# Hive Location Suburban Backyard



## Lee'sBees (Nov 17, 2015)

Greetings all!

I am new to the wonderful world of Beekeeping and am looking forward to next years season.
I have taken several hands on classes as well as studied a few books and will be keeping my own hive starting in 2016.

The question I have is _where_ to place my hive. I live in a small suburb right outside of Chicago. My backyard is moderately sized but I was wondering if keeping my hive on the roof of my patio is viable. The roof is very sturdy and nearly level. I would level and secure the hive to the roof. The main reasoning for considering this is to keep them elevated and away from where my dogs and young family members will play. Also I figure the direct sunlight couldn't hurt during the winter months. I know there is still be plenty of bees around our sizeable garden, but I was thinking as far as the traffic from hive to garden they will be going up and out of the way directly.

Any input would be appreciated!


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## Eikel (Mar 12, 2014)

Just a thought, you may want to keep the bees on the ground until you're comfortable with working them under various weather conditions and any changes in their temperament. The concern would be if they handed you a surprise and your "quick steps" exceeded the size of your patio roof.


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## kaizen (Mar 20, 2015)

Yup no roof . How big exactly is the space? How close are your neighbors? fences? you can take a screen shot from google earth and mock up where you are going to want to put it and people can weigh in. consider doing two hives. so much better then one single hive.


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## bdouglas (Dec 18, 2014)

I would stay away from the roof if you have other areas available. In addition to Eikel's comment, you might not want to advertise that you have a hive in a suburban area. Also, don't assume that your bees will be going to your garden. Bee's decide where they want to forage and it's not necessarily where you think they should go. 

Don't wait too late to order bees. Some suppliers sell out early. My supplier is already taking orders for next years bees.


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## Ravenseye (Apr 2, 2006)

I've kept bees on a large roof and a small one. I actually enjoyed both. Here's a few thoughts.

- if it's a pain to get up and down from you won't like it after a while. 
- it is a BIG pain when you forget something so don't forget stuff
- honey is heavy. Think about harvest time
- I like to watch the entrance and I can tell a lot from observing. It's harder to do that on a roof
- think about expansion down the road. If you can't expand on the roof you'll have two different inspection routines. 
- roof hives are usually more exposed to wind and weather than ground hives are so plan your winter prep accordingly. I've had two hives blow over on roofs and I didn't know until much later than I should have
- my roof hives all built up quicker in the spring than my ground hives so swarm prep is a little different. In my case, earlier. Might not be the case for you. 
- I never worried about skunks or bears on my roof hives. I liked that. 
- water drains slower on a roof if it's perfectly flat. On one of mine, the weight of the hive created a slight depression. When it rained I got a big puddle and on windy days the bees got blown into the water and died. I ended up building small, portable pallets to put the hive on so that the water would drain and leave the bees safer. 
- watching the bees fly in and out on the roof was real cool. Sometimes they would leave the hive and fly DOWN. So cool to watch. 
- my supplementary water supply needed filling more often on the roof. Solved by using a larger chicken waterer. 
- winter checks usually meant ice, not just snow. Plan accordingly. 

That's it for now. I really enjoyed working those hives.


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## SteveStevenson (Feb 14, 2014)

My hives are in a suburban back yard. They are about 15 ft from my deck & about 10 ft below it. They have a 5ft wooden fence on two sides and chain link fence on the other two sides. They fly up and away. They don't bother us on the deck or the neighbors on the other side of the wood fence.


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## GaryG74 (Apr 9, 2014)

Welcome to BeeSource! A lot of good info from everyone. My personal preference is on the ground due to moving heavy supers, convenience of watching the hives, hard on the body going up and down ladder. Good luck with your bees where ever you put them. Have fun!


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## Hops Brewster (Jun 17, 2014)

I keep my3-4 hives in my back yard of a 1/4 acre yard. They are 5 feet from the fence on the left side, 15 feet from the fences behind them and in front. A shed is about 3 feet to the right. I have them in an 8x8 ft, 4 foot tall dog kennel (to keep my dog _out_, he;s too big to keep in such a small kennel). My bees generally fly straight up about 10 or 12 feet before making any horizontal move. None of my neighbors have complained about bee problems. In fact, 2 neighbors were surprised to remember that I have them.

