VTBeeHannah · Vermont, US · Pests & Disease · Nov 5, 2026

Vole or mouse chewing bottom entrance reducer — 1/4 inch hardware cloth vs steel mouse guard?

Went out to inspect the apiary after our first light snow here in Vermont and found fresh wooden shavings on the landing board of Hive 2. Something has literally chewed the wooden entrance reducer notch from 9 mm up to nearly 18 mm wide! I temporarily tacked a scrap piece of 1/4 inch (6.3 mm) galvanized hardware cloth over the entrance, but I noticed a couple of returning foragers were losing their pollen loads squeezing through the mesh. Are commercial pre-punched metal mouse guards with the round 10 mm holes better for bee passage, or will a determined meadow vole squeeze through 10 mm holes? What gauge metal actually stops them cold?

#mouse-guards#rodents#winter-prep#vermont

▲ 3 votes 💬 4 replies ✅ Solved

4 replies

BethsBees · Nov 5, 2026

A small mouse or shrew can definitely squeeze through anything bigger than 9.5 mm. Stick with metal. The commercial sheet metal guards with round 9.5 mm holes are much easier on bees than raw cut hardware cloth wires.

GeorgiaWes · Nov 5, 2026 · ✅ Accepted answer

Hardware cloth with 1/4 inch mesh is roughly 6.3 mm—that's a tight squeeze for pollen foragers and strips their legs clean. 3/8 inch (9.5 mm) galvanized mesh is the sweet spot: blocks mice and voles completely, lets bees pass freely.

mn_newbee · Nov 5, 2026

I had mice chew right through cedar reducers my first month! Screwed on steel punched guards last week and problem solved. Make sure you clear dead bees behind it with a bent wire every couple weeks.

VTBeeHannah · Nov 5, 2026

Thanks @GeorgiaWes, picking up 3/8 inch hardware cloth and metal guards today. Took off the 1/4 inch mesh immediately—didn't realize how much it was stripping their pollen.

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