Bottom Board w/ Reducer - 10 Frame
Solid pine bottom board with entrance reducer included. Standard 10-frame sizing.
- Solid pine construction
- Entrance reducer included — two opening sizes
- 10-frame Langstroth sizing
What it is
The bottom board is the base of the hive — the floor the bees walk on, the landing platform out front, and the attachment point for the entrance reducer. Premier's 10-frame bottom board ships with the entrance reducer included, which most new beekeepers need anyway.
Why Premier's version
Premier Bee Products, American-made in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. Commercial-grade pine construction with a reversible deep/shallow rim depending on how you flip it — deeper side for winter (more dead-air below the cluster), shallow side for summer (less space for pests to collect).
Using the reducer
The reducer is a length of wood with two notches cut in it — a wide opening for summer traffic and a narrow opening for winter/weak colonies. Narrow opening for new packages and nucs (easier to defend); remove the reducer entirely once the colony is strong enough to guard a full-width entrance.
Compatibility
Fits all 10-frame Langstroth hive bodies. Paint the outside to extend life. Mouse guards — a separate item — can be pinned across the entrance in fall to keep rodents out of the bottom board over winter.