Give them some obstruction a couple feet in front of the hives, such as a shrub or fence, and they will fly up and away. Believe it or not, bees' compound eyes make chain link fence look like a solid wall. No one will ever know you have them unless you open your mouth.


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## Matt F (Oct 7, 2014)

I'm very comfortable on ladders and roofs, so I would definitely consider a rooftop location for the hive. Ravenseye has some good suggestions to consider. Definitely think about how you can get the honey super down or moving a feeder bucket or frames and boxes up and down. If you don't have a problem with that I think you're good.


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## dsegrest (May 15, 2014)

Even a trellis or something a few feet in front of the hive will force the bees to gain elevation fast.

I bought a kids bee suit. My neighbors kids would go on a homework strike if they complained about the bees.


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## Lee'sBees (Nov 17, 2015)

Thanks for all your input guys! The support from this community is overwhelmingly amazing.

Being elevated is not an issue as far as getting up and down. We are used to going up there for Christmas/holiday decorating and the like.
I suppose the reason why the roof was so appealing was due to the fact it would be mostly centered in my property, away from the 1 neighboring house.
We DO have a dog run that we no longer use (just for storage) that would be secluded from the rest of the yard, but that is right next to my neighbors property where they have outdoor stairs leading up to a second floor door. They would have perfect line of site into the dog run. (the neighbors are an old couple on the first floor who have their older middle aged daughter living on the second floor, she is sorta crazy.) I am just concerned if they would be flying around/through the neighbors path a lot and I want to create as little disturbance for them as possible.

I could probably get away with putting it near our shed in the corner of the yard, but I had concerns about it being to cramped and shady. Is direct sunlight always best? If it is too close to a fence or shed on two sides, is that a problem?

I will actually make a crude diagram of my property to show where some potential hive sites could be.

Thank you all again for the input!


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## Ravenseye (Apr 2, 2006)

I've seen hives put right up against the side of a building with no problem. I prefer sun on the hives as opposed to shade so I steer clear of areas that don't get sun for at least half the day.


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## Michael Bush (Aug 2, 2002)

http://www.bushfarms.com/beesfaqs.htm#locating

I see it as a set of priorities. See the list above. Bees are very adaptable and your yard is small. So make things convenient and safe for the people who live there first.


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## JWChesnut (Jul 31, 2013)

The most substantial issue in suburban beekeeping is not the inconvenient flight paths, but is uncontrolled swarming. Swarms are rarely welcomed by neighbors and can cause accidents. Management of swarms requires real beekeeping experience, and unfortunately suburban hives are heavily biased to the new and inexperienced. 

To manage swarms, one must be prepared to aggressively split down hives and have frequent and thorough inspections. These are skills learned over time, just as recognizing the pre-swarm signals are learned.

As an eager 20-something beekeeper in the early 1980's, I watched with fascination as a hive of mine swarmed out, and then in horror as the swarm crossed a busy street right in front of a pretty girl driving a moped. She swerved, and was dusted to the pavement by a van. She came out OKAY with just a bit of road rash, but the situation could easily have ended tragically.


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## kaizen (Mar 20, 2015)

if it were me I'd put up some fence to block as much view to the hive as possible. leave 2 feet on all sides to be able to get into and work the hive. people normally don't notice bees coming and going but when they do they notice it all the time. each day there will be bees orientating and if you have a big hive it can be a lot and attract attention.


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## Orion7 (Jun 3, 2015)

I would not do roof top for all the reasons already listed, but also the wind on a roof top could cause trouble. I have one hive six feet from our front porch, with the entrance away from the porch. Sitting on concrete blocks so it is elevated about 1 1/2 feet. They have never bothered anyone. I've seen our old cat lay right next to it for the shade.


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## MariahK (Dec 28, 2014)

ok I am attaching my google earth and have marked my hives just so you can see I pointed all my hives at the fences and they fly straight up about 20 ft and all over, all the neighbors know about them we have not had any issues or complaints. only one sting by a neighbor kid but he fell on a bee in his yard, and I still say it may not have been mine anyways as another bee keeper has 30 about a mile away and another 20 within 2 miles. But all in all my yard is pretty small, and I have 3 dogs, 3 cats, chickens 3 teenagers and only my dog got stung once for sticking hos nose on a bee, he didn't try that twice, The 3 are located in my veggie gardens and the top bar is right between me and my neighbors house. All have basically full sun. Last yeer it took forever to pick a spot and I was moving hives all over before the packages came because I discovered they were not the best. I really like the set up now.


