Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
a hedge of evergreens, or a building near the hives will help direct bees up and
away from the hive. That same screen will also visually screen your hives from
outsiders.
• Neutral-colored hives are less visible than stark white ones. Choose paint colors
such as gray, brown, or military green, or use natural-looking wood preservatives.
Any paint or stain formulation is safe for bees if you apply it to the exterior of
the hive and allow it to dry before installing bees.
• Keep your colonies as far from your property line as possible, within any zoning
setback restrictions.
• Avoid overpopulation. You should not have more than a couple of colonies on a
typical lot of less than an acre.
Bee Yards Other Than Backyards
Sometimes keeping bees in the backyard and garden, or on the front lawn or the roof is
just not possible. There are a few essential rules to prioritize when deciding whether to
set up your bees away from home.
Your bees need to be nearby. If you spend most of your time getting there and get-
ting home, then a trip back to retrieve that forgotten tool will too often end the day.
It must be easy, safe, and legal to drive up beside your bee yard. If you have
to carry your gear down a ditch, over a fence, or across a creek to your bees, getting
stuck, ripping clothes, or getting wet will only happen a few times before it won't hap-
pen again.
Beekeepers too often put bees where they can rather than where they should. This is
because, ultimately, we fail to do our homework. The location you choose needs to con-
sider the well-being of you, your bees, and the surrounding community/environment.
Extended Bee Yard Considerations
• Keep some of the necessities at the site: smoker fuel, an old smoker, a few hive
tools, a few supers, covers, bottoms, inner covers, and so on. Store the tools in a
lidded container or a stack of bee boxes (with a lid) so they stay dry.
• There should be space for your vehicle to park close to where the bees will be, and
room to turn around.
• Your bee yard should have safe, easy, anytime-access, all year long, not just during
the summer. Think “high and dry.”
• It is crucial that your bees be near a safe source of water, year round.
• Every bee yard should be surrounded by more than ample season-long sources of
nectar and pollen.
 
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