We've had the first frost so it's time to put the mouse guards on the hives. We know there are mice living in or near the apiary; just before we brought the Beebettes back to the garden we found this one sunbathing on the floor of the apiary.
Apparently, they find beehives attractive, warm, cosy homes for the Winter. Bees don't mind them but the mice make a mess of the frames when they remodel to build their own nests. As they can squeeze through tiny gaps and holes, metal mouse guards are placed over the hive entrance which have holes in that are big enough for bees to enter and leave the hive but which keep mice out.
The down side is that the mouse guards may knock the pollen off that the bees are still bringing back in to the hive and they make it more difficult for the house keeping bees to remove debris but with mice in the apiary we don't want to take any chances.
We are still keeping the entrances narrow to make it easier for the bees to defend their hives from the wasps lurking about.
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