# Hive Stand Height



## BeeAttitudes (Dec 6, 2014)

For a standard Langstroth Hive, how high should it be above the ground? It seems you want it high enough that skunks aren't an issue (at least in my area as they are in my yard at times). Will height help with mice?

On the flip side, it seems you want it as low as possible to make it comfortable to add and remove supers.

So is there an acceptable height that prevents varmint intrusion but isn't too high to work with comfortably? Does one have to go with top entrances to get a Langstroth acceptably low to work with?


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## Cabin (Nov 30, 2014)

BeeAttitudes said:


> For a standard Langstroth Hive, how high should it be above the ground? It seems you want it high enough that skunks aren't an issue (at least in my area as they are in my yard at times). Will height help with mice?
> 
> On the flip side, it seems you want it as low as possible to make it comfortable to add and remove supers.
> 
> So is there an acceptable height that prevents varmint intrusion but isn't too high to work with comfortably? Does one have to go with top entrances to get a Langstroth acceptably low to work with?


Small point. Are you asking how high the base should be or how high the top super should be????  Sounds like a no win situation. Or you can go with a roof top set up.


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## BeeAttitudes (Dec 6, 2014)

I'm asking how high the top of the base should be that the hive sits on. That would be a constant height whereas the height of the top of the hive changes as you add supers. Thanks for asking.


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## brettj777 (Feb 27, 2013)

I made mine 16 inches. I'm 6'4" and 2 deeps plus 3 supers is prolly eye level for me. I also hive my hives in a grassy field, makes it easier when the grass gets real tall.


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## Riverderwent (May 23, 2013)

"For a standard Langstroth Hive, how high should it be above the ground? It seems you want it high enough that skunks aren't an issue (at least in my area as they are in my yard at times)."

Fourteen inches or so works for me. 

"Will height help with mice?"

No.

"Does one have to go with top entrances to get a Langstroth acceptably low to work with?"

Not unless snow drifts are a problem.


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## Michael Bush (Aug 2, 2002)

>For a standard Langstroth Hive, how high should it be above the ground?

My tallest ones are 3 1/2". My shorted ones are 1 1/2"...

> It seems you want it high enough that skunks aren't an issue (at least in my area as they are in my yard at times). Will height help with mice?

A top entrance without a bottom entrance will solve both.

>On the flip side, it seems you want it as low as possible to make it comfortable to add and remove supers.

Exactly. And get a bench to sit on when you work the lower ones...


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## enjambres (Jun 30, 2013)

Mine are 18-21 inches high (sloping ground). That's probably a few inches too high for perfect fit for me and I will correct it if I take apart that stand. OTOH, I use pallets (on top of concrete blocks resting on the ground) with plywood sheets on them and I often stand up on the platform (particularly when messin' around with full supers), so basically my feet are at the level of the bottom board anyway. 

Mice and shrews and small such varmints are not deterred in the least. Does it keep away skunks and the like, possibly. I do have skunks here - often smell them at night -, but I have not seen any damage fom them so far. Still, not going to lower the stands just to test that propostion. 

I use bottom entrances for all but one of my colonies during the warm months.

Enj.


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## lemmje (Feb 23, 2015)

What's really cool about beekeeping is that you can change your mind and try new things from time to time without too much retooling. The height of your hives is one of those things.


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## Michael B (Feb 6, 2010)

Lower the better. I use concrete blocks and a 4x4. Any higher and lifting boxes off a hive that is 3-5 boxes high is tough.


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## BeeAttitudes (Dec 6, 2014)

So what is the downside of using a top entrance only? Will it affect honey production? It seems it might help honey production to me (I say with zero experience). Does it bother the bees to return to the hive if you have the entrance removed while doing hive checks? That is likely an advantage for a bottom entrance. 

The folks I've talked with locally that have tried a combo bottom and top entrance, they say the bees ignore the top entrance.


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## BeeAttitudes (Dec 6, 2014)

I'm leaning toward trying a 2x4 stand 5ft long sitting on solid concrete block (4" high) on each end. Put a 1ft 2x4 a foot from the end of (2) 5ft runners. If I place only 2 hives on the stand, it would leave me room in the middle to place supers when removed during hive checks without squishing too many bees. Or, I could sit a nuc in the middle if needed.


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## mmiller (Jun 17, 2010)

Cinder blocks are 8" and cost about 70 cents apiece. Total $1.40 per and the hive is off the ground.


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## fivekai (Mar 6, 2015)

im looking into this now also since im starting to plan for my my hives....

