Escape Boards

[PhilK]

When using escape boards do you all provide an extra box for those bees above to escape down into, or do you just let them squeeze into the existing space

[iddee]

A commercial beek and a hobbyist arguing about how to keep bees?? It's like a boy and a girl arguing over body position to pee. What works for one quite likely won't be the best for the other, so why argue?

[Oldbeavo]

Phil k
We provide an empty super for the bees to go into and fill with honey. Super full of honey on top of bee escape is removed.
When packing down in preparation for winter we will squeeze bees into a lower super or hive if there is room.

[rdy-b]

A commercial beek and a hobbyist arguing about how to keep bees?? It's like a boy and a girl arguing over body position to pee. What works for one quite likely won't be the best for the other, so why argue?

there is no argument rather a opurtunity for the group to follow a desciusion that incompases much more than one side
of the coin--beekeepers as a group dont in genral like BORRING--
what everworks for you--DONT LET IT RUN DOWN YOUR LEG--  __RDY-B

[Acebird]

When using escape boards do you all provide an extra box for those bees above to escape down into, or do you just let them squeeze into the existing space

The answer is no.  I harvest late in the fall so the bees are essentially clustered already in the brood chamber.  I can assess very easily how much to leave them.  If I were to harvest in the hot summer or late spring I would put an empty box of foundation or drawn comb under the escape board because they are still foraging.   For those that don't have a flow going on I would question why you would harvest.

[PhilK]

Cool - there's more or less always forage where I am so I'll be putting supers under my escape boards whenevr I use them!