Escape Boards

[Acebird]

Does anyone know how long you can leave an escape board on before the bees figure out how to get back in?

[Michael Bush]

They don't figure out how to get back in.   They may find a 1/6" opening somewhere and get in, but they don't get in the triangular escape board in my experience.  The problems are ants, small hive beetles and wax moths.  Once the bees leave the clock is ticking...

[Acebird]

The problems are ants, small hive beetles and wax moths.  Once the bees leave the clock is ticking...

Not in October where I live.
Michael, how long have you left one on?  I could have swearn that I read somewhere that in time one bee will figure it out and then tell all the rest but I don't know if it is days or weeks.  The longest I have successfully had one on is 4 days.

[Michael Bush]

I try not to leave them on more than a day, but on occasion I've left them on two or three.  I've never seen the bees figure the escape out, but sometimes I've had them find some crack somewhere big enough to get through.

[rdy-b]

 never owend one -dont understand the benifit- but thats just me --try a queen excluder -and some smoke from your
smoker-best tools for beekeeping since the hive tool-- rdy-b

[Oldbeavo]

In Oz the boards can be left on for days in cool weather as the bees don't want to back to a cold super. But in hot weather they will leave overnite but as the day warms up, 35C plus the bees go back up to cool the honey. They seem to find their way back easy enough.
When we have escape boards on in summer its an early start to the day to get the supers off before there are too many bees.
to Rdy-b, it allows you to remove a full super of honey with out dealing with the bees, in cool weather there no bees in the super at all. We have taken off 120 8frame supers of honey and loaded to head home in 4 hours, that's the benefit.

[Acebird]

But in hot weather they will leave overnite but as the day warms up, 35C plus the bees go back up to cool the honey. They seem to find their way back easy enough.

That is probably why I had trouble getting it to work the first time I used it.  I was convinced to try it again in cooler weather and boy want a difference.  Night and day.  No sweeping bees, no killing bees, no adding a terrible stink to the hive or blasting the hell out of them with a blower and working in a cloud of bees.  Today I would put the priority of an escape board before a smoker because if push comes to shove you can harvest honey without smoke using an escape board.

[tjc1]

Escape board always works great for me - never more than a handful of bees in the whole box, and I shake, brush or blow them off. Longest I have left it on in a New England summer was 48 hours, due to rainy weather the day after. No problems, and I rarely see a SHB, but I'd still be nervous to wait too long...

[rdy-b]

In Oz the boards can be left on for days in cool weather as the bees don't want to back to a cold super. But in hot weather they will leave overnite but as the day warms up, 35C plus the bees go back up to cool the honey. They seem to find their way back easy enough.
When we have escape boards on in summer its an early start to the day to get the supers off before there are too many bees.
to Rdy-b, it allows you to remove a full super of honey with out dealing with the bees, in cool weather there no bees in the super at all. We have taken off 120 8frame supers of honey and loaded to head home in 4 hours, that's the benefit.

yes that is about what we pull-but there are other things going on at my end cali has small yeild per hive-each pull is about two suppers per hive-so i pull from as many as 80 hives in one yard with a flow that alows two pulls a season--so with that beeing siad
if you are placeing escape boards without mechanical help you are doing twice the work or maybe more if the hives are more than two boxes high--i have some golden yards that will be pulled this week--1/3 of the yard is 4 suuppers high--breaking them down and replaceing them so a escape board is added makes my back ach just thinking about it-- --also i load the truck 5 wide and 5 high-on a skid so i can off load with a hand dolly down a ramp to the hot room--we cary extra skids and use these as covers on the stacks of 5 to keep bees from reenterying the boxes that have been cleared by fume boards and if nesicary a blower--
carying and purchaseing escape boards for the work that you are speaking of --or the work being done in my yards is something i cant wrap my mind around -there is a method of abandenment that is quite efective -lees work than the escpe board --but wait its still one more trip to the bee yard-- --RDY-B

[Acebird]

carying and purchaseing escape boards for the work that you are speaking of--RDY-B

Aren't you carrying and purchasing the same number of fume boards and a god forsaken blower that has to be supported by gasoline and or a generator?  You spent the money on a blower.  You could just as easily spend the money on a jack or lift.  I personally wouldn't harvest honey if a fume board and a blower was the only way to do it.

