Hello, I am hoping to setup my hive in the next few days. And unsure about whether or not to put the the flow hive on a slab or bricks or just straight onto lawn.
I have the flow hive 2 so it comes with the legs.
Thanks.
Hi there. Two things. Although it has been a relatively mild winter so far this is not the right time to set up a hive.
Best to place hive on a slab or bricks as directly on lawn it will dig in with the weight.
Good luck!
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Hi @eweyfam and welcome! If you have the chance to then definitely make a paved area for your hive. You’ll thank yourself later when it’s time to mow the grass, deal with pests and do inspections.
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Thanks for the help. appreciate it, as I’m new to this.
Bricks. And set them at a height that’s nice for your back to do inspections…
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Agreed, off the ground, not too high, not too low. 
Keep in mind an ant barrier may be required in the future.
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I have my hives sitting on stands so that they are at a better height when working on the hives, I have found about 20cm off the ground works for me. About two besser blocks high and and a couple of pieces of hardwood timber on top to use as bearers works well. Using bricks makes a great home for ant nests close to a laided on food supply(your honey) if ants are in your area. A concrete paver slab can work but there will be some bending over involved. I wouldn’t consider putting a hive directly on the ground.
Cheers Tracey
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definitely on something as the hive will start to tilt and sink into the ground. Also as other say it is better for you back to have a base around just below knee height. And I think being raised a bit is better if you get frosts like we have been having here in Adelaide this month… Also don’t make the classic mistake of having a hive up against a wall- it’s much better to be able to stand at the rear during inspections. You don’t want to have to stand in the bees flight path.
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@skeggley what’s the best method of keeping ants out of ones beehive??? My new hive (no bees yet) has the adjustable legs, and I was thinking of sitting each leg In a used tuna tin full of water, but was told that bees would drown in them, though I don’t think that I specified the size of the contain would be.
Hiya Buzz, here’s a link to another thread, started by another member who had the same issue, which has a few solutions for you to peruse.
Personally I use a high temp grease smeared on the hive stand legs, although this may not be possible with the FH2 adjustable legs, and borax bait.
Hope this helps.
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Borax traps work well for me, in the apiary and in my house! Whatever you use, make sure to clear out any obvious nests near or IN the hive first - I’ve found ant colonies under the lid and in the core flute slider 
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There is a fellow in Melbourne who sells Ants-proof hive Feet for FH2. They are not cheap but design makes sense and if they really just direct swap with standard FH2 feet, it may worth a look.
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I’m just wondering if smearing grease over the threads would stop ants from walking up the legs.
@skeggley, don’t have a problem with ants just yet (new hive), but we do have ants that visit our kitchen from time to time, so I’m sure that sooner or later they will find my new bee hive.
That is the current excitement, I picked up me nuc today from a member of the local amateur beekeepers club, and they seemed quite calm, with no more than 10 bees venturing from their new hive as any given time, though it was late in the afternoon when the hive was put into it’s place. I also setup a jar of sugar syrup, hoping that would also help the hive settle into it’s new environment, so maybe they were busy hoeing into the free feed.
Welcome to the club Buzz, I hope you get as much out of keeping bees as I do.
Now the real learning begins. 
Have you transferred the colony into their new home yet?
How are you feeding the bees?
Hi@skeggley, it sure has been a huge learning curve. The main one was being involved in opening a flow hive at an amateur beekeepers club, that hadn’t been touched for 8 months because of the COVID-19, as the club meets on the grounds of a university, it was placed in shutdown. The hive was in a huge mess, even a (very) amateur beekeeper like myself could see that. It was a very angry hive, didn’t like being disturbed.
Yes my bees are in their to bee home, as I took the brood box, base and stand to the person whom was selling me the nuc. He belonged to the above bee club, I was hoping that someone there might have a nuc for sale. So it was just a matter of taking their new home out of our SUV, and sitting it down on it’s sight. That was late yesterday afternoon, today they have already started foraging, after first doing their circling dance.
@skeggley, sorry I forgot to answer your second question, I have place a jar of 1:1 sugar syrup in the top plate (ha ha feed/ plate) that came with the flow hive with a plugged hole in it, I just the jar over that hole with 5 nail holes put it it’s lid. That is why the roof isn’t sitting down flat, jar is too tall. I’m thinking that feeding them for a week or maybe two should get them settled into their new surroundings. Cheers Trevor
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