Last night we had some terrific wind storms with gusts up to 40 to 50 mph according to the weather radio. I worried about my hives all the while. I don't recall ever seeing any strapped down but is there a need to protect them against being blown over?
I have mine slightly off level to prevent rain from running inside.
Thanks
Protection from lids blowing off is more common than protection from blowing over. A brick, block, or rock on top won't hurt and may even help.
I have only had one hive tip over and it was during a bad storm where a big limb broke out of a poplar tree and smacked the top of the hive. Broke the top and knocked the hive over. As long as they are on a good stable base, I don't think they are going anywhere.
As Iddee said, I always put something on the lids to keep them from blowing off.
Me too. Three for each top.
bricks that is....
All depends on location. One of my yards I just but a brick or two on top. The other yard the hives are strapped down to the hive stand. That location is very windy and the gusts get a head of steam across the open pasture.
We get a lot of 60 mph winds. Gusts sometimes take down trees in my front yard. Of course they blow over hives. That's one of the reasons I like them all up against each other.
This takes me back to when I worked my first beeyard at 13/14 years old with my classmate of many years and fellow 8th grader, he took me to his backyard, moderately wooded in a rural area, about 1/4 acre, some tall grass about. He had 11 hives.
He did his best to point his hives toward the Sun, but even added another 30 degrees direction to allow for the hive body to point so the prevailing winds would cut into two 45 degree angle cuts at the back of the hive, slicing the wind instead of having prevailing winds constantly slam the back or side of the hives. aiming a corner at know winds, here it is SSW as predictable as could be except for bad weather. We do get WHOPPER North Eastern weather that will jack up to 60+ miles an hour, a dozen times every Winter, sometimes for days. He beaved by reducing the cold wind that would hit his hive, compared to redirecting the wind around likely saved him 15% more honey each season.
Mike my friend and mentor had a real point for general bee yards more in the open that his (in his case the trees would have made a great wind break) but in the open fields here, I think Mike may have been on to something. But NO I have never seen a hive body tossed over IF it were on a proper base. Old plastic milk crates only last so long. :) some of the stuff people put 3 or 4 deep hives on is crazy, OSHA would have a field day.
I use the corkscrew dog tie downs with a long tie down strap works well for critter control too.
I really don't know if anyone else does this but:
I don't like to put bricks in the center of the top cover. My theory is that the brick will cause the top to sag in the middle. Condensation would then run to the center of the hive a drip directly through the middle instead of down the walls.
Like I said, I don't know if this has any merit but it's something I do. Can't hurt I suppose.
We have wind storms here every Spring. If i want to keep something that's outside it better be tied down. I hold my hives in place with 1 inch nylon cargo straps. They attach to the stand and the stand has footers into the clay soil.
I lost a top bar hive last fall to a bad wind storm. It was blown over and I didn't find it in time. I will definitely take better precautions in the future.
I had five hives blow over this season (domino effect) one went and it took four others with it. I had them sitting on a standard house brick which wasn't the full width of the hive base - lesson learned. Personally i'm going to make a timber stand about a foot off the ground which i will be able to sit all of my hives on - almost like a long frame - i'm going to build it so that it 'locks in' behind the feet of the hive so the hives are resting the full width on timber and they won't be able to move forward or backward and slide off. As a temporary measure i have larger bricks now which go the full width of the hive - after installing them i grab the top box and give a gentle push - if it's stable it won't move - if it wobbles then i figure out why
So far this winter I have lost 4 hives 3 because the top came off because of winds , Two more lost there roofs , but when I got there the bees were still alive.
All of the hives that lost there tops didn't have straps on them :-x
Lesson learned , now all my hives are going to have straps , not rocks or wooden blocks that can fall off.
A colleague had i styrofoam hive that had blown over , it had a strap on it and they survived. :)
By the way my hives are styrofoam
mvh edward :-P
I use two concrete bricks.
Tie down nylon straps as someone already suggested. I use the ratchet type. Works great. I use it mostly when moving hives though but it will work for wind gusts.
i use rachet straps.
for hurricaine gustov and we took a direct hit.
no hives blown over or tops lost.
without them they would have been blown over for sure.
ask keith from baton rouge about winds and hives! he had a few hit hard at one point.
bailey
Well I found out first hand last night the answer to my original question about securing the hive. I work third shift and when I got home this morning we had had a terrible wind storm last night. half of my barn roof is missing, several 6 inch diameter limbs are broken off the giant oak trees in my yard, some cedar tree damage and the hive I had not secured yet because I didn't have any bees in it, had the top cover blown off.
I'll put in a call to ALFA insurance later today and see if they can help me with the barn roof.
I plan to make provisions like this for my hive during severe thunderstorms!
Charles
(http://i960.photobucket.com/albums/ae89/seaheli/White-House-Bee-Hive.jpg)
sure did Gustav took just about every telescoping top I had and threw them in a flooded canal I had bricks then and use them now but when a storm goes to brewing in the gulf I will ratchet strap them down
Keith
You will need a scaffle to work that hive. :-DIs that Ms Obama' hive? :roll: