Beehive in dense woods?

Corey5594 · March 07, 2015, 09:46:29 AM

I live in Northwest Missouri and am interested in keeping a beehive. My father kept bees when I was very young and I want to pass on the tradition to my kids. I understand the basics of beekeeping and am getting in touch with some of the local beekeeping associations in my area.

I am wondering what the members here would say about placing my hives in densely shaded woods of my backyard. I live in a city of 70,000 and have 8 acres of property that is surrounded with heavily shaded woods. My wife really does not want the hives visible to the neighbors so would prefer not to have the hives on our lawn. I could place the hives at the edge of the woods but have a concern about my lawn mowing guy getting his mower too close to the hive and disturb the bees and or get stung. From what I have read, most people say to put the hives in a location that will catch the morning sun so that the bees will get out and forage. How important is this really?

Ideally I'd like to put my hives back in the woods where nobody can see them. Thoughts?

Any advice would be appreciated.

rookie2531 · March 07, 2015, 10:20:50 AM

I have mine in shade until around 11:00 a.m and though there are a few out at 9 a.m, it seems they don't get fully going until that Sun hits them.

rober · March 07, 2015, 10:59:18 AM

the general consensus is that too much shade can increase the small hive beetle population in your hives. mine are in full sun until 2 P.M. & back in full sun by 6. you can put the hives on the edge of your grass & face them towards the woods. facing them towards the woods gets you out of their direct flight path. I also mulch around my hives so I'm no closer than 4' to them when I mow. I've never been stung but have been chased by a bee or 2 on occasion. the girls have bad days like all of us so you just need to pay attention. if you're worried about neighbors you can plant a short hedge in front of them. holly works as a hedge & the bees love the blooms in spring. the hedge would also help as a buffer when you mow.

CapnChkn · March 07, 2015, 01:12:24 PM

Make sure your lawn guy knows to keep the exhaust pointed away from the entrances to the hives. I haven't been stung while mowing, but they sure didn't like getting puffs of air shot in their direction.

I was taught to keep the hives in morning sun, and afternoon shade. I have kept it up though thought is full sun all day. I try to get entrances facing east and positioned in noon shade between July and August.

hilltophermit · March 07, 2015, 01:23:37 PM

Can you thin it out a little, especially the under story and around the hive and to the south and east? When i was a kid i helped an old timer a couple a summers when he could no longer work his hives. He had them inside a stand of mature woods. There was no under story, as this had been fenced in along with his pasture back when he still milked. The hives faced south got some morning sun and were shaded the rest of the day. They were very healthy and good producers. I think if yours can get some air flow and a little sun they should be good. never hurts to try something.

Better.to.Bee.than.not · March 07, 2015, 01:41:20 PM

The heat earlier on in the day get's them going, so that is a good thing for sure, but traditionally bees live in woods fine, and have for millions of years. I'd maybe protect them, and think about maybe even putting the hives up a few feet even, get them off the damp forest floor, the problem is of course accessing to put on and take off the supers, which can get heavy. also carrying your stuff through the woods when doing maintenance. If I have to walk more than 30 ft, I get annoyed and tired...lol... ok I'm joking .... but seriously it is way nicer being able to pull up close to hives, and do things compared to having a distance.

DMLinton · March 07, 2015, 01:46:32 PM

At the request of a guy with a nice bit of land on a river, I put a couple of hives "in the bush" last Summer. There were open meadows within a couple of hundred feet. I got stung and chased every time I checked on those hives. The bees did not perform. They died out before Winter set in. Not saying the die out was due to location but they were pretty gungho before going in there.

I am now convinced that my bees must have early morning Sun, should have little to moderate midday shade (no small hive beetle here yet) and afternoon/evening Sun is very desirable.

As a previous poster stated, "Never hurts to try something." I took that approach in my first year. Tried some things that folks advised against and some of my own wildassed ideas. The outcome was that some things that I was advised against doing, actually worked. Some did not. Some yielded information that I had not previously come across. Most importantly, I found out first hand about a lot of things.

iddee · March 07, 2015, 08:22:21 PM

Before 1990, the above posts were very good info. The SHB arrived in the US then. As they spread, beekeeping changed. If they have made it into your area, you have 2 choices.

1..Place them in full sun.
2..Place them in the shade and order new bees for next spring.
It's that simple.

splitrock · March 07, 2015, 10:08:23 PM

Yep, I agree. Full sun if possible.

