Paul >I have been using triangular escapes with satisfaction for at least 20 years.
I use a slightly modified version of the standard triangular escape called the "vortex bee escape board". I found the plans on Dave Cushman's page some years back and made about 30 of them. The principle of how the vortex works is explained on the page I linked below. I modified them further by increasing the rim depth on the triangle side so they could accommodate lots of exiting bees when used on a colony that has multiple supers. The plans call for the installation of an old CD Rom at each corner of the triangle to speed up the exiting process which I did not do. They work fine overnight and what few bees remain in the super I just shake out. In my climate, without SHBs, you can leave them on for days without a problem. I also reverse them and use them to cover supers I harvested so bees don't start robbing in the yard.
http://www.dave-cushman.net/bee/vortexescape.html
Bill Hesbach
Cheshire CT
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