Every kind of hive has some kind of bottom board. Typically, Langstroth type hives have a bottom board that is removable. Many are reversible, too. That is one side has a ridge going around three sides that is only 3/8th of an inch tall, leaving an opening so small in the front that a mouse should not be able to get into the hive. These are used this way in the winter. The other side of this bottom board has a ridge that is 3/4th of an inch tall, to be used in the summer for better ventilation and traffic control out front.

For awhile, bottom boards with a screen were common, developed to help control varroa that would fall through if they fell off a bee above. Some people would put cardboard sticky boards under the screen to catch the varroa and give an idea of how many a hive had. These had to be covered in winter, which was sometimes a problem because of lost covers, warped covers or bent screens. They are still around, but mostly for ventilation, not varroa control.

Mostly, we use what we have, because that’s the way we’ve always done it.

But now there are several styles of bottom boards to use. Many are now heavy duty plastic, some with built in screens and a cover, some are insulated for winter use, and some will fit an 8 frame or 10 frame hive, so no matter what kind of hive you have they will fit just right. Bottom boards are getting to be as technical as the rest of our bee hives. Finally.

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