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## Ravenseye (Apr 2, 2006)

I like it too. Seems like a great setup!


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## Lee'sBees (Nov 17, 2015)

Attached is a crude sketch of my property layout. I think I will try to stay on the ground for now, after reading everyone's comments. Only having been by an actually hive a handful of times during classes, I wasn't sure exactly how the bee's would behave coming and going. Some of the areas seem cramped to me, but I guess it would seem spacious to a colony. I have labeled possible hive sites, and as always I appreciate all your input!

What an awesome community

P.S the darker green spots are shrubs and garden areas. There is one big tree near SITE 3, and it is quite shady since there is a wooden fence around the whole yard. SITE 6 can be really shady too since there are tall shrubs and a loud A/C unit in there. I am not sure if the noise/vibrations would affect the hive.


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## kaizen (Mar 20, 2015)

What's behind number two? I like fencing in the shed and putting them there or two facing your house


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## Phoebee (Jan 29, 2014)

I did a quick check to see if there is any simple page of beekeeping rules like we have in West Virginia. I found a rather ominous looking set of Illinois beekeeping regulations back in the Beesource archives: http://www.beesource.com/resources/...ng/illinios-bees-and-apiaries-act-with-rules/

This is not a complete list, just what I can recall of our rules. Some jurisdictions have specific different rules, but the basics for small yards are:

If the hives are close to a property line (dimensions vary), you need a barrier to make the bees fly UP before they fly ACROSS neighbors' yards. A 6 foot privacy fence or tall hedge will generally do. 

Provide water for your bees. Otherwise they'll find it on their own, probably pestering neighbors in the process. They adore salt water ... they are particularly pesky around salt water swimming pools. I put a small piece of trace mineral block in my poultry waterer to keep them at home and happy.

Know local regs for density. Areas that allow suburban hives allow some modest number per yard. Twenty is probably a Bad Idea. 

Practice good swarm management. 

Attend to the health of your bees. A local bee club that operates a bee school is priceless for learning this.

There is usually a distance requirement for placement of hives near penned or tethered animals.

Register your hives ... looks like this is an Illinois requirement. It may provide you some protection.

"Hot" bees need a home elsewhere. Try to find gentle bees. In your area the Africanized Honey Bees are generally not a problem but if you got a package from a sloppy supplier down south somewhere you might get AHB, in which case there's bound to be a law against it.

Not a regulation, but frequently effective: give your neighbors some honey.

Rooftop hives do get around the privacy fence issue. However, for inspection it may mean an inspector has to enter your house.


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## Phoebee (Jan 29, 2014)

Here's an example of good bee stewardship rules, with some specific recommendations (tho' they vary from one jurisdiction to another).

http://colonialbeekeepers.com/index...or-honey-bee-colonies&catid=1:latest&Itemid=2


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## MariahK (Dec 28, 2014)

Just going off the diagram I'd vote for 1


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## beepro (Dec 31, 2012)

I vote for location #3.
It is close to the pond so that the bees don't
need to fly far away to get some water in the summer time.
Provide them a place to fetch the pond water. Place 2 hives
in front of the big tree next to the pond where they will get
early morning sun and late afternoon shade from the hot summer sun.
Location #1 is too far away and location #5 is 
too close to your house.


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## kaizen (Mar 20, 2015)

and there Lee's bees is your lesson for today. You ask 3 beekeepers a question and you will get 3 different answers. 
most of your locations are usable. understand everyones reasoning and you decide. I've tried to keep my activity under wraps so I use my shed to suit up and store my bucket of tools. I have realized I really really like just being with the bees and not having everyone asking questions and bothering me. if the bees would just calm down we would have a nice relationship.


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## MariahK (Dec 28, 2014)

I picked 1 because it looks like good sun, won't bother neighbors and you can store extra gear and what not in the shed.


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## rmaxwell (Apr 23, 2014)

My vote would be for #1. During queenless periods, they can get testy until the new queen is laying. I like them away from my family and dog during those times. Shady spots have always been trouble for me and I can't get my bees to use water sources that are really close to the hives. Everyone has their own preferences though.


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