In a message dated 98-01-03 00:23:50 EST, [log in to unmask] (Paul Cronshaw, D.C.) writes: << Are plastic queen excluders easier/better to use than metal ones? >> I "inheirited" about 50 of them and have given them away. I remember being told there is a right side up and a wrong side up, though I can't remember which. The bees are more reluctant to go through them than any other kind. They quickly become brittle. Because they are brittle, it is almost impossible to clean burr comb without breakage. My zinc and wire excluders clean up nice in hot water, or even a solar melter. Either will ruin plastic ones. As far as I'm concerned they are junk. [log in to unmask] Dave Green Hemingway, SC USA The Pollination Scene: http://users.aol.com/pollinator/polpage1.html Jan's Sweetness and Light Shop (Varietal Honeys and Beeswax Candles) http://users.aol.com/SweetnessL/sweetlit.htm