Ceracell Beast Blocker - Hive Entrance Reducer
The Beast Blocker® is a clever entrance protector made in New Zealand by Ceracell, designed to help keep unwanted visitors out while allowing your bees to come and go normally.
By changing the way bees enter and leave the hive, the Beast Blocker® makes it much harder for wasps, hornets, mice, robbing bees and other unwanted visitors to find their way inside.
It can be particularly useful during periods when colonies are under pressure from wasp activity, robbing or other hive pests, and it can also help reduce bee drift between colonies.
How does it work?
The Beast Blocker® changes the entrance to create a 90° turn for bees leaving the hive. Your bees quickly learn the new entrance and use the coloured gates as an orientation point.
Unwanted insects and predators, on the other hand, are attracted to the scent of the hive but have a much harder time working out how to get through the entrance.
The result is a physical barrier that helps your colony defend itself, without simply reducing the entrance to a tiny opening.
The Beast Blocker® can help:
- Discourage wasps and hornets from entering the hive
- Reduce the risk of robbing bees getting into a colony
- Keep mice out of the hive
- Reduce bee drift, which can contribute to the spread of pests and diseases between colonies
- Provide an additional layer of protection for the colony’s guard bees
- Close off the hive entrance completely when required, while still allowing ventilation
Getting your bees used to it
There is usually a little adjustment period as the bees learn their new entrance. We recommend fitting the Beast Blocker® early in the morning, before the majority of your bees head out for the day.
You may notice the bees behaving differently around the entrance at first. In warm weather, colonies may also form more of a “plume” above the entrance rather than traditional bearding. This is normal and generally settles as the bees become accustomed to the new entrance arrangement.
What's included?
Each Beast Blocker® comes with:
- Translucent front plate
- Two coloured entrance gates, pre-installed
- 1 long and 6 short screws
- Built-in score marks for trimming from 10-frame size to suit 8-frame hives
A square-drive screwdriver is required for installation.
A small change that can make a big difference
Your hive entrance is the colony's front door — and sometimes it pays to have a little more control over who gets through it.
The Beast Blocker® gives your bees a familiar entrance while making life considerably harder for some of the pests and predators looking for an easy way in.