16-Way Bee Escape Board 8/10 Frame - Clearer Board

A Clearer Board That Gets Bees Out of the Honey Super While You Sleep

Getting the bees out of a honey super is the part of harvest nobody enjoys. Brushing frames one at a time in a cloud of annoyed bees takes an hour a box, leaves honey everywhere, and by the last frame the whole hive knows what you are up to. Most beekeepers try it once and decide that was enough.

A clearer board does the job overnight. Slide it under the super in the late afternoon and the bees walk down through the escape into the brood box below, then cannot find their way back up. By morning the super is empty or close to it. This one is a plywood sheet in a New Zealand pine rim with a 16-way plastic escape, made for standard 8-frame or 10-frame boxes.

How the 16-Way Escape Works

The escape is a round dish in the centre of the board with one entrance on top and sixteen narrow exits around the rim. Bees leaving the super find the hole easily, because bees always head toward the brood and the queen. Once through, the ring of exits scatters them, and the way back is sixteen small gaps that bees rarely find. More exits means a faster clear, and old single-tunnel escapes jam with drones and propolis while this one keeps moving.

Using It Well

Put it on in the afternoon so the bees have the cool of the evening to move down. Place it under the super you want to clear with the escape dish facing down, then put the lid back on. Most supers are clear within twelve to twenty-four hours. Two things make or break it. If there is brood in the super, nurse bees will not leave it, so run a queen excluder through the season. And the super above must be bee-tight, because any gap becomes a way in for robbers once the guards have gone down.

What to Watch For in Australia

Do not leave it on for more than a day or two. An empty super is an open invitation to small hive beetle, and given time the bees work out the exits and carry honey back down. Pull the super the morning after and get it indoors. On a cold night the bees cluster and stay put, so this is a warm-weather tool. It also does nothing for the last few stragglers, which a bee brush at the extractor deals with.

Specifications

• Board: plywood sheet in a New Zealand pine rim
• Escape: 16-way plastic escape dish, fitted
• 10 frame: 506 x 405 x 35mm
• 8 frame: 510 x 350 x 35mm
• Fits: standard Langstroth 8 or 10 frame boxes, chosen at checkout
• Use: clearing bees from honey supers before harvest

How does a bee escape board work?

Bees leave the super through a central escape into the brood box below, and the ring of exits makes the way back very hard to find.

How long does it take to clear a super?

Most supers are clear within twelve to twenty-four hours, so put the board on in the afternoon and check the next morning.

Which way up does the board go?

Place it under the super you want to clear with the escape dish facing down, then put the lid back on.

Why is my super not clearing?

Brood in the super keeps nurse bees from leaving, and any gap above lets bees back in. Use a queen excluder and make sure the super is bee-tight.

How long can I leave it on?

No more than a day or two. An empty super invites small hive beetle, and bees can eventually learn the exits and carry honey back down.

Does it work in cold weather?

No. On a cold night the bees cluster and stay put, so it is a warm-weather tool.

What is the 16-way escape?

A round plastic dish with one entrance on top and sixteen narrow exits around the rim. It resists jamming with drones and propolis.

What sizes are available?

8 frame at 510 x 350 x 35mm and 10 frame at 506 x 405 x 35mm, chosen at checkout for standard Langstroth boxes.

Will it remove every bee?

No. It does nothing for the last few stragglers. A bee brush at the extractor deals with those.

What is the board made of?

A plywood sheet in a New Zealand pine rim, with a fitted 16-way plastic escape dish.