How To Set Up A Beehive At Home

Introduction

Whether for the kickoff time or the hundredth, installing a beehive is ever fun. Yous are about to provide a home to tens of thousands of bees and eventually many generations of them. All existence well, this volition be a special place thriving with bees for years to come.

But equally we have seen, there are many choices of beehives, including the Langstroth, the Top Bar, the Warre and even the Menses Hive.

That is one of your showtime big decisions. But you lot are just getting started. How does your hive make it? Do you just take it out of the box, gear up it in place and pour in bees?

Not quite. And the corporeality of work you have to do depends on how y'all ordered your beehive.

Why yous should plan and enquiry before getting your hive

There are three options, assembled, non-assembled or DIY. Some new beekeepers are somewhat surprised when they receive their first hive. The process can seem a niggling disruptive at first.

Don't Make Your Bees Wait

With the possible exception of a fully assembled, set up-to-go hive you should not plan to pick up your bees on the same day yous receive your hive. Every bit you will see below, near hives and their associated components have a while to gear up up. Although bees will more often than not be OK waiting for their new home, keep it uncomplicated and prepare your beehive a few days in advance.

Let's say you have a package of bees in the garage (more than on package bees in a separate lesson) in a squeamish absurd spot, they are calm and happy and you outset assembling your fancy new beehive. Then, halfway through, you discover the supplier omitted something important, like a bottom lath. This is rather frustrating but piece of cake to fix and no big deal. Just it may take a few days to take the missing function shipped to y'all, while your bees patiently expect!

Getting your bees and beehive

Let a few days betwixt receiving your beehive and obtaining and installing your bees. All being well, they will live at that place for many years. So quell your (understandable) excitement and take your time.

Atomic number 82 Fourth dimension

The well-nigh probable time for yous to be installing your new hive is the same time that many other beekeepers are doing merely that! It's essential you plan ahead with where and how to obtain your bees. For this reason, many beekeepers order their bees very early in the New year's day.

These same considerations can occur with equipment too. Beekeeping is a seasonal business organisation, with huge numbers of beehives beingness ordered in the New year and into spring. This puts a very significant pressure level on demand and the occasional delay can occur. In that location'due south nothing more frustrating than planning ahead where yous obtain your bees, only to find that your beehive is going to take a while.

For this reason, it'due south important to plan ahead and consider your equipment carefully and guild early on.

Beehive Prep

The focal point of your new hobby, of course, is the beehive. On receipt of your new beehive, you will no doubt be eager to become started. Just things may have a fiddling longer than y'all hoped or imagined.

Across the state in which your hive arrived (not-assembled, assembled or every bit a plan - meet below) you may have some prep piece of work to do.

It is very common to paint pino beehives . This extends the longevity of the beehive. The choices of color are wide open, but make sure y'all choose an advisable paint. Typically, you volition demand to install a primer too. Of grade, the paint will demand to dry, so allow for that.
For cedar beehives , painting is unnecessary. This is 1 of many advantages of cedar beehives - see here (warning: ugly mug alert!!!). It is common, though entirely optional, to apply a coat of tung oil. This adds a beautiful luster to the beehive, likewise as providing an boosted coat of protection from the elements. Thankfully, tung oil drys very quickly.

Non-Assembled

Many beehives get in non-assembled. This obviously simplifies the shipping process and reduces your costs.

Consider shipping costs, of course. Some companies, like PerfectBee, offering free shipping on orders over a certain value . PerfectBee has the lowest complimentary shipping level in the industry, kicking in on all orders of $75 or more, compared to $100 or $150 past many other beekeeping companies.

Thankfully, beehive construction time is not besides significant, depending on the number of boxes in your package (2 is quite common). Anyone with a hammer and the appropriate number of nails should be done in 30 minutes or less.

Assembled

If yous want to save time, a fully assembled beehive is another selection. In this case, you accept to put the boxes on the lesser stand to "construct" the beehive, but the individual components, similar the boxes, are already assembled.

This saves y'all some fourth dimension simply, for most people, the additional cost involved in ordering and shipping an assembled beehive is probably not justified.

Build Your Ain Beehive

The concluding option - if y'all happen to be a footling handy! - is to build your own beehive. There are many options bachelor here and hive plans are readily available at a depression cost from many sources. This requires obtaining the appropriate wood, accessories and tools, but does let for a more customized beehive.

At that place are some wonderfully creative designs available and we will look at these in a split up commodity. If you are handy with a saw, a hammer and other tools - go creative!

Frames and Foundation

One attribute that many new beekeepers forget is the fourth dimension taken to assemble frames. Information technology is over again quite common to order frames that demand assembly . This is incredibly like shooting fish in a barrel - just knock nails into each corner of the frame, correct?

That'south true but when you have, say, 2 boxes, with ii nails in each corner and each box has ten frames - well, that's 160 nails to hammer dwelling house. That takes time!

This tin be a little wearisome but information technology does lower the price. Some other option is to but order pre-assembled frames, with or without foundation.

A frame assembly jig can assistance speed things up considerably.

By the way, if you are including foundation with your non-assembled frame and then cistron that in also. But even if you are going foundationless, frames notwithstanding have four corners and nails!

In Summary

There'south no complicated message hither acrossplan and allow some fourth dimension.

If you are building your own hive and so you take a longer task on your hands (presumably considering you enjoy this sort of craftsmanship, then who cares that it takes more time?).

But even at the other farthermost, with a fully assembled beehive, PerfectBee'south advice is to permit a little time between receiving your beehive and obtaining your bees, peculiarly if you have to pigment or set your hive.

Then yous tin install your bees with more conviction they accept a cute domicile for years to come.

Stay cool with our ventilated bee suit, featuring Bee Cakewalk textile.

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