# Keeping bees in a shed



## tracy (Nov 28, 2006)

Currently I live in the city. I am building a house on ten acres but it will be a while before I move. Can I keep a couple hives in a shed and just leave the door open all the time? Will it cause any problems? Would I be better off putting them on the ten acres and checking on them on a regular basis.

Tracy


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## BjornBee (Feb 7, 2003)

Tracy,
You can keep them in a shed...you can keep them in your head. You can keep them well fed, and keep them in the red. You can even keep them when their dead....green eggs and ham!  

Sorry, winter sickness.

As long as the door stays open they will orient. I will say that wintertime exposure to the sun is very important. There is always a few days through the winter where the temps moderate for a day or two, and these days allow a cleansing flight, etc.

I had a buddy last year, place a couple supers in the freezer in his garage. He wanted to thaw them out and unplaugged the freezer and left the door up. The next week, after forgetting about the freezer, a swarm flew through the open door and took up residing in the supers. It was a real mess several weeks later when i came upon the scene. they were filling the freezer space with comb all over the place.

I also seen a swarm fly through a barn window(broken glass) and take up residence in some stored equipment. they had no problems using the window and did fine.

Not that you imagined doing that.


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## iddee (Jun 21, 2005)

No scientific evidence or surveys to back me up, but I would guess that 75% of all beeks with less than 5 hives live in the city. The general consensus is to not hide them, not over expose them, teach neighbors about gentleness, value to nature, topped with a small jar of honey regularly.

The 10 acres in Mich. may expose them to bears, skunks, two-legged skunks, ETC. I would vote for the back yard, myself.

[ December 20, 2006, 09:22 AM: Message edited by: iddee ]


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## kc in wv (Feb 1, 2006)

A long time beekeeper in Central WV has a shed for his bee's. There is a slot along the floor to set the hive up against. He says it breaks the wind and also allows him to work the bee's in the rain also.

This past winter, another local beekeeper and I had the priviledge of talking with a group of officials from Tajikistan about beekeeping in the mountains. One of the group had around 70 hives. Some of the beekeepers in their county keep their hives in covered wagons. They move their wagons to the nectar source. The center areas of the wagons are used for processing the honey and living quarters. In that country honey production is a very labor intensive job. 
Tajikistan is neighboring country to Afghanistan


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## Michael Bush (Aug 2, 2002)

You'll have a lot more fun with the hives where you can watch them and mess with them. I've had bees in my yard most of the last 32 years and most of those years they were in town.


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## BjornBee (Feb 7, 2003)

tracy, After reading your post again, I see your building a house. Not sure when your moving, but if your there(regular basis) building a house, why not have them at this place you will call home anyways. It may be better than moving them later when they wiegh a couple hundred pounds each.


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## tracy (Nov 28, 2006)

Bjorn
It will be a couple years before I live in the new house because I am building it debt free. Plus the property is a half hour from my current house. It would be a lot easier checking on them if I have them right out my back door. I may end up putting them on the property though because then I dont have to worry about running into trouble with other people. A lot of people in my neck of the woods are very rigid and mean.


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## Dave W (Aug 3, 2002)

>A lot of people in my neck of the woods are very rigid and mean . . .

Sounds like you need SEVERAL hives and LOTS of HONEY to share w/ your neighbors


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## ScadsOBees (Oct 2, 2003)

A debt-free house? That's crazy talk!!

>>>A lot of people in my neck of the woods are very rigid and mean.

I'd be careful with this too, because if this is the case then you might end up with tipped over, poisoned, or shot hives, especially if you aren't there that often.

If you are going to be keeping hives in the shed for a couple of years, I might recommend making entrances for them other than the door. There are many people who do this, as indicated by the other posters.

-rick


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## George Fergusson (May 19, 2005)

>A debt-free house? That's crazy talk!!

Yah, really. I mean, if you're not servicing a staggering, overwhelming, choking load of debt, preferably credit card debt at usurous interest rates, you're not living the american dream! There's nothing like a 30 year variable rate mortgage to give you a reason to keep working too. Furthermore, by building debt-free you're depriving creditors of well deserved income! They need to make a living too you know!

However, I know some people that have pursued the same vision of building a debt-free home and if you're anything like them, nothing I say is going to make you change your plans. So be it! Be that way!

As for housing your hives in a shed of some sort and keeping them in town, go for it. Bees are nice to have around and even though next season I'm going to be moving most of my hives to outyards, I'm still planning on keeping a couple of hives at home just so I can go out and commune with my bees at my leisure. Furthermore, many urban areas offer excellent forage all season long- all those ornamental shrubs, flowering fruit trees and such. I'm actually looking for some good locations on the outskirts of a few nearby towns.

