# Top bar hive entrance front or side?



## Asahi1234

Which one is better front or side entrance to the top bar hive? With building a top bar hive and having front entrance do you still need to make dividers for the front and back or just the back? Also how do you feed the bees do you just stick jar of surger water and set it inside or does it need to be mounted inside?


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## newbeee

total newbeee here.....I don't know much and have only one hive I started last year.

on the feeding.....I just put the jar of sugar water right behind the cluster after I installed em last year. Since then I haven't fed them again.

I have a friend that also started a hive the same time as I did with a tbh and he had the wind blow over his hive during the winter cus a board of plywood pushed up against his hive.......anyhow, he had a mess of broken comb and ended up harvesting a lot of stores.......just a week ago we looked at em and they were totally empty on the stores and we put in a jar of sugar water inside right behind the last comb......they really wanted something to eat cus they marched right to it.


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## VeggieGardener

I like to use a side entrance but place it towards either end rather than the center of the hive. With a front entrance you would only need one follower board, another reason that I like the additional flexibility that the side entrance offers (a bit easier to work from either end). For feeding syrup I have a spare follower board with a notch cut into the bottom of it that allows me to slide an entrance feeder into it. That way I can monitor the syrup level through the window and swap it out as needed without removing bars or disturbing the bees.


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## 6470zzy

I just use a top entrance. I simply leave a 1/2 space between the end of the hive and the first top bar and my lid is such that the bees have no problems streaming in and out. Also I haven't put any unwanted holes in my hives that I might regret later on 

Cheers


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## Joseph Clemens

Not front or side, but top.


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## cerezha

Somebody on the Internet pointed out that if you are using side entrance, than mites from top part of the hive may accumulate at the entrance since bottom part of the hive is narrower than top. The idea is that side walls in TB are tilted and mites when fell, could "roll" down on the tilted wall and ended up at the entrance instead the bottom screen. When I built my TB (I prefer to call it Kenyan hive), I did not think about this and made nice side entrance close to one side. So, from this prospective, it looks like front entrance is better... Technically, there is not much difference between front entrance and side entrance if it is at the side. Some people drill a bunch of vine cork size holes everywhere and close unused entrances with vine corks... quite universal solution... Sergey


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## taydeko

Some of the master beekeepers around here did an experiment. They put an entrance on the side at one end, and on the end. The bees preferred the one on the side. Now they always put them on the side. I have started just using top entrances, so I don't have to worry about entrances. Just slide the first bar over and it is done. So simple. The same beekeepers say putting an entrance in the middle of the side is unmanageable and suggest it never be done.

Ted


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## avesterfelt

I use a front and top. Don’t like side because that is where I am standing. 

Just as a side note, I also started to use standard lang frames for a multitude of reasons and they have been doing great. I will try and get some pictures of my design on the site before long.


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## Michael Bush

The main reason for a front entrance is that it prevents the cluster from being in the center with honey on both sides of it, which is a bad configuration going into winter. A hive in a cold climate will likely work it's way to one end, leaving stores at the other end and if a warm snap doesn't allow them to relocate to the end with stores, they will starve there.


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## lavert5

Mine are on the side. One hive entrance is centered, I dont like this one for the reason Michael states above. The other one is toward the end of the hive still on the side. The bees keep the broodnest near the entrances so you want it at one end for wintering purposes.


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## Beethinking

I prefer side entrances at the end. I never start colonies in the middle for the reasons Michael mentioned. 

Best,
Matt


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## Loup

I am a newbie, with side entrances at the ends, do you leave both open or just one after bees are installed


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## taydeko

I would only leave one entrance to the hive open. It seems like the bees like to put their brood nest near the entrance, so having an entrance at each end would open up the hive for robbing and such, and make the hive much more difficult to defend. An entrance at each end is nice if you want to split the hive with a follower board and have two colonies in the same hive.
Ted


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## LaReine

I have 2 TBHs, one with a side entrance and one with an end entrance. We had a prolonged, very cold winter in western Colorado this year. There are many variables--hive location, stores, etc--but FWIW, the hive with the end entrance survived the winter and the one with the side entrance did not. I wonder if it is for the reason Micheal Bush stated.


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## quiltchix

Our hive plans had the entrance on the end. Now I'm concerned about ventillation and condensation as we are in the Pacific Northwest with a lot of rain in the fall/winter/spring. It does get hot for the 3-4 non rainy months as well. We certainly can drill a hole in the side and plug it if it seems they don't prefer it over the end entrance. If we do drill a hole on the side, what diameter should it be? Looks like it shouldn't be in the middle but more toward one end. Thanks for any tips!


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## fruitveggirl

I have end entrances, which I like for the reasons Michael mentioned. Also, with end entrances, you need just one divider board. I try not to feed, but if I have to, my divider board has a hole in it. I put syrup behind the board, and the bees travel through the hole. That way, I don't have to disturb them when refilling.

I should mention that ventilation/condensation has been an issue for me this winter. Doesn't seem to have anything to do with whether the entrance is on the end or side since I know people with side entrances who have the same issue. Am considering either a top entrance or adding a ventilation bar.


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## treeWinder

Front entrances on mine, even when they decide to close em.


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## shannonswyatt

I have both, but I like the side entrances towards one end, maybe three or four inches in from the end. Mainly I do this to get the brood nest on one end and the angled side keeps the entrances dry when it rains. If I were to make more hives with end entrances I think I would angle the entrances up a bit to help keep rain out. But it isn't a problem for the bees, the care less about the water than I do.


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## djjmc

treeWinder said:


> Front entrances on mine, even when they decide to close em.


Hi Ed, What is the material that they closed it with? It almost looks like particle board, it is bits of wood?


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## Steve56Ace

Front, bottom slot entrance. Bees like to walk up.


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## drr

Asahi1234 said:


> Which one is better front or side entrance to the top bar hive? With building a top bar hive and having front entrance do you still need to make dividers for the front and back or just the back? Also how do you feed the bees do you just stick jar of surger water and set it inside or does it need to be mounted inside?


I've worked on both types of hives.

It's useful to have the bees positioned so you have enough of an inspection angle to lift the follower board and check on them from either side. Maybe not at the end, but also not in the middle - Therefore - a long-side entrance is better for the beekeeper to inspect. entrance could be 3 or 4 bars in from the end of the hive. But not in the middle. Yearly inspection and positioning of food and brood can physically enforce where the bees are positioned for Winter.
At least in New England its far better to have the hive be positioned broad-side to the southern sun. Heat loss is the most limiting factor for TBH usage here in Massachusetts, USA. So this is another vote for a side entrance.
Also, as a general rule, it's far better for the hive entrance to be positioned south - (Though I cannot quote the source - its believed that *bees are far more productive when the hive entrance is pointed south or south-east*.) 
So with these three techniques combined, its better to have the entrance and the longest heated side of the hive pointed to the maximum sun exposure- 
Again - if you're in a hotter climate, its likely the reverse is true, so for that region, end-entrances would likely be ideal.

Watch these for a good demo of TBH design ideas:




 





As always I'll end with the saying: *The bees don't read the books or watch videos, so they do what they want to do, not always what we expect them to do*.


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