??


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## RiodeLobo (Oct 11, 2010)

Sundance said:


> But bulk bees?? Are you saying to add bulk bees to
> frames of brood from another colony??


No it was the term they used for the bees on the frame and a shake of bees from the colony. 

This the first time to buy bees and frames separate from a queen. There will be about 2 days that they are queenless before the queens arrive from the different supplier. I don't know if that is good or bad, but it is the way that the timing has to be. My question was should i close them up for a couple of days, or will the frames of brood keep them coming back to that hive? 
Thanks
Dan


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## Honey-4-All (Dec 19, 2008)

Don't do it.......... unless the bees have some way in and out. Other methods are available to keep them in their location and reduce drifting. Reverse entrances, proper spacing, pouring at dusk instead of early morning or middle of the day are just a few that will help. Your other option is a great way to get in line to buy new bees after you killed the first bunch(s). :doh:


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