Which way should a beehive face?

Face the hive entrance away from the prevailing winds. Ideally, face the entrance in a southerly direction if you're in the northern hemisphere and northerly direction for the southern hemisphere.

Should a bee hive be in the sun or shade?

The hive should be placed in early morning sun. This gets the bees out of their hive earlier in the day to forage. In the Northeast, hives can remain in the full sun for the entire season. However in places with warmer climates, hives should receive some afternoon shade.

Where is the best placement for a bee hive?

How high should beehives be off the ground?

How high should my hive stand be? A. While this is heavily dependant on your stature, an ideal height for a hive stand is approximately 18in off of the ground. Unless you are 6'5", this height will be ideal for working your hives without destroying your back.

How far should a beehive be from a house?

Even though each case is different, we can use some general estimates of a safe distance to be from the hive. For a honey bee colony with a calm temperature, give yourself at least 4 feet of clearance behind the hive and on each side if possible. At the hive entrance, an area of 25 feet is the best minimum.

Hive Location and Setup

Can I mow around my beehive?

In most cases, you can mow right up to the edge of a beehive, as long as you don't bump it with the mower. This is definitely a time to read your bees' behavior, though; if they start taking an interest in you when you are 15 or 20 feet away, it would be wiser to back off.

How do you attract bees to a beehive?

How do you attract bees to a bee house?

Summary. Having a bee house in your garden is a fun family activity that also helps native bees. To attract bees to a bee house you should provide good housing, provide a mud source, plant a pollinator garden, and use an attractant spray.

Should beehives be level?

Level hives are important to protecting bees from danger. If a hive is unstable, it can tip over if it's bumped into. A knocked-over hive cause structural damage or create breaks in that hard-earned comb. That sort of disaster could kill bees!

How many hours of sunlight does a beehive need?

It's also important to locate your hives where they will receive five to six hours of sunlight in the winter to help warm the colony and give your bees every chance to get out for a cleansing flight.

Do beehives need morning sun?

All beekeepers agree that both morning and evening sun have benefits to the hive. The thing that varies is if you should have dappled sun or full sun in the afternoon. For zones 1 – 6, you want full sun. For 7 – 11, you could have full sun or partial sun.

Can you keep a beehive in your backyard?

Additionally, since a typical Langstroth hive only requires a few square feet, almost every backyard has more than enough space for a hive, so just about anyone with a yard could potentially keep bees.

Should I tilt my beehive?

The answer is “no.” Tilting a hive forward is important for anyone using a solid bottom board because rainwater or snowmelt can accumulate on the alighting board or blow through the entrance and become trapped inside the hive. A driving wind can blow in a substantial amount of precipitation.

Do bees recognize keeper?

Bees DO NOT recognize their beekeepers!

Beekeepers are naturally calmer and more careful around bees, so bees just leave them alone.

How close does a water source need to be to a beehive?

Close, But Not Too Close

However, in times of stress when resources are in short supply, a bee may travel five miles to get what she needs. Of course, this is not ideal because the trip may require more resources than she collects. In short, the best water sources for bees will be reasonably close to the hive.

Do bee houses really work?

Bee houses (also called bee hotels or bug hotels) are similar to bird houses, but instead of attracting birds, they attract native solitary bee species. Unlike honey bees, these solitary bees are extremely docile and up to three times more effective as pollinators.

What do you do with a bee house in the winter?

If you can, it's best to move the house into a garage or garden shed for the winter when the temperature starts dropping to protect the developing bees from the worst of the chill. Then, you can hang it back outside in spring in a sunny spot when it's time for them to leave the house.

Why are my bees not building comb?

Bees will only draw out new comb when there is a strong nectar flow. If there's no nectar to make honey with in the super, there's no point in wasting energy on building comb that will then sit empty, right? So, if you place a super on your hive during a time of dearth, don't expect your bees to fill it.

How long do bees occupy a hive?

Typically, swarms only stay in one place for a few hours or maybe a day, but some swarms may remain for several days.

What time of day do bees swarm?

Swarming usually occurs from mid-morning to mid-afternoon, while bearding may occur late in the afternoon into the evening. Generally, bearding bees don't do back inside until the temperature drops—which may be quite late in the day.

Does sugar water attract bees?

Putting sugar syrup out in the open doesn't only feed your bees, it feeds bees from other hives. Then they all go back home and bring their friends back for the free meal, and now you've got lots of bees on your back patio.

How many times a year can you harvest honey?

In a healthy, productive hive, it is normal to be able to harvest honey two to three times each season. Most beekeepers will harvest honey between June and September, but how often you harvest and how much honey you get will depend on a number of factors.

What do you put under a beehive?

The ground under and hives should be kept weed free. Some people place the hives on mulch, wood chips and even carpet remnants. I added a layer of wood chips to the ground where the hives would be located. I placed two cinder blocks per hive on the ground, one in the front and one in the back.

Should I leave a Super on my hive over winter?

Can You Leave a Honey Super on Over Winter? Yes, you can leave a honey super or several on the hive over Winter. In fact, most beekeepers do have a super or two designated for use by the bees.

Can you put 2 beehives next to each other?

You can space a pair of hives as close to six inches from each other, but you need several feet of space around one or two sides in order to move equipment around as you're working the hives. Know what predators (man or beast) are in your area and what protection your bees will need.