Comments on: The Best Beehives for Beginners

By: Mike Trampleasure

Mike Trampleasure — Fri, 24 Jan 2020 16:49:44 +0000

Starting 5 hives this year..Need lots of thoughts and ideas

By: William Johnson

William Johnson — Thu, 23 Jan 2020 19:35:37 +0000

, I’m wanting to set up a hive but not sure where to put it.
We live south of Phoenix on about 2 1/2 acres. We have lots of Open Fields around us, and an eight 800-acre Tree Farm about a half a mile away.
It regularly gets above 110 degrees in the summer, and thirties at night in the winter.
I have a 40 x 80 metal building that I could use for shade, and wind blockage.
It would be away from the house and a little more inconvenient to work with.
Would I be better off to create some artificial shade to set the beehives behind?
Thanks

By: Maria

Maria — Thu, 23 Jan 2020 16:50:47 +0000

We are interested in all organic living, and starting a beehive.

By: val

val — Mon, 09 Dec 2019 15:21:26 +0000

good discussion.. not wanting so much to ‘ harvest’ a huge amount of honey, as to help pollinators and bees in general, am using the Top Bar hive and so far, am very happy with it. The bees are happy too.

By: Stephen Micheal Hopper

Stephen Micheal Hopper — Fri, 06 Dec 2019 03:17:21 +0000

After thorough research I landed on the Warre Hive. I appreciated the natural approach and a more “hands off” approach due to my busy schedule. Admittedly, it has been a difficult run as the comb is not supported and is very fragile and the girls tend to build it every whacha way.. which has led to some extremely frustrating Sunday mornings around here. If given a time machine, I would have gone Langstroth.

I have two Warre and one Top bar. Inspecting and harvesting from the Warre have been very disheartening. I didn’t get into beekeeping to kill bees but any manipulations of my hives have ended in disaster. Im looking to sell my hives and start over with Langs.

By: Terry

Terry — Thu, 05 Dec 2019 22:56:45 +0000

I am getting set to go with a modified Layens as I live in MN and am more concerned about the bees making it through the long cold winter than the amt of honey I get. Plus they seem to need much less interference , at least according to Dr Sharashkin. Would love to hear your thoughts!

By: Deborah M.

Deborah M. — Thu, 05 Dec 2019 20:08:58 +0000

AZ hives or Slovenian style hives are also a recommended style if the beekeeper is no able to do the heavy lifting that langstroth hives have. 5 years with langstroth now 1 with AZ. My back really appreciates no longer doing the lifting required with inspections.

By: Rhonda Watts-Hettinger

Rhonda Watts-Hettinger — Thu, 05 Dec 2019 18:21:35 +0000

I’ve become very interested in Slovenian hives. Looks like less lifting, better bear protection (as well as better cold protection in winter here in New England). I have a barn which would seem like a perfect location–against the south wall, hive exit well above human and equine heads. Any thoughts?

By: Barry Koch

Barry Koch — Thu, 05 Dec 2019 16:11:58 +0000

I/we have been wanting bees for some time. I am retired with weight limits due to spine issues. We live in a semi rural area on about 1 and 3/4 acres. Our neighbor has a tree business and brings LOADS of brush at least 2-3 times a week. He lights them and they burn for days most times with significant smoke. Should we forget about bees? Thanks

By: KBB Editor

KBB Editor — Thu, 05 Dec 2019 15:15:59 +0000

In reply to James Greiner.

This really depends on your geographic location. If you live in the Northern regions, where the mid-day sun isn’t as hot, having your beehive in the sun all day shouldn’t be a problem. It’s best if the hive gets morning sun so the bees start their foraging early in the day. If you live someplace that gets hot during the day, you might want to rig a shade fly to protect the hive from direct mid-day and afternoon sun.

Thanks for your question, which we will also pass on to our bee expert Nicole who will answer it in our next Bee Questions podcast.