[tjc1]

Yeah, I only use the escape board with my few hives - would certainly be another issue with a big yard.

[rdy-b]

carying and purchaseing escape boards for the work that you are speaking of--RDY-B

Aren't you carrying and purchasing the same number of fume boards and a god forsaken blower that has to be supported by gasoline and or a generator?  You spent the money on a blower.  You could just as easily spend the money on a jack or lift.  I personally wouldn't harvest honey if a fume board and a blower was the only way to do it.

  ***to Rdy-b, it allows you to remove a full super of honey with out dealing with the bees, in cool weather there no bees in the super at all. We have taken off 120 8frame supers of honey and loaded to head home in 4 hours, that's the benefit.**
                                                                                                                                                                                      ace--no do the whole pull with myself runing 2 fume boards -and one man pack the boxes-only the stuburn ones get get the blower----
also it needs to be mention that i beliave oz has out lawed fume boards -because there is debate over BUTRIC ACID AND BUTRIC ANYHYDRATE--these are comon replents that are used in the USA-and are found in many foods like cheese and almond flavred cookies-   there is a big chat going on over at BEE-L i can provied the link if you are interested---
sooo i think that the land of OZ uses escape boards in a profishant fashion--but its because the have to --no fume boards
of any repelent beyond butricacid or butric anyhide will move the bees to clear the suppers-its there laws that are dictating this not the will of the beekeeper-this subject is of interest to me -please provied input for me as well as the group----RDY-B

[PhilK]

I have never seen fume boards or the fume stuff for sale from any beekeeping supply or store here in Australia. I wasn't aware of them being illegal but I suppose they might be!

[Lancej]

I have found a few sites that say it is illegal to use fume boards in Au, blogs etc, but nothing in a legal document. There is a supplier selling repellent in Victoria who has been out of stock for ages, but it does not contain Butric Acid. Its the brand Honey Be Gone. You can also get it from NZ, the brand Bee-quick.

[rdy-b]

yes honey bee gone and beequick are made from natural almond and chery extract
both of those natural products dont have a nough of the natural butric acid --in a concintration
to move bees on productive leval--in fact some products can have a addvrese efect if over apliyed
--gloging the excluder and bees suffer from a bee drunkingens and cant bee cleared-there have been many changes in repellants and most use what works --honey maker-or beego--also hazmate and other goverment oversights has made the shiping another hope to jump through-even where  its allowed--RDY-B

[Acebird]

ace--no do the whole pull with myself runing 2 fume boards -and one man pack the boxes-only the stuburn ones get get the blower----

I am not trying to convince you to use escape boards but if there are two man teams it is pretty simple to tip a stack back and slip in a board.  The heavy lifting comes the next day when you retrieve the boxes.  I have to work alone so I am force to pull off the boxes put on the board and re-stack the boxes on the hive.  Because I only have 3 hives and only harvest once a year I haven't been motivated enough to design a jack, but I have thought about it.

[rdy-b]

 ACE -BUDY there is nothing simpel about tiping back a stack of suupers on a honey flow
 budy you have to crack each boxe --every supper is welded to the next with burr comb
it is back breaking work --also there are no teams when i pull honey--two guys pull
75 - 100 boxes in 3 hours--and then a pitt stop at kentucky fried chicken and back to
the shop-- RDY-B

[Jim134]

Does anyone know how long you can leave an escape board on before the bees figure out how to get back in?

  Honey bees natural instinct is to walk along the outside wall. They will never figure out how to get in through the triangle.


             BEE HAPPY Jim 

[PhilK]

ACE -BUDY there is nothing simpel about tiping back a stack of suupers on a honey flow
 budy you have to crack each boxe --every supper is welded to the next with burr comb
it is back breaking work --also there are no teams when i pull honey--two guys pull
75 - 100 boxes in 3 hours--and then a pitt stop at kentucky fried chicken and back to
the shop-- RDY-B

You could just crack the join between brood and super and tip the whole top part back at once?
Also two people is technically a team 
Just use whatever works for you, there's more than one way to skin a cat!

[rdy-b]

  yes inded my friend--what about the queen excluder-all my suppers are dedicate honey suuprs-all
white wax no brood frames -the plastic excluders are easyer to clean in hot watter than the meatal excluderes
--they are another obstiacale to deal with--what works best for me is the way of it for shure-when i am
 the second man on the team-- --RDY-B