Location, Location, Location: Siting Beehives

Reader Contribution by Julia Miller
Published on January 15, 2014
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So you have decided to invest in a colony of honey bees. Your package bee order is set to arrive in the spring at just the right time for your location. Your new Langstroth style hive is assembled and waiting at the back door.

Now where do you put this new livestock?

One of the first considerations is access. A perfect location may be available but not easily accessible. You will be visiting the hive every week or so to check on the bees. For a new package installation you will be visiting more often in those early weeks to provide sugar water. In the late summer and fall will be the honey harvest. Supers full of honey are heavy. Access with a truck, utility vehicle (we use a Kawasaki Mule) or at the very least a wagon to pull is critical.

Consider Water

Look around for a good water source within a reasonable flight for the bees. They tend to like water that has some organic matter in it. A farm pond, creek, stream, stock tank or even a goldfish pond will give your bees access to the water they need. 

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