Have you guys seen the hive at the whitehouse? I dont get why they placed it so high the keeper there need a ladder to do any work on the hive its extremely high. i dont get the thinking behind their design!


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## dadandsonsbees (Jan 25, 2012)

fivekai said:


> im looking into this now also since im starting to plan for my my hives....
> 
> Have you guys seen the hive at the whitehouse? I dont get why they placed it so high the keeper there need a ladder to do any work on the hive its extremely high. i dont get the thinking behind their design!


They are that high so the "Skunk" at the White House doesn't get into them


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## Colobee (May 15, 2014)

The traditional line of thought is to place them just high enough that a skunk can't sit and claw at the entrance and munch bees as they come out. If the skunk is standing upright, the tender underbelly is exposed ( in theory). Bottom entrance, ~ 12" off the ground. Top entrance - no worries. 'Never had a mouse in a live colony.

Pulling supers above shoulder height is a PITA, but a nice crop. Have spare supers or extract as you go, or build a sturdy stand (I found a use for those empty deeps I no longer use.)


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## fivekai (Mar 6, 2015)

Colobee said:


> The traditional line of thought is to place them just high enough that a skunk can't sit and claw at the entrance and munch bees as they come out. If the skunk is standing upright, the tender underbelly is exposed ( in theory). Bottom entrance, ~ 12" off the ground. Top entrance - no worries. 'Never had a mouse in a live colony.
> 
> Pulling supers above shoulder height is a PITA, but a nice crop. Have spare supers or extract as you go, or build a sturdy stand (I found a use for those empty deeps I no longer use.)




im going with something like this. and about that height. looks like 16". i like that having 2 hives on a stand like this i am left with about 2 feet of empty space between them to put frames and tools as i work.

I live in florda so i would like something pretty sturdy as when we are in summer winds can get nasty and i can strap the hives down to the sold base if i need to


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## fivekai (Mar 6, 2015)

and its looks sharp in my garden


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## BeeAttitudes (Dec 6, 2014)

fivekai, do you have your hives located literally next to your garden? I would love to place my hives next to my garden but I'm thinking my wife may be apprehensive to work in the garden right next to the bees.


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## BeeAttitudes (Dec 6, 2014)

Colobee said:


> The traditional line of thought is to place them just high enough that a skunk can't sit and claw at the entrance and munch bees as they come out. If the skunk is standing upright, the tender underbelly is exposed ( in theory). Bottom entrance, ~ 12" off the ground. Top entrance - no worries. 'Never had a mouse in a live colony.


If I go with my plan, I would have a 4" concrete block plus a 2x4 on edge so after leveling the block and adding the height of the entrance above the bottom of the hive I would be 8" - 9" above the ground. Not sure if that is enough to deter a skunk by having them rear up or not. I guess I could always switch to a concrete cavity block that is roughly 8" tall and gain an additional 4".


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## fivekai (Mar 6, 2015)

BeeAttitudes said:


> fivekai, do you have your hives located literally next to your garden? I would love to place my hives next to my garden but I'm thinking my wife may be apprehensive to work in the garden right next to the bees.


thats the plan. Im on an acre si its not that close i was planning to put it on the edge of my property probably 30 yards from any area the kids or we use. the only thing i was worried about was my dogs. im sure they will learn quickly to leave the hives alone. 

or since my property is backed up against a wild life refuge/ forest. i was maybe thinking of placing the hives right outside of my fence at the rear of the property so the dogs wouldnt be able to get more than 15 feet from them. i am still planning this. My local beekeeper club has a apiary i could use but i kinda like the idea of keeping the hives near my property. as long as no neighbors complain or get bees in their pool areas i think im good. the houses have a fair amount of space between them. im not even going to ask my homeowners association for permission they are ridiculous. they have sued me 3 times for BS and i have won each time.


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## Sharpbees (Jun 26, 2012)

I make hive stands 12" high using 2x12 lumber left over from construction jobs.


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## Colobee (May 15, 2014)

BeeAttitudes said:


> If I go with my plan, I would have a 4" concrete block plus a 2x4 on edge so after leveling the block and adding the height of the entrance above the bottom of the hive I would be 8" - 9" above the ground. Not sure if that is enough to deter a skunk by having them rear up or not. I guess I could always switch to a concrete cavity block that is roughly 8" tall and gain an additional 4".


I was just guessing ~12"- I've never measured a skunk while it was standing up


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## fivekai (Mar 6, 2015)

Lol I have never even seen a skunk in south florida......I measured a racoon the other day tho and decided 16 to 18 was ideal


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## Michael Bush (Aug 2, 2002)

>So what is the downside of using a top entrance only?

None