Queen Excluders: When to Use One, When to Skip It, and How to Do It Right
Few pieces of beekeeping equipment start more arguments than the queen excluder. Some experienced beekeepers call it a “honey excluder” and never use one. Others would not run a super without it.
Both camps are right in their own situations. This guide explains what an excluder actually does, the real trade-offs, which type to buy if you decide you want one, and the timing mistakes that cause most of the problems people blame on the excluder itself.
- A queen excluder keeps the queen (and drones) out of your honey supers so you harvest frames with no brood in them.
- It is optional for most Langstroth hives. Many beekeepers manage fine without one by giving the queen enough room below.
- Never put an excluder on before bees are already working the super, or they may refuse to go up through it.
- Always remove it before winter so the cluster cannot move up and leave the queen stranded below.
What a queen excluder does
A queen excluder is a flat grid placed between the brood boxes and the honey supers. The gaps are sized so worker bees can squeeze through, but the larger queen and drones cannot. Because the queen cannot reach the supers, she cannot lay eggs there, so every frame above the excluder should contain only honey and pollen.
That is the whole benefit: brood-free honey frames. It makes harvesting simpler, especially if you are extracting, cutting comb honey, or using a system where brood in the honey frames would be a real problem.
What it does not do is control swarming, make a colony produce more honey, or fix a queen that is short of laying space. Those are management problems, and an excluder can make some of them worse if it is used carelessly.
The “honey excluder” debate
The main objection is that some colonies are reluctant to cross the excluder to store nectar above it, particularly when the supers contain only foundation that has never been drawn. Workers have to pass through a grid to reach the empty space, and in some colonies they simply do not, choosing instead to crowd the brood nest with nectar. That can reduce the space the queen has to lay and add to swarming pressure.
The other side of the argument is practical. Without an excluder the queen may move up and lay in a super, especially if the brood boxes are crowded, and you can end up with brood scattered through frames you meant to harvest.
How strong either effect is depends on the colony, the flow, the frame size and the beekeeper’s management. That is why you will hear confident, opposite advice from equally experienced people.
A fair summary: excluders work best when supers already have drawn comb and the colony is strong and bringing in nectar. They cause the most trouble when used over bare foundation on a colony that has not filled its brood boxes yet.
Who should use one, and who can skip it
| Situation | Excluder? | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Extracting from drawn comb, Langstroth hive | Helpful | Keeps brood out of frames that will go into the extractor |
| Cut comb or chunk honey | Usually yes | Comb you sell or eat must be brood-free |
| Harvesting systems that drain honey in the frame | Usually yes | These are designed around brood-free frames; follow the maker’s instructions |
| First-year colony still drawing out brood boxes | Usually no | The colony needs to build comb and grow; there may be no surplus to protect |
| Supers with only undrawn foundation | Often wait | Let bees start drawing first, then add the excluder |
| Single brood box management | Common | A small brood nest makes it more likely the queen moves up |
| Top-bar or Warré hives | Not typical | Different layouts; brood and honey are separated by the bees and by how you harvest |
If you are on the fence, run one hive with and one without for a season and compare. Your own bees, in your own climate, are the best evidence you will get.
Metal, plastic and framed excluders
Wire-bound metal
Round wires held in a wooden or metal frame. Smooth for bees, easy to scrape clean, and rigid. Typically costs more.
Plastic sheet
Inexpensive and light. Can warp, crack in cold, or be propolised heavily. Some keepers find bees cross it less readily.
Stamped metal sheet
Thin perforated metal. Cheap and flat, but edges can be sharp and it can bend if pried carelessly.
For most people, a wire-bound excluder in a frame is the easiest to live with. It keeps proper bee space above and below the grid, cleans up with a hive tool, and lasts for many seasons. Make sure it matches your hive size: 8-frame and 10-frame boxes need different widths.
Whatever you buy, check the grid for bent wires or damaged slots before installing. A single gap that is too wide defeats the purpose.
When to put it on and when to take it off
- Add the first super without an excluder if it contains undrawn foundation. Some beekeepers also bait it with one frame of drawn comb to draw bees up. Our guide to adding a honey super covers timing.
- Once bees are drawing comb and storing nectar in the super, find the queen or confirm she is below, then slip the excluder in between the brood box and the super.
- Check the super a few days later for eggs. If you find eggs above the excluder, the queen was trapped up there. Move her down, or swap the frames with eggs below.
- Keep the brood nest roomy. Inspect regularly for a crowded, nectar-bound brood nest and give space if needed. An excluder concentrates the queen, so swarm prevention matters more.
- Remove the excluder when supers come off, and certainly before winter. In cold weather a cluster moving up into stores can leave a queen stranded below the grid.
Drones get trapped too. If drones end up above the excluder, they cannot get back down to the entrance. Many beekeepers provide a small upper entrance above the excluder to avoid dead drones clogging the grid.
Managing honey supers without an excluder
If you decide to skip it, a few habits keep brood out of most of your honey:
- Run a generous brood nest (for example two deeps, or a deep and a medium) so the queen has room below.
- Add supers when the colony needs space, not weeks before.
- Many queens are reluctant to lay in comb that has already held honey, so older honey comb can act like a soft barrier.
- At harvest, check each frame. Frames with brood go back down rather than into the extractor.
This approach takes a little more checking at harvest time but avoids the issues with workers refusing to cross a grid.
Cleaning and storing excluders
Bees fill the edges of excluders with burr comb and propolis. Scrape them flat with a hive tool before reinstalling so bee space stays correct. Freezing a plastic excluder for a while can make propolis brittle and easier to knock off; metal excluders can be scraped more aggressively. Store them flat so they do not warp.
If you buy used equipment, inspect excluders carefully and clean them well. Our guide to buying used beekeeping equipment covers what to watch for.
Frequently asked questions
Do I need a queen excluder as a beginner?
Not necessarily. Many beginners skip it in the first year because the colony is still building comb. It becomes more useful when you have a strong colony, drawn comb in the supers, and want brood-free frames to harvest.
Why won't my bees go through the queen excluder?
It is most common when the super holds only undrawn foundation or the colony is not strong enough. Remove the excluder until the bees start working the super, or add a frame of drawn comb above to draw them up.
Should I leave a queen excluder on over winter?
No. Remove it before winter. If the cluster moves up into the stores above the excluder, the queen can be left behind and the colony may fail.
Metal or plastic queen excluder?
Wire-bound metal excluders in a frame are durable, easy to clean and keep correct bee space. Plastic is cheaper but can warp or crack and is harder to clean.
How do I know if the queen is above the excluder?
Look for eggs or young larvae in the super a few days after installing it. If you find them, the queen is above or was above. Find her and move her below the excluder.
The bottom line
A queen excluder is a tool for a specific job: keeping brood out of honey you plan to harvest. Use one when you have drawn comb in the supers, a strong colony, and a harvesting method that needs brood-free frames. Skip it, or wait, when the colony is young or the super is bare foundation. Whichever way you go, keep the brood nest roomy, watch for trapped drones, and take the excluder off before winter.
Get local help. Beekeeping is very regional. Your local beekeeping association and your state’s cooperative extension service know your climate, forage and pest pressure far better than any general guide, and many clubs run mentoring programs and equipment loans. Some states and municipalities also require hives to be registered or set rules on where they can sit, so check before you set up or move colonies.