Queen excluder issues (clogging)
Queen excluders can become clogged with propolis and beeswax over time, restricting worker bee movement between the brood box and honey supers. This reduces honey production, causes congestion at the excluder, and can stress the colony enough to trigger swarming.
- Scrape and clean the excluder regularly4
Remove your queen excluder during each hive inspection and scrape off accumulated propolis and beeswax with a hive tool. For heavy buildup, freeze the excluder overnight to make deposits brittle, then flex the grid and scrape clean.
📌 diy📌 free4/16/2025, 9:22:02 PM
🛠️ Hive tool or scraper, freezer (optional)
- Ensure flat, level excluder placement3
Place the queen excluder flat and fully seated on top of the brood box before adding supers. Check that the excluder sits flush with no gaps, warps, or bent edges that create irregular spaces bees will fill with propolis.
📌 best practice4/16/2025, 9:22:02 PM
🛠️ None
- Switch to a round-wire metal excluder2
Replace plastic or stamped-metal excluders with a precision-welded round-wire metal excluder. Round-wire models have smooth, cylindrical wires that accumulate less propolis than the flat edges on stamped metal or the textured surfaces of injection-molded plastic.
📌 commercial4/16/2025, 9:22:02 PM
🛠️ Round-wire metal queen excluder