Beemaster's International Beekeeping Forum

BEEKEEPING LEARNING CENTER => GENERAL BEEKEEPING - MAIN POSTING FORUM. => Topic started by: tireman on January 05, 2014, 05:40:09 pm

Title: Backyard beekeeping?
Post by: tireman on January 05, 2014, 05:40:09 pm
I will have a couple of hives this spring and my question is on hive placement.  The ideal spot is within 100 yards of my backdoor and the same distance from my neighbors house. Do you think I need to rethink my placement of the hives? My neighbors house is not within line of sight because of an acre of woods between us? Does anyone have problems keeping the grass down around hives? I've heard from one beek that his hives are very sensitive to tractors and weedeaters. All answers are greatly appreciated. I have other spots if needed away from houses but will be more of a problem with raccoons and skunks.
Title: Re: Backyard beekeeping?
Post by: buzzbee on January 05, 2014, 05:59:07 pm
There are many urban beekeepers on this forum. If you have an acre of trees between you and the neighbor you should not have any problems. many places the requirement is 100 feet from a property line.
 As far as grass, you can lay carpets or something of the sort down for grass suppression. I have no trouble weed eating or mowing in the vicinity of my hives.
Title: Re: Backyard beekeeping?
Post by: edward on January 05, 2014, 08:00:50 pm
Put the hives in a part of the garden that dose not get a lot of traffic so they can fly in and out with out disturbance.
Don't put them in the low tearain were Cold air collects in the early morning, makes them angry when they have to wait for things to warm up so they can get to work.

Also don't Place them in windy spots , make keeping the hive warm harder.
Title: Re: Backyard beekeeping?
Post by: GSF on January 05, 2014, 10:18:01 pm
My wife has a commercial lawnmower and we cut right up next to the hive. What the mower don't get the weed eaters take care of. It depends on the bees and what's going on with them at the time you do it. Also learn their flight pattern leaving and returning to the hive. They'll fly right into you. If you're not careful you can have one get tangled up in your hair and get stung.

Welcome to the forum. I suggest putting the hive where it'll get the most sunlight. You'll also need to get a step ahead of the small hive beetles. I use the IPK oil traps from greenbeehives out of Trustville, Alabama. The beetles come into the hive, the bees chase them through the screen and down into the vegetable oil they go. After I put them on my hive it was hard to find a beetle.

One of the things I've done to learn more is start with the newest post and start reading backwards. You'll pick up on a lot of info. At some point instead of flipping through the pages when you come to a thread/stopping point, save it to your favorite places. The next time you get ready to read some more just go to your favorite places and click on the link. Once you read enough do it again except delete the previous link.
Title: Re: Backyard beekeeping?
Post by: iddee on January 05, 2014, 11:21:07 pm
In MS., put them in the sunniest spot you can find. You can put the side or back within 20 feet of anything. Keep a 20 to 40 foot runway clear in front of the hive unless you have a fence in front of it to make them go high.
Title: Re: Backyard beekeeping?
Post by: rober on January 05, 2014, 11:53:11 pm
I have 2 stands about 4' apart. I tilled the soil between the stands, treated heavily with rock salt & mulched heavily. any new growth gets fresh salt. I mow around them all the time & have not been stung yet. the key word here is yet. I do pick my days tho, if walking around them makes them cranky it's not a good day to mow. also the discharge is always aimed away from the hives. the hives are at the corner of a 6' wood fence so they have a wind break. they're near a large tree so they get full sun til noon, partial shade til 3, then full sun til dusk. full sun all day in winter.
Title: Re: Backyard beekeeping?
Post by: BeeMaster2 on January 06, 2014, 12:15:18 am
TM,
I would put them closest enough to see them from a house window. My hives are about 30 feet from my master bathroom window. That way i can watch what they are doing. I keep a flashlight in there so that I can see what they are doing at night in different temperatures. I also have a chair facing my hives so that I can relax and watch them up close. I have 2 granddaughters that spend a lot of time in the backyard, mostly in bare feet. The youngest tells me, when I tell to put her shoes on, I won't get stung papa. In the last 4 years, she never has. Neither has her older sister. And they swim in the pool that in next to the hives.
Jim