8 Frame Plastic Queen Excluder
Slot-style plastic queen excluder sized for 8-frame equipment. Lightweight and economical option for keeping the queen out of honey supers.
- Lightweight slot-style design
- 8-frame sizing
What it is
An 8-frame plastic queen excluder. Sits between the brood chamber and honey supers in an 8-frame Langstroth hive. The slots let workers through but block the queen (and drones) from laying in the honey supers.
Plastic vs. metal
Plastic excluders are lower-cost and slightly lighter; metal-bound versions last longer under heavy supers. Plastic is fine for backyard operations; heavy honey production over many years generally favors metal-bound.
When to use one
Install right before the main honey flow, above the brood chamber. Remove after the honey harvest — queen excluders left on over winter can disrupt cluster movement as bees shift between boxes.
Usage notes
Some beekeepers call these "honey excluders" because unhappy bees sometimes refuse to cross them. Running a drawn-comb super directly above the excluder (instead of bare foundation) solves this: bees are more willing to work into already-drawn comb even with the mesh in the way.
Compatibility
8-frame Langstroth. Not for 10-frame; the sizes are different.
