Beemaster's International Beekeeping Forum

BEEKEEPING LEARNING CENTER => GENERAL BEEKEEPING - MAIN POSTING FORUM. => Topic started by: beerman on June 24, 2010, 12:17:30 PM

Title: Hive Height
Post by: beerman on June 24, 2010, 12:17:30 PM
Hi guys my bees come tomorrow and putting the finishing touches on their new home. I have a old wood shop table I was going to use for a hive stand and I was wondering how tall it should be? or how high off the ground do you recommend?
Thanks
Brian
Title: Re: Hive Height
Post by: iddee on June 24, 2010, 12:43:51 PM
16 inches if you have skunks in the area. Otherwise, lower.
Title: Re: Hive Height
Post by: Irwin on June 24, 2010, 12:47:07 PM
I have mine at 16 inch's if a skunk try to get at the hive this will expose there under side so the bee's can get them and defend the  hive.
Title: Re: Hive Height
Post by: indypartridge on June 24, 2010, 12:50:23 PM
My hives consist of two deeps, and some have 3 or 4 shallow supers on them right now. That's about 3.5 feet high with bottom board and cover. I have them on cement blocks, so that's another 8 inches or so, the top of the hive is a bit over 4 feet high. That's a comfortable height for me to work with when it comes to lifting off supers full of honey.

If you're gonna use an old table, I'd recommend cutting the legs down so that the table is only 12-18 inches high.

Title: Re: Hive Height
Post by: jgaito on June 24, 2010, 01:01:40 PM
mine are at 14".
Title: Re: Hive Height
Post by: Two Bees on June 24, 2010, 04:38:35 PM
12-14 inches works well for me.
Title: Re: Hive Height
Post by: Dr. B in Wisconsin on June 24, 2010, 09:31:55 PM
Mine is about 8 feet off the ground on a garage roof.
Title: Re: Hive Height
Post by: Michael Bush on June 25, 2010, 01:49:31 AM
My stands are all 3 1/2" tall... either a two by frame on edge or four by fours laying on the ground.

http://www.bushfarms.com/beesmisc.htm#hivestand (http://www.bushfarms.com/beesmisc.htm#hivestand)
Title: Re: Hive Height
Post by: NasalSponge on June 28, 2010, 01:08:29 PM
Check out what I found at work today...about a foot longer than a regular pallet it could easily hold 8 hives while getting full use of the SBB.

(http://i91.photobucket.com/albums/k312/NasalSponge/MVC-032F.jpg)
Title: Re: Hive Height
Post by: AllenF on June 28, 2010, 02:11:55 PM
I like those pallets.   
Title: Re: Hive Height
Post by: hardwood on June 28, 2010, 03:35:42 PM
They break down in sunlight...been there, done that, wasn't pretty.

Scott
Title: Re: Hive Height
Post by: NasalSponge on June 28, 2010, 05:43:16 PM
Blah....always someone around to ruin everything with facts!!  :-D
Title: Re: Hive Height
Post by: Thymaridas on June 29, 2010, 11:16:23 PM
I set my hives on 2x10 ladder frames 16 inches high. I also set the legs in cutoff milk cartons filled with water to keep the ants out.

AND ants are bad this year.

Have fun!
Title: Re: Hive Height
Post by: lenape13 on June 30, 2010, 07:14:17 AM
Here's my setup...

(http://img706.imageshack.us/img706/9788/im000431.jpg) (http://img706.imageshack.us/i/im000431.jpg/)

Uploaded with ImageShack.us (http://imageshack.us)
Title: Re: Hive Height
Post by: Michael Bush on June 30, 2010, 08:39:35 AM
Now my ENTRANCES are higher... they are at the top because of the skunks...
Title: Re: Hive Height
Post by: gundalf on July 14, 2010, 11:30:24 AM
Quote from: hardwood on June 28, 2010, 03:35:42 PM
They break down in sunlight...been there, done that, wasn't pretty.

Scott

Paint them white or yellow with plastic spray paint and they'll last much longer...