I've often thought something like a lean-to or shed roofed structure for a few hives would be nice. I've seen pictures of large operations with hives on platforms with roofs over them. A friend of mine has one hive in a shed open on the front and back:

http://www.sweettimeapiary.com/pics/hexagonal_hive4.jpg


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## mwjohnson (Nov 19, 2004)

Hi Tracy,
I keep thinking about something like a shed too.

I could even fix a little spot on one end for me to stay...the dog house get's a little uncomfortable after a little while.

Just think how long your wooden ware would last!

Good Luck on the house...I got out of a pile of debt 4 years ago and I'm never going back,now I can sleep at night.

Mark


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## tracy (Nov 28, 2006)

I actually lost 18,000 dollars to a builder last year. He took my money and ran. If it wasn't for that I would be living in my debt free house already. Maybe my bees will make me some of the money back!! (HA HA)


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## GunHill (Nov 27, 2006)

right !! I build for a living and I sneezz that much every day.. 18 grand will not get you much these days


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## tracy (Nov 28, 2006)

Gunhill
You are right, but it was a big start in the right direction. Especially when you are 27 years old. I was building as I go and the builder was just doing some of the work and my family was going to do the rest. I am just saying it was a serious setback. I am sure you may spend that much on a regular basis but at least you know you are getting something in return. I got nothing. By the way next time you sneeze that much send me the used tissue!


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## Mike Gillmore (Feb 25, 2006)

> By the way next time you sneeze that much send me the used tissue! 








Very good... touche!


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## NW IN Beekeeper (Jun 29, 2005)

[Some of the beekeepers in their county keep their hives in covered wagons.]

Here in the US we call those RVs. 

[The center areas of the wagons are used for processing the honey and living quarters.]

This just reinforces my idea of using an RV to house your bees. 

-Jeff


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## Joel (Mar 3, 2005)

I knew a guy locally who kept them in an out building. Seemed the bees were always way behind everyone else in the club due to taking longer in the spring and in the summer mornings to warm up and become active. The times I was there the building always seemed "dank" inside. They were protected from wind in the winter and out of sight to vandals and no bear fence needed. Overall though I considered it a losing propostion. He's out of the business now.

[ December 21, 2006, 09:28 PM: Message edited by: Joel ]


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## sierrabees (Jul 7, 2006)

I have kept hives upstairs in my barn and they did very well. I try to put them in a window with a southern exposure or at least against a south facing wall with a hole drilled to match the entrance. That way they get some benifit from the sunny days in the winter while they are shaded during the hot days of summer. If the sun can't hit the hive then for best results it needs to touch to outside boards of the building so heat can transfer. The bigest problim I have had is trying to see eggs and brood in a poorly lit location and occasionally dropping a queen when I try to hold the frame up to the light but not over the hive.


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## sierrabees (Jul 7, 2006)

Forgot to mention, the window needs to have no glass or screen in it or you will lose a lot of bees beating themselves to death trying to go through where they can't go. A set of shutters with a bee opening works ok and can be treated the same as the "hole in the wall" location I described above except that it can be opened to give more light when you want to work the hives.


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## Dave W (Aug 3, 2002)

>if you're not servicing a staggering, overwhelming, choking load of debt, preferably credit card debt at usurous interest rates, you're not living the american dream! There's nothing like a 30 year variable rate mortgage to give you a reason to keep working . . .

There is more good advice given in this statement than ALLLLL the info on BeeSource. 
Thank you, George









AND yes, you CAN live debt-free AND build your own home.


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## George Fergusson (May 19, 2005)

>There is more good advice given in this statement than ALLLLL the info on BeeSource. 
Thank you, George

Aw, shucks Dave...

Let me know if you want some investment or marital advice


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## GunHill (Nov 27, 2006)

Tracy,
What happened to the builder that took the money?? There are ways of getting it back you know. I didn't mean to sound like I didn't care, but if that was all you lost its not bad. I know of people trying to save a buck, hired a unlicensed contractor and got screwed because the guy took cash (lots like 40,000) and cannot be found. Good luck and get him


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## tracy (Nov 28, 2006)

Gunhill
I would love to talk to you about my issue with the builder. I did go after him the problem is he lives in a different state then me. My lawyers had trouble because of that. I am not sure if I can do anything else. I am trying to put it behind me and start over. That is why my bees will be in the city for a couple years until I can build my house in the country. Thanks for your concern.

Tracy


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