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Beekeeping Supplies
Bee Hive Stand – Introducing the kiwimana Hive Stand
What is a Bee hive stand and do I really need one for my bees. We would say “Absolutely!!!”
A bee hive stand is a piece of sturdy equipment that raises the hive off the ground, this prevents cold from the moist ground going into the hive. It also helps with ventilation around the hive. Having the hive higher also prevents weeds blocking the front entrance of your hive.
This winter we designed and built a new bee hive stand, our new stands allow you to have two colonies on each stand. With a small work bench in between the hive hives for tool boxes, cups of tea etc (Please note Margaret :D). We will add chicken wire or mesh to this work bench (Not shown in photos).
The Bee hive stand is placed on four breeze blocks or bricks, so the hive stand is portable for our remote hive locations. We are also going to place weed mat below the Bee hive stand to prevent weeds growing up below the hives. We have had weeds growing through the meshboards in the past. How do you stop the weeds at your site?
We made these portable because we can’t do any major changes to the landowners site. These could also be attached to more permanent legs, and placed on a concrete pad at a more permanent site like kiwimana HQ.
We are also going to add a Letter or Number to the hive stand below where the colony sits, this will make it easier for us when we take notes on what we did with that colony during inspections. Last year we had a map of our bee sites, but it was a nightmare if you ever lost that map.
We used a old set of kids Magnetic Letters to make the hive letters, I painted the front of the bee hive stand white. Then nailed the letter onto the wood (lightly). Then a did another coat of black paint and removed the plastic letter. The hive letters stands out very well, so will make inspections this year much easier.
We will test these new bee hive stands over the bee season and may look at selling them, if we find them useful for our beekeeping.
Comment below, what do you use as a Bee hive stand?
Weeds are not the only problem, ants and rodents need to be addressed as well. We now place our hives on a three quarter inch plywood base which is nailed to T shaped wooden cross members, which in turn are firmly attached to a double three by two upright post, which is well buried in the ground. You can determine the height at which you prefer to work, making it easy on the back. Best height for our breeding programme is three foot above the ground. Drifting is reduced as well.
Enjoy.
Vic.
Thanks Vic for the feedback, that is a good idea.
Yep we will trial the stand for this season and see how it goes. I will check out your website, do you have any pics of your base boards?
Thanks…Gary
May I suggest turning the cinderblocks sideways. If the holes are vertical they provide a sheltered home for ants, mice, and other unwanted pests.
Yes good point Larry, yes that is what we do. We don’t want to make great places for pests to make homes do we. Cheers for the comment…Gary
what are the measurements??
Hi Nicolas,
The stand is 630 mm x 1290 mm x 630 mm
We can also provide it as a assembled if you give us some notice.
Gary