I rarely see a beetle since I made this a priority.

hilltophermit · March 08, 2015, 04:58:21 PM

Could you go toward the back of your lot and clear cut an acre or so? This would give them some sun and air flow and still keep them out of sight.

sc-bee · March 08, 2015, 11:45:23 PM

Quote from: iddee on March 07, 2015, 08:22:21 PM
Before 1990, the above posts were very good info. The SHB arrived in the US then. As they spread, beekeeping changed. If they have made it into your area, you have 2 choices.

1..Place them in full sun.
2..Place them in the shade and order new bees for next spring.
It's that simple.

I agree with id and it hurts me to do that :)

DMLinton · March 08, 2015, 11:52:25 PM

Quote from: iddee on March 07, 2015, 08:22:21 PM
Before 1990, the above posts were very good info...

That's a lot of beekeepers, including myself, that are, apparently, 25 years behind the times. I guess I have some work to do... and I just started last year.

Kathyp · March 09, 2015, 12:19:30 AM

DM you probably don't have SHB up your way. i don't yet. he surely does in the south.

DMLinton · March 09, 2015, 08:37:19 AM

Quote from: kathyp on March 09, 2015, 12:19:30 AM
DM you probably don't have SHB up your way. i don't yet. he surely does in the south.

No 'probably' about it. As I noted in my post (Reply #6), we do not have small hive beetle here yet so some midday shade still works.

iddee · March 09, 2015, 09:20:32 AM

Kathy, I think that's just the mean streak surfacing in DM and SC. They are just poking at my tender spots to try and get a reaction.

DMLinton · March 09, 2015, 09:34:02 AM

Quote from: iddee on March 09, 2015, 09:20:32 AM
Kathy, I think that's just the mean streak surfacing in DM and SC. They are just poking at my tender spots to try and get a reaction.

iddee, you said,"Before 1990, the above posts were very good info.", which looks to me to be the same as, "The above posts are bad information because it is not 1990 anymore." And you are accusing others, one of which agreed with you, of having mean streaks and "poking at your tender spots?" iddee, you trashed the first five responses in this thread.

iddee · March 09, 2015, 10:10:14 AM

DM, you are reading it totally wrong.I said they were all good info before the SHB arrived, but the SHB changed beekeeping methods when they arrived. It is totally different now. I trashed nothing. As for you and SC, I thought you two were teasing me, as many do. I am known to joke a lot, and a few throw it back at me. It's all in good fun. SC, put your 2 cents worth in here. If I was wrong, I'll apologize.

DMLinton · March 09, 2015, 10:24:21 AM

Quote from: iddee on March 09, 2015, 10:10:14 AM
DM, you are reading it totally wrong.I said they were all good info before the SHB arrived, but the SHB changed beekeeping methods when they arrived. It is totally different now. I trashed nothing. As for you and SC, I thought you two were teasing me, as many do. I am known to joke a lot, and a few throw it back at me. It's all in good fun. SC, put your 2 cents worth in here. If I was wrong, I'll apologize.

I see teasing people and tickling children all in the same light - veiled agression. This is an international forum and people have slightly different ways of saying things so it behooves one to consider all the possibilities. I could not see many options to the interpretation of your post. It may be interesting to note that I recently posted a compliment - a bit in fun, mostly in earnest - on another forum and got deleted.

Apology accepted.

Let's get back to the original topic. Corey5594, do you have small hive beetle in Northwest Missouri? If you do, shade will not be an option as iddee has pointed out.

Kathyp · March 09, 2015, 11:16:05 AM

Crap. Another twitchy child.

ok, i'm not going to delete that, but i'll modify it after a cup of coffee.

we have some fun here. sometimes we tease back and forth a bit. some of us don't have time to read EVERY SINGLE POST or (god forbid) we miss something.

if you want help, being snarky is not a good start. if you have something to contribute, being snarky is not a good way to help anyone.

now i'll finish off that pot of coffee

indypartridge · March 09, 2015, 01:58:25 PM

I live in a cabin in the woods, and my bees are shaded most of the day. Would they be more productive if they got more sun? Probably, but I like having them where I can see them.

We have SHB here in Indiana, but not nearly as bad as they have them in the South. So far, they haven't been a factor. You'll need to talk to local beeks in your area to find out how serious of a problem they are in your area.