I was at our local county beekeepers assoc. meeting and one commercial beekeeper shared he does not use bottom boards. He goes to home depot and buys scrap plywood and closes the bottom of the hive body up. Then drills 1 3/4" hole just under 1 handle on each hive body. The hole is more defensable. in addition, can anyone find a beehive in the wild that their entrance is below the comb ? It is usually 99.9% above the nest. So why do we use commercial bottom boards ? Also having bottom boards allows an easier entrance for mites to re-enter the hive. The small 3/4" hole is easier for the bees to defend and is higher off the ground. Seems ferral colonies that are high up in the trees or in soffits in homes they don't have mite problems. Imagine a mite trying to crawl back up 3 stories to get back into the entrance of the hive. .... Just a thought. wanted to see what you b-L'ers would have to say about bottom boards. Andrew Dubas www.dubees.com ----------------------------------------------- FREE! The World's Best Email Address @email.com Reserve your name now at http://www.email.com