Positioning Your Hive

The hive and honey, and of course the bees, are big concerns of a beekeeper. After all, if the hive isn’t right in every way, and the bees aren’t happy, the beekeeper is not going to get the maximum quality and amount of honey. A big issue, in beekeeping, is how to position the hive to keep the bees happy and healthy. So what does a beekeeper need to know about positioning his hives to get the most and best honey possible?

First of all, you can put a beehive almost anywhere. People keep bees on rooftops downtown, or in a corner of their garden, or in backyards. Bees don’t actually need to be right next to sources of pollen and nectar, although closer is better. They don’t mind a little travelling. Keep in mind though, that the less time the bees spend travelling, the more time they spend making honey.

Do not put hives where bees must cross yards, playground, sidewalks, or other public places in order to get to their nectar sources. This would make them a public nuisance.

Unless strong winds come from the southeast where you live, the best place to put a beehive is facing the southeast. As the sun rises in the east, the bees awaken early and go out searching for nectar.

It’s wise to put your hive someplace that’s easily accessible to you. The hive and the honey need regular “checkups from the beekeeper. It’s also easier to take the honey from the hive to your honey house if the hive isn’t too far from that honey house.

Place your hives so that the wind doesn’t beat on them all winter. You may want to put the hives in front of a fence or a hedge or you may want to plant a hedge or build a fence behind the hives.

Hives need lots of air flow, but not too much. This can be tricky. You don’t want to place your hives someplace where the air is very still and you don’t want to put them someplace where it’s windy.

Hives need sunlight, but not too much – again – this one can be tricky. If it’s too hot, there will be too many bees in the hive beating their wings like tiny, little fans, to keep the air temperature in the hive down in the summer rather than making honey. If there isn’t enough sun, the hive will be damp and cold. Damp, cold bees don’t have much interest in working.

Place hives near a source of water. This source of water should not be the neighbour’s swimming pool or a deep lake. First of all, that would make the neighbour very unhappy. Secondly, bees drown in deep water. Bees bring water back to the hive in order to cool the hive and to dilute honey. A dripping spigot or a shallow trough filled with pebbles is a good source of water for bees. Also, remember that it’s better if bees DO NOT have to cross large bodies of water to get to their nectar sources. On the way back, when they’re full of nectar and heavy, they can get tired and have no place to land but the water, where they’ll drown.

When deciding where to position your hives, take all of the above into consideration to harvest the maximum amount of delicious honey!

By: Nancy Ketner

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My name is Nancy Ketner and I have been fascinated by Bees for as long as I can remember. Beekeeping can be a daunting hobby to start. Understanding Bees and Bee craft as a beginner can be difficult. That is why I started Beekeepercentral.com as a free resource for others who wish to explore Beekeeping as a hobby. For more information on Beekeeping and hive & honey come to Beekeeper Central and sign up to our FREE mini e-course.