Hive specific stands. Necessary?

[Robbo8916]

Hello,

Well now that I am probably only two weeks or so away from taking delivery of the overwintered nuc I have purchased I have a question.

How many people use 'hive specific' stands? I.e National Stand with Alighting board for £25?

Its the one thing I haven't yet purchased and I was wondering what people's views were on the necessity of buying these or whether a solid base of breeze blocks or such like would be sufficient?

The garden my bees are going into is a lovely mature garden with fruit trees etc and the area I have chosen is in the back corner, next to a really high wall slightly shaded by some climbing plants and a small tree.

I understand the need for the hive to be raised off the ground, im not planning on iust dumping it on the floor.

The surface is gravel where I plan to put the hive.

Any input would be much appreciated! Thanks guys and girls

 

[alldigging]

I have seen some very cheap hive stands made from four breeze blocks with a pallet on top. The pallet gives you something to strap the hives to.

 

[madasafish]

I have seen plastic boxes used to hold bottles as stands.. Bricks, pallets, also.

I make mine out of scrap wood.. much lighter and easier to transport.. plus I like to have the stand top at least 40cm off the ground (my back)..

 

[jeff33]

I usually make them myself using left over timber (not as fancy as those online). I make them slightly higher....can be very handy when you consider how many supers you could have on top and how heavy they can get when removing.

I have used the pallet system before but find it a bit of a pain when you inspect as you either need to have everything under your feet (on the pallet) or out of reach (around the pallet).

 

[kighill]

I make my own stands suitable for my height using 4"x2" timber
(100mm x 50 mm)
The top of the brood box is set at the height I can manipulate the frames without bending my back.
For out Apiaries I make folding stands so I can fit them in the car.
Pictures and plans can be found on the Internet.

 

[domino]

I buy 4 breeze blocks and two five foot fence posts from Wicks for about 40 quid.

I stack the blocks in pairs as legs and then lay the posts between them. Works much better for me than buying hive stands.

I can get 3 hives on that in a pinch.

 

[Nige.Coll]

Make my own out of wood.
Cheap cls timber is fine for it.

 

[Finman]

.
Hive must be up from ground. When rain hits into soil, hive will be quite dirty and wet.

In summer I use only 10 cm stands, but in winter 30-40 is necessary.

 

[dn170221]

I have 203 breeze blocks with a pallet that I can get that when cut down is the perfect depth. Fits two hives side by side if needs be.

 

[Robbo8916]

.
Hive must be up from ground. When rain hits into soil, hive will be quite dirty and wet.

In summer I use only 10 cm stands, but in winter 30-40 is necessary.

Yes I understand the reasons for them, was just asking about the necessity of purpose built stands or whether there were other options.

 

[Dusty Rhodes]

Hi Robbo,


A certain RBI of my acquaintance uses something like those plastic boxes used for delivering bread, only larger (wider - only a little taller).


Dusty

 

[YorkshireBees]

Short answer imho is no, you don't need 'hive specific' hive stands.

There is a debate about whether landing (alighting) boards are beneficial to bees or not. Lets face it they don't have them in trees!

I made my own stands (single hive) from old wood that was lying around and also purchased some 4"x2".

This year I'm making some of the 2-3 hive stands (the folding leg kind) as mentioned in a previous reply.

As some of my apiaries are quite exposed during high winds I strap all of my hives to the stand and in one particular apiary I have used ground anchors to tether the hive / stand to the ground!

After experiencing a few good crops I now appreciate how much weight the stand has to support when you have 2 BB's and 6 supers full on it!

 

[jeff33]

Yes I understand the reasons for them, was just asking about the necessity of purpose built stands or whether there were other options.

You will soon realise how costly the little ladies are...if you thought a wife (sorry ladies) was high maintenance try x10 000! If you are handy invest in a router and circular saw!!

 

[Robbo8916]

You will soon realise how costly the little ladies are...if you thought a wife (sorry ladies) was high maintenance try x10 000! If you are handy invest in a router and circular saw!!

Lol. I don't have a wife so Im ok on that front. I was planning to fashion something myself, luckily where I am putting my girls is a very sheltered spot, with over 6ft walls on two sides and a 12+ft wall/fence combo (due to lie of land property behind is a LOT higher) to the back.

Of course whichever I opt for will be something that the hive can be strapped onto. There will be no access by animals and I think the chance of winds knocking the hive(s) over is quite slim too.

I am sure I will think of something, just being from Yorkshire I don't like spending money if I don't need to!

 

[thorn]

It's more interesting watching the bees return to a hive with a landing area and easier for the tired or more heavily laden bees. But if you set the hive a little way back they can land on the edge of the breeze block.

 

[busybee53]

An alighting board is also good for resting the sloping wood on when you want to run in a swarm, or even just to make sure any young bees can climb back up to the entrance if you are doing certain manipulations. If the stand juts out a bit it will do just as well as an alighting board. What ever you use make sure it is strong because plastic crates etc. can collapse. I stand on mine and then jump a bit just to test them (no laughing please).

 

[enrico]

A couple of tips, put the hive stand on slabs, a mole can tip a heavy hive in one night, also, if you build your own always put the wood that the hive stands on on top of the legs. If you screw the legs to the side they can rip off with a heavy hive, if the whole thing is pressing down on the top of the legs then this can't happen. Learnt by experience, finally make sure that you have somewhere safe and flat to put supers as you remove them for inspection, I didn't and the pile toppled over onto one hive and three hives went over like dominoes, trust me three hives of angry bees will reduce you to tears. These are all things to think about now so well done for bringing the the question up....and a quick p.s. Try and have the area between the front of the hive and the ground blocked off to stop bees underlying and getting stuck under the OMF. They can die in large numbers in cold weather.
E

 

[Millet]

I have 203 breeze blocks with a pallet that I can get that when cut down is the perfect depth. Fits two hives side by side if needs be.

Do you use a ladder or a cherry picker to inspect your hives..

 

[Fatbee]

I use whatever is lying about, bees are expensive enough! I use breeze blocks as base with hive stood on old fence posts; plus a couple on milk crates instead of blocks. Don't look as neat as stands but it's only me that looks at them

 

[Millet]

I have seen someone using car tyres laid on there side, one good thing about them is they will not rot.