How to Build an All-Season Mouse Guard for Langstroth Honey Bee Hives

Mice can damage beekeeping equipment by chewing the wooden boxes and frames, the beeswax comb, and contaminating surfaces with feces to the point the equipment is unusable. Mouse exclusion techniques for stored beekeeping equipment is to seal the boxes containing frames of comb and apply chemical fumigants, mouse traps, and toxic baits, if necessary. Protection of boxes and combs occupied by bees is more difficult because the entrance must remain open for bees to enter and exit. Current mouse exclusion tools have several limitations, including cost, impeded hive mobility, and time to install and remove. The All-Season Mouse Guard (ASMG) is a one-time modification to the hive entrance by adjusting the bottom board or floor of a traditional Langstroth beehive. This Nebguide covers currently available mouse exclusion methods, advantages to the All Season Mouse Gaurd, and how to construct it.

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