6 Best Bee Escape Boards For Easy Honey Harvesting That Keep Bees Calm
Bee escape boards use a one-way exit to gently clear bees from honey supers. We review the 6 best options for a calm, easy, and stress-free harvest.
Shaking and brushing bees off heavy frames of honey is a sticky, chaotic job that can leave both you and your colony agitated. A frantic harvest often leads to defensiveness, robbing from neighboring hives, and a less-than-enjoyable experience for everyone involved. The right tool can transform this high-stress task into a quiet, methodical process that respects the bees’ natural behavior.
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How Bee Escape Boards Gently Clear Honey Supers
A bee escape board is essentially a one-way door for your honeybees. You place the board between the honey supers you want to harvest and the brood boxes below. The bees, following their natural instinct to move down into the brood nest at night, travel through the escape’s passages.
Once they pass through, the design of the escape prevents them from finding their way back up. It’s a brilliant, low-stress method. Instead of fighting a cloud of angry bees, you return 24 to 48 hours later to find honey supers that are nearly empty of bees and ready for a peaceful harvest.
This gentle eviction has huge benefits beyond your own comfort. It dramatically reduces the risk of inciting a robbing frenzy, as there’s no exposed honey or frantic activity to attract foragers from other hives. A calm harvest means a calm apiary, which is safer for you, your family, and the bees themselves.
Mann Lake Porter Bee Escape: The Timeless Classic
The Porter bee escape is the original design, and for good reason—it works. This small, simple device, usually made of plastic with two delicate metal springs, is mounted in the center hole of an inner cover or a dedicated board. Bees push past the springs to exit but can’t push their way back in.
Its biggest advantage is its simplicity and low cost. You can buy just the escape mechanism and fit it to your own board. For a beekeeper with just a few hives, this is often the most economical and straightforward entry into passive honey clearing.
The main drawback is its tendency to get jammed. Propolis can gum up the springs, or a single drone, being larger than a worker, can get stuck and block the exit for everyone else. You need to check that it’s clear before installation, but it remains a reliable workhorse for small-scale beekeepers.
Ceracell 8-Way Bee Escape for Faster Clearing
If you’re short on time, the Ceracell 8-Way is your best bet. This round, plastic escape features eight separate exits, allowing a large volume of bees to move out of the supers quickly. A strong, populous colony can clear out a super in as little as a few hours, though leaving it overnight is still the standard practice.
The multiple exits make it almost impossible to clog. Drones, debris, and propolis are non-issues, making it a "set it and forget it" tool. This is the board for the beekeeper who needs to pull honey on a Friday evening for a Saturday morning extraction.
The only potential downside is that with so many exits, a few clever bees can sometimes find their way back in, especially if the board is left on for more than 48 hours. It’s not a common problem, but it’s a tradeoff for the remarkable speed. For most hobbyists, the speed and reliability far outweigh this minor risk.
Betterbee’s Triangle Board for Efficient Exits
The triangle escape board offers a fantastic balance between the simplicity of a Porter and the speed of a multi-exit board. The design uses a series of plastic triangles to create a maze that is easy for bees to exit but nearly impossible for them to re-enter.
This design is highly efficient and very resistant to clogging. It provides a large exit area without giving bees a straight path back to the honey. It clears supers thoroughly, often leaving fewer stragglers than other designs. Think of it as a modern upgrade to the classic concept.
Because it’s typically sold as a complete board, it’s ready to use right out of the box with no assembly required. It’s a mid-priced option that delivers consistent, reliable results, making it an excellent choice for any beekeeper who wants a dependable tool that just works.
Lyson Canadian Escape Board for Large Apiaries
The Canadian escape board, sometimes called a Quebec board, is built for clearing a lot of bees from a lot of supers. This large board features multiple escape routes integrated into a maze-like design that covers a significant portion of the board’s surface area. It’s designed for maximum bee movement.
This is the tool for the serious hobbyist with a dozen or more hives or someone running a small sideliner operation. When you need to pull 20 or 30 supers in a weekend, the efficiency of a Canadian board saves an enormous amount of time and labor. It ensures hives are cleared quickly and consistently.
For a beekeeper with only two or three hives, this board is overkill. It’s larger, heavier, and more expensive than other options. But if your apiary is growing, investing in one of these can make harvest day significantly more manageable and productive.
Dadant Rhombus Escape Board: A Gentle Option
The Dadant Rhombus escape is all about a slow, steady, and thorough clearing. Its diamond-shaped maze is intricate, ensuring that once bees leave the super, they have virtually no chance of finding their way back. This design is exceptionally effective.
This isn’t the fastest board on the market. It’s designed for a more gradual exodus, which can be even gentler on the colony. If your primary goal is to have the calmest bees and the emptiest supers possible, and you aren’t in a rush, this is an outstanding choice.
It’s particularly useful in cooler weather when bees might be more reluctant to move down. The design encourages steady movement without causing confusion or stress. It’s a premium option for the patient beekeeper who prioritizes colony well-being above all else.
Plastic Conical Escapes for DIY Inner Covers
For the ultimate in customization and thrift, you can’t beat the simple plastic conical escapes. These small, cone-shaped inserts are designed to be installed directly into a board or an inner cover. You simply drill a few holes and pop them in.
This DIY approach is incredibly cost-effective. You can convert any standard inner cover into a high-efficiency escape board with 8 or 10 exits for just a few dollars. This allows you to tailor the board to your specific needs and equipment.
The key is proper installation. The hole must be the right size for a snug fit, and you must install them facing the correct direction (wide end up, narrow end down). When done correctly, a DIY board with conical escapes can perform just as well as, or even better than, more expensive pre-made options.
How to Properly Install and Time Your Escape Board
Using an escape board is simple, but getting the details right is crucial for success. Your goal is to make a one-way street, not a confusing roadblock.
First, identify the supers you are ready to harvest. Place the escape board directly below the lowest super you plan to take and on top of the brood boxes you are leaving behind. Ensure the escape holes are facing up, allowing bees to go down. A common mistake is installing it upside down, which traps the bees in the honey super. Make sure there are no other upper entrances or cracks in the supers where bees can bypass the board.
Timing is everything. Install the board 24 to 48 hours before you plan to pull the honey. The best time is in the late afternoon or evening, as the bees naturally begin to move down into the brood nest for the night. Leaving it on for much longer than 48 hours is counterproductive; some clever bees will eventually figure out how to get back through, defeating the purpose. Check the weather—avoid installing it right before a sudden cold snap, as the bees in the super could get stranded and chilled.
Choosing the right bee escape board transforms honey harvesting from a frantic battle into a quiet, satisfying part of beekeeping. By working with your bees’ natural tendencies instead of against them, you ensure a calmer colony, purer honey, and a much more enjoyable experience for you. This simple piece of equipment is one of the best investments a hobby beekeeper can make for a peaceful apiary.
