# Queen excluder



## dudelt (Mar 18, 2013)

Unless you can figure out how to make one, no you cannot use one in a top bar hive. I have to ask, why do you want to use one and what are you trying to accomplish by using it in a top bar hive?


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## Tomas (Jun 10, 2005)

One of the main ideas behind a top bar hive is to keep it simple—and that means not using a queen excluder. Usually a “natural queen excluder” is used—a comb full of honey. When a queen reaches this comb and realizes there is no place to lay eggs, she is more than likely to turn around and go back the other way, instead of going around the comb. 

A queen excluder could be used but it would have to be cut to the size of your tbh and then maybe mounted in a frame or to a top bar somehow so it could be slipped down between the combs. It would also need to be cut to fit well. You don’t want to leave any space along the edges where the queen could crawl through.

But again, the idea with a tbh is to keep it simple. People also ask about making trapezoidal-shaped frames to fit into the hive and then maybe using foundation in them. Then they can use an extractor. It can be done but then you’re probably better off just starting out with Langstroth hives. 

As far as keeping bees more naturally in a tbh, they can be kept just as naturally in a Lang if you decide to go foundationless and not medicate. For me it is the simplisity of making the hive and the simplisity of the management (without using all the extras that go along with the Lang hives).

Good luck with your bees.

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Tom


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## ruthiesbees (Aug 27, 2013)

yes, I do use a queen excluder in my TBHs. Otherwise, my queens like to lay up the entire box with brood. As a management practice, I shuffle any drone comb or honey comb to the back of the hive in early spring (or even late fall when getting ready for winter). I like to add empty bars to the brood nest to get them drawn out into worker comb. If I let them draw it at the end of the brood nest, I usually get drone comb or honey comb.

My boxes have 3 equally spaced entrances on the long side. They typically use the first and middle entrance. Once the nectar flow is going strong, I will open up the 3rd hole, as they hive is usually busting with bees by then anyway. And I will put the excluder 2/3's of the way back, after the second entrance. I use a plastic 10 frame excluder that I have cut to the shape of my division board. Dremel scroll saw works great for this. The queen has never gone past the excluder, although she will run past bars of honey to lay up brood, if I let her.

Any comb in the front part of the hive that totally gets filled with honey will get moved to behind the excluder and an empty bar inserted in the brood nest to draw more comb. If the back 1/3 gets full before they are all capped, I will move them away to another TBH for finishing. As you all know, some hives pull it in faster than others.


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