Where is the best place to locate hives on arable land?

[Adie]

Apologies if this has already been covered in another thread. Does anyone have any advice on the best place to position hives on arable land? Is it best to keep away from gateways or place them near to hedges. How do you avoid spray drift or machinery issues?
Any advice would be appreciated.

 

[susbees]

Temporarily or permanent site?

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[Pete D]

I have mine in the stewardship borders up against a hedge, I access them from behind between the hedge and the hive. They face out into the fields
Pete D

 

[Midland Beek]

As long as there is no chance of spray drift. Not all farmers do their own spraying, but you could suggest the turning off of spray nozzles near your apiary to be on the safe side.

 

[Adie]

This would hopefully be a permanent site.

 

[BeeNice]

Be careful that you have enough forage in the surrounding area not just in the field at flowering time. Take a trip around and note that you have hedgerows or gardens close by. Good luck with your out apiary.

 

[Graham40]

I always set up with the sun on the landing boards at midday,

If there's a beetle bank its best to set up on that as its out of the firing line.

Water is the next concern some places can be like a desert in summer and a boating lake in winter.

I also look for a sheltered spot at the edge of a copse of trees.

Being exposed at the top of a field is not much fun for beekeeper or bees. ...
Perhaps an example
In Turriff a friend of mine had set up his out apiary in a walled garden over the fence from the field of OSR most of the crop was up hill, in the mean time I set up a string of nine at the top of the hill fir trees to one side but turned out to be a bit desolate. There were also deer issues as well which only came apparent after the hives had been knocked about a bit... deer were caught in the act.

We had a combined demonstration running for the Aberdeen & district beekeepers association over 2 days we would split the group into 2 and I'd take one half Steven took the other Saturday went well but Sunday was windy. Stevens bees were flying non stop but my lot were hunkered down. We had a good demo at Stevens site. I still had a hive to split as there were Q cells ready for splitting and the Job wouldn't wait so in the end we had to back the car right upto the hive and wait for the wind to die down enough for a quick raid this was done and we had a good split both halves did well.

So picking the site is important from exposure as well,if you can find a wall to hide behind its better.
Vehicle access is important as well, but less of an issue if you have help

I always try to learn from my mistakes and keep a note of sites I've used in the past what worked what didn't

 

[John M]

Not too close to gateways. I had the temperament of one of my incredibly placid colonies change and almost a year later the farmer is still wary. Thankfully he is still letting me keep bees there but I am very careful of their attitude to those walking nearby as he might not be as forgiving next time a member of his family is pursued and then stung by guard bees just for opening a gate ten or so yards from a hive.

What I like about the site is that it is south facing, next to a water source, up against a hedge to the north and is fenced off from the main part of the field. There are many miles of hedgerows surrounding them but also a village nearby to provide forage in the gaps between hadgerow plants (you know what I mean). There was also loads of clover around but it might take a few years to recover after last summer. Am I allowed to say that a rather large area of Himalayan Balsam on neighbouring land doesn't get wasted and is a plus point as far as I am concerned.

 

[susbees]

Be careful that you have enough forage in the surrounding area not just in the field at flowering time. Take a trip around and note that you have hedgerows or gardens close by. Good luck with your out apiary.

Exactly why I asked. Arable apart from OSR or beans (short term) is not going to keep your bees: you need those gardens, hedges, trees and wild bits of bramble etc to keep them healthy and busy.

 

[johncorne]

You may want to put them somewhere not too visible to people passing...Hives to get stolen!

Make sure you can drive close - supers get damn heavy if you have to carry them far!

Jc

 

[Somerford]

I'd go for a site out of view of any footpaths, but relatively easy access via a farm track. Not underneath trees, or in likely frost pockets (eg old quarry digs) or boggy ground.

The best are either in permanent pasture (behind fences for obvious reasons if the field is populated by animals) or a permanent stewardship headland (which is where one of our our apiaries is)

Site if available near a slow moving water course for the bees to get hydration and in a south/south west facing site that is also out of the wind...

Tick all those boxes and an amenable landowner, then you have yourself an excellent site !

regards

S

 

[jp19sqn]

The coldest part of the day is one to 2 hours after sunrise. The hives that do well for me are the ones that catch the morning easterly sun. They get cracking earlier in the day and pack in at the same time as the others. I don't find much of a problem with placing hives under tree cover either. But bait hives do better in my garden, in fact I leave my gear stored set up as bait hives in the Summer. The bait hives in the apiaries don't catch as many as the gear store. Although last year 2 swarms arrived within 30 mins of each other at my house and caused some terror at the children's school crossing.....oooops.