How High Should Hive Be???

[BonnieBee]

Hi Folks,

First post so bear with me.

The wife and I are getting into Beekeeping and we're able to acquire a couple of established hives from some folks we know that's moving away.
In setting up a hive stand how high should we shoot for; bottom board to ground?
Wouldn't want it too low and don't want it too high.
In placing the hives I'm gonna only wanna do it once!!!

Iffen these hives should have solid bottom boards and I'm wanting to switch to screened bottom boards, how should I go about doing it?

Thankss Ya'll.
We'll probably have many more questions for those that been there and done that.

Later,
Mitch & Bonnie

[peggjam]

"In placing the hives I'm gonna only wanna do it once!!!"

Beesource traditions require that you set a hive up once each way that is suggested, so you can decide for yourself which is best:).

I set mine on what ever I can find, from cement blocks to 2x6's laid on edge, to old use pallets:). There's three ways right there, hope ya got more than one hive:D.

Welcome to the board:)

[deantn]

Iffen these hives should have solid bottom boards and I'm wanting to switch to screened bottom boards, how should I go about doing it?

The only way to switch to SBB is take the hive completely part, that is take each super off the one below it until you have them all off, then swap to SBB and reassemble in reverse order that they came off. Not an easy job but well worth the effort to change them out to SBB's.

Good Luck with your beekeeping adventure, read, read, read thats what keeps us all so smart on beekeeping. LOL

[randydrivesabus]

keep them low so when the golden goodness is ready for you to steal you don't have to climb a ladder to get it. if you and your wife can lift the hives together you could probably set them right on your SBB when you first set them up after removing them from the present BB.

[Jeffzhear]

The local Lowes here saves me a ton of their small pallets. I must have 250 of them stored up. As they rot out, I throw them on the burn pile and periodically burn them up...they're free and work fine for me.

[Bizzybee]

Ya gotta wonder??? Beeks take bees from tree 8 feet high and the first thing they do is set em on the ground? If I was a bee I would be mad too!! I would sting em, when I lost that I would kick and bite til I croaked!! :D

Personally I build stands either 8 or 12 feet long with 2x8' and 3 or 4 inch pvc legs. The top of the stand sits at about knee height. Works great for me! No pests and critters have bothered em so far. They are nice an dry. In Fire ant country I was worried about them. But for what ever reason, they don't seem to want to climb the pvc. Got me stumped, whatever??

Another one of them preference things...

Don't worry, bee happy :)

[iddee]

If you are in skunk country, build your stands 16 inches above the ground.

If you are in bear country, move out of it. :p :D

If you don't have skunk or bear, put them at whatever height you want.

[kc in wv]

Everyone has their own preference on height. As for me I put the hive stand at least 18 inches high to keep the skunks from getting in them. I also don't like to bend over to take off a super. It doesn't put as much strain on my back it the supers are between belt buckle and chest height.

[FordGuy]

2 cinder blocks high. I can't put mine on the ground for ants. putting on blocks seems to slow ants down? or maybe putting hive onthe ground seems to roll out the welcome mat for ants.

[Troy]

Really? They don't crawl up the PVC pipe, huh? I'll have to try that trick.

[Joseph Clemens]

I took Michael Bush's advice and now use screened bottom boards that do not provide an entrance, but instead have only top entrances. Has helped wonderfully with the bee eating toads.

[RonS]

I have two placed two cinder blocks high, and one on 6X6" cedar scrap. The bees are doing great at both heights. Although I have a lot of skunks, these critters have not bothered either height. Too low, and your back could be in trouble if you have to move the deeps. Too high, and the top supers could give you trouble. I think that mine are about right.

[Hobie]

I can't resist:

"High enough to reach the ground." :D

Seriously, I have mine on single concrete blocks with 2x6s across them. Ended up with 3 deeps last winter, and that top one was a heft. The lower one is a bit of a back strainer, too. I guess, "on average" I'm happy with the height, but am trying to switch to shallows for uppers.

I added SBBs after the fact also. Conveniently, I also decided I wanted to move one hive a bit, so I just set up the new SBB on another set of blocks/boards, unstacked to a reverse-stack between the two, and restacked on the SBB. Another was just a single deep, which I put on the ground, put on SBB, and replaced. Bees get irritated by all this shuffling: Full suit recommended.

[Ravenseye]

I've got mine two cinder blocks high. Easier on my back and gives me a little breathing room when I don't get out to trim the grass in front of them for a while. Also good for me in winter so that the snow doesn't pack against the front as much. Of course, I've got one that's two deeps and three mediums high right now so that top box of honey is not fun to work with!

[Gene Weitzel]

I made a "rack" using cinder blocks and landscape timbers. At each end of the rack, I lay two cinder blocks end to end and then stand one cinder block up in the center of each of the blocks that are laying down. I slide landscape timbers into the top holes of the blocks that are standing up. This gives me a rack that is about 18" off the ground and about 8 ft long, enough room for three hives (four if you crowd them). I set my SBB on the rack and stack the hive bodies on top. This is high enough that I can peer up through the SBB when I want a quick look. It also makes inspection very comfortable for me as I don't have to bend over much. Becaus of SHB in our area, I don't stack too many supers on at a time so I don't have an issue with the hive getting too tall. A ring of marine grade grease around the base of the upright cinder blocks seems to keep the fire ants at bay.

[ooptec]

This was one of the real old timers back from when there were mainly skeps at the time when Dadant was alive and inventing.


Cut and paste:

Legs
There is cause to examine the height and shape of the hive legs. Both are important.
Firstly the height: beekeepers often make their hive stands tall. Everyone likes to feel
comfortable. They do not want to bend down. But I estimate that the colonies need only be opened
rarely, much less often than in general.
As a result, it is a much smaller sacrifice that I ask of my readers, and not without good reason,
when I advise them to place their hives 100 or 150 mm from the ground.
Placed on raised stands, the hives are subject to variations in temperature and to gusts of wind.
Moreover, buying or making such stands amounts to a significant expense. I have seen such
stands made from a framework whose wood would have been sufficient to make a double-walled hive.
I know very well that one can save money by using two light wooden beams or metal girders.
These would be supported in between by some light brickwork; furthermore they would run the full
length of the hive. Colonies may be placed at 750 mm between centres. Unfortunately, this arrangement is inconvenient in covered apiaries. As soon as one colony is touched the rest take notice
and begin to hum. There is thus at each hive opening an untimely consumption of honey. Sometimes it
triggers robbing and makes the bees angry.
Raising the hives too high also causes a large loss of foragers. It is not unusual that these brave
workers return too heavily laden, miss the entrance of the hive and fall on the ground. They climb only
with difficulty into a raised hive.

If I could figure out how to attach a .pdf I'd put up the whole book. Is a fascinating (to me lol) read

cheers

peter

[BonnieBee]

Alrighty,

The placement of the hives are gonna sit on a slight incline facing southeast. What I will most likely end up with is the entrance to the hives will be approximately 16" from the ground. The hives will have their own individual stand and stand about 12' apart with a maple tree between them.
With the ground being sloped, I'll be able to move around the hive to either the high side or low side, whichever is most comfy for the task at hand.

What say ya'll?.

[Benton2569]

Bonnie,

I set my SBB on top of the solid BB so I can use the observation tray. This way you can leave the sbb in all year round - ventillation and mite check all in one. You can block the opening in cold weather months if you want. I heard that some folks dont even remove the sbb in Winter or block it up but allow for ventilation all year. I am going to try that this year. Last year I had some mold from condensation build up.

As you mentioned I would tear it down each Fall and Spring to remove the SBB. Well not this year. Someone please stop me if I am off base.

Best of luck to you!

[iddee]

Sounds like a good plan.

[Troutsqueezer]

If deep boxes put'em lower, if medium boxes put'em higher. How high can you lift 90lbs (full deep)?

[UtahBeekeeper]

Have two inner city hives . . . just today installed the FIFTH medium super so that stack is about 6 feet high! OH you all ment how high off the ground the SBB is. Ok, I get it. I place both hives two cinder blocks high about 7 feet apart. I knew the flow would be long here but this is really something . . . and it is not over until Japanese Knotweed and Rabbit Brush explode in 3 or 4 weeks. I should have checked that hive Saturday but didn't get to it. I was shocked to find 3 capped mediums and a fourth 90% drawn and filled. I had but one drawn medium super from the package bee season last year. Started with that and added a box of foundation every 3 - 4 weeks since middle May. Today the 5th went on above the first capped super and under the other 3. That placement seemed right, but open to any advice and course correction on that. I will GLADLY stand on a couple of steel milk crates to pull off supers . . . and I am thankful I went with the mediums!

Second hive turned up broodless in June so I requeened. It is now finally humming along with tons of brood and a big fat queen "Mum" in the two deep hive bodies, and a half full #1 supper. I'll be very content with 2 mediums on that one by late September.

Our winters are a full 3 months with periods of lows near 10 degrees. My SBB's have 2 sets of grooves facing rearward . . . the top one for the screen and the second slot just under it for a solid sheet of corrugated vinyl which serves as both a mite count board and a winter closure when the temp gets brutal for those few weeks. The screen is "wall to wall" and they are working great!

Thanks to all for your continuing experiences and commentary. I have learned and re-learned much.

JP