Hive Height

beerman · 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

iddee · June 24, 2010, 12:43:51 PM

16 inches if you have skunks in the area. Otherwise, lower.

Irwin · 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.

indypartridge · 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.

jgaito · June 24, 2010, 01:01:40 PM

mine are at 14".

Two Bees · June 24, 2010, 04:38:35 PM

12-14 inches works well for me.

Dr. B in Wisconsin · June 24, 2010, 09:31:55 PM

Mine is about 8 feet off the ground on a garage roof.

Michael Bush · 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

NasalSponge · 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.

AllenF · June 28, 2010, 02:11:55 PM

I like those pallets.

hardwood · June 28, 2010, 03:35:42 PM

They break down in sunlight...been there, done that, wasn't pretty.

Scott

NasalSponge · June 28, 2010, 05:43:16 PM

Blah....always someone around to ruin everything with facts!! :-D

Thymaridas · 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!

lenape13 · June 30, 2010, 07:14:17 AM

Here's my setup...

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Michael Bush · June 30, 2010, 08:39:35 AM

Now my ENTRANCES are higher... they are at the top because of the skunks...

gundalf · 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...