Lawn maintanence around hive?

[westernbeekeeper]

I weedeat about four feet all around the hives.

[Samaria Honey]

i use Raw Agriculture lime mites don't like crawling over it

[ArkansasBK]

Exactly what I used and works great. Another idea would be some asphalt shingles.

Ever been on an asphalt or tar roof in the summertime?

[delber]

Ever been on an asphalt or tar roof in the summertime?

When I saw this I didn't think of that. My word that's a great point!!! It's WAY HOT up there. (and that's with the wind blowing)

[mike haney]

salt will poison the earth -permanantly if you use enough. scrap sheets/pieces of drywall from a builder/remodeler or dammaged from a supply house works great and the PH level kills SHB larvae. if you dont like the white color throw some mulch on it. if SHB are not a problem scrap carpet works very well to kill vegetation.

[robherc]

Ever been on an asphalt or tar roof in the summertime?

Actually, I think that might be a good thing for our purposes...as long as the hive is high enough over the hot asphalt/tar surface to not receive the damaging heat, that heat will actually work FOR us by killing the weeds under it, and the mites/shb larvae that land on it...at least IMO

[danmcm]

I keep mine on a slab of concrete this time around surrounded by four types of low growing mint further out I have spread wild flower seeds. I do use a weed eater but as these are in a side yard near my home i allow it to get much taller than the rest of the property. In time I hope to have a maze of raised herb flower beds around them but have just started with that project this year. So many herbs are good for the bees and have led to the medications we use that I figured if something it going to grow up around the hives what better than a massive herb maze/garden.

Daniel
Maryville, Tn