Hi everyone, I recently bought a flow hive 2 and have been obsessing over where to place it. I ordered a nuc from an experienced beekeeper and he will install the bees on Saturday, so I just have a few days to decide where to place the hive. I have a large lot with abundant wildflowers and a small private lake (it seems perfect for bees), but my location concerns include high winds, searing heat in the Fort Worth summer, uneven ground and high grass. I have a small sidewalk next to the lake, but it has no shade and I’m concerned the wind could blow the hive into the water. And there is a small paved area in the middle of the property, but there no shade there either, and the heat is relentless during summer here. So I’m leaning toward placing it in a shaded spot in the grass, where the trees will also provide some shade and protection from wind. But the land there is uneven, and the grass will be very difficult to contain (I don’t plan to mow that area regularly). I’ve been thinking about placing the hive on square stepping stones on the grass, but it seems like the wind could blow the hive off the stepping stones, and they don’t make it level anyway.
I was hoping to find a mentor in the area to help me decide on a location but was not able find anyone. If anyone has any advice I would greatly appreciate it!
Hello and welcome to the Flow forum!
That sounds like the best location to me (site unseen of course), but the stones would need to be level. If you don’t have the hive level, it messes up the way that frames hang in the hive, and you will get crazy comb. If you don’t plan to mow, I would lay several stones to make a paved area. The reasons are that you will need space to work around the hive, you will want to keep vegetation away from the hive entrance, to make it harder for ants etc to gain entry and the bees need a clear exit from the hive.
I had a hive on stacked cinderblocks near the top of a hill and it never fell over. The cinderblocks were used to raise the hive 16" off the ground to deter raiding by skunks and opossums. You will need a weight on top of the hive roof, or a strap around the hive (fixed to the ground or the cinderblocks), and it will then be pretty stable unless a hurricane or tornado hits. We had 70mph winds one year, and the hive was fine. This hive has a flat roof, so I used large bricks on it, but straps work just fine too:
Another thought is that if you have a level area, but it is unshaded, you might consider some shade cloth “sails”. There are ways to mount them on open ground if you can put poles into the soil with some footings.
Hope that gives you some ideas.