How To Choose A Location For Your Beehives

Choosing the right location for your beehives is crucial. Even if you’re starting with just one hive, it’s smart to select a location that allows for the possibility of adding one or two more in the future. Here’s a basic guide of the various factors to consider when making your decision:

 

TOP PRIORITIES:

Exposure To Sunlight
  • This is the most critical factor. Choose a location with maximum sunlight throughout the day.
  • Morning sun is especially important as it warms the hive early, encouraging bees to start foraging sooner.
  • A sunny spot can also help minimize hive beetle infestations.
Flight Path Away From People
  • Bees typically fly horizontally for 5–10 feet when leaving the hive before ascending vertically.
  • Avoid placing hives where people or pets frequently pass through the bees’ flight path.

Working Space Around The Hives

  • Ensure there’s enough room—about 5–10 feet—behind or beside the hives for comfortable inspections and maintenance.
Level Ground
  • Stability is essential for hive stands and your safety during inspections.
  • Avoid placing hives on slopes, as this can lead to tipping hazards for both the hives and the beekeeper.

 

LESS CRITICAL:

Hive Entrance Direction

  • Although south- or east-facing entrances are commonly recommended, it’s not a dealbreaker. Full sun matters far more than the direction the entrance faces.

Wind Break

  • A natural windbreak (e.g., trees, shrubs) on the north and west sides can help shield the hives from strong winds.
  • If a windbreak isn’t available, you can create one using garden stakes and burlap.
  • Be cautious about placing hives too close to forest edges, as this can attract hive beetles.

 

NICE-TO-HAVE:

Accessibility for Transportation

  • Honey supers can get heavy, so it’s helpful to have a vehicle, wagon, or golf cart accessible to your hive location.

Electricity

  • Some beekeeping equipment may require electricity.

Water Source

  • Having water nearby is useful for cleaning sticky honey tools and mixing sugar syrup.
  • Outdoor access to water can save you trips back to the kitchen.

Aesthetic Appeal

  • While the bees don’t care about the view, placing your hives in a picturesque spot can enhance your enjoyment and impress visitors.
  • Consider planting native perennials or shrubs around the hives for added beauty.

By keeping these considerations in mind you can ensure that your hives are in a functional location, making your beekeeping experience much more enjoyable!

Every two weeks we invite owners of The Keeper's Hive to join our Co-founder and head beekeeper George Datto for a live Zoom session where we answer their questions and discuss management strategies. Below are recordings of the meetings, some topics may repeat a few times but every session contains a wide variety of information that could be helpful to any beekeeper!

As always, contact us with any questions at hello@thekeepershive.com

4/16/2025 - Zoom Recording

4/16/25 Topics Discussed:

  1. How do you encourage bees to work above the queen excluder?
  2. What should be done with the exchange box during the season?
  3. How do you perform a rolling Demaree in a two-queen setup?
  4. Can I split a hive and use it to populate a two-queen Keeper hive?
  5. How do you get bees to draw out frames in the Keeper’s Hive?
  6. Why might my Keeper’s Hive go queenless?
  7. How and when should I make a split to populate my Keeper’s Hive?
  8. What methods and timing do you recommend for mite control?

4/30/2025 - Zoom Recording

4/30/25 Topics Discussed:

  1. If you use a telescoping cover with a notched inner cover, will drones be able to get out?
  2. Regarding leaving an opening for drones to exit:
  3. Do you have any recommendations for removing pollen from honey frames?
  4. Should we do anything to manage the frames in the spacer box?
  5. Where should honey supers be placed — above or below the exchange box?
  6. How do you decide if a second Demaree is needed?
  7. Do frame guards provide hiding spots for beetles?
  8. What should I do if the Keeper’s Hive swarms?
  9. To help packages start, I placed a honey frame in the spacer box on each side of the double.
  10. When painting queens, should you let the paint dry first?
  11. I’ve had some trouble with frame guards falling out.
  12. Can you make a small box out of screen and place it over the queen temporarily to confine her in a small area?

5/14/2025 - Zoom Recording

5/14/25 Topics Discussed:

  1. We are confused about box positioning.
  2. If I put two single-queen Keeper hives back-to-back, would it function the same as a two-queen Keeper?
  3. I tried to use a queen isolation cage in the brood box, but it would not fit.
  4. What should be done after a hive swarms?
  5. Where should honey supers be placed?
  6. Do you feed splits?
  7. When executing a Demaree, why not move capped brood into the spacer box instead?
  8. How large does a two-queen system need to be before it can be used as a starter/finisher for queen rearing?
  9. Quick question regarding design:
  10. In queen rearing, does the Cloake board go above or below the spacer box?

5/28/2025 - Zoom Recording

5/28/25 Topics Discussed:

  1. What is the purpose of the spacer box?
  2. In the video on installing a package, the top box is used to feed the bees.
  3. In South Carolina, we experience a dearth from late June into July and August.
  4. If you attempt a Demaree but can’t find the queen, and she ends up in the exchange box, will the colony treat the exchange box as the new brood box?
  5. George, could you discuss the placement and use of green drone frames as part of IPM in a two-queen Keeper hive?
  6. Could you share any experiences with using the newer oxalic acid (OA) strips in 2QK or 1QK hives?
  7. When sharing brood between colonies, should capped brood be moved with or without the nurse bees on the frame?

6/11/2025 - Zoom Recording

6/11/25 Topics Discussed:

  1. How should I manage a single Keeper hive to support winter bee health and ensure sufficient honey reserves for overwintering?
  2. Regarding Demaree timing:
  3. What should be done if a hive goes queenless?
  4. What should be done if a hive becomes heavily populated?
  5. What should be done if a colony is not capping nectar?
  6. Our transfer box frames are bare.
  7. In a 2QK populated in early May, the bees immediately built comb between the excluder and the frames under the spacer box.
  8. I have a two-hive Keeper, but one side is stronger than the other.
  9. Recent experience:

6/25/2025 - Zoom Recording

6/25/25 Topics Discussed:

  1. Mite management!

7/9/2025 - Zoom Recording

7/9/25 Topics Discussed:

  1. Queens(general queen management, single vs. two-queen setups)
  2. Brood(brood frames, brood management, Demaree references)
  3. Honey(production, storage, supering, and related issues)
  4. Exchange box(its role and management)
  5. Robbing(concerns and prevention)

7/23/2025 - Zoom Recording

7/23/25 Topics Discussed:

  1. What are the benefits or drawbacks of charring wood to preserve it by burning the inside of a hive?
  2. What can be done if a two-queen Keeper hive becomes nectar-bound despite regular Demarees?
  3. How should preparations for overwintering differ between a single-queen hive and a double-queen hive?
  4. What steps can be taken to prevent wax moths and small hive beetles during overwintering?

8/6/2025 - Zoom Recording

8/6/25 Topics Discussed:

  1. Can you give a quick review of how to do a Formic Pro treatment, or tell me which Lunch and Learn covered it previously, since I am going to treat later today?
  2. Do you perform mite counts on both sides of a two-queen hive, or do you assume they will be identical?
  3. What should be done if the bees have done nothing with the foundation in either spacer box of a two-queen Keeper hive, leaving it exactly as it was when set up?
  4. Should the frames just be replaced with drawn comb from the exchange box in the hope that they fill it with honey, or should the bees be fed instead?
  5. What are the best ways to address robbing?
  6. How should a one-queen Keeper hive be managed for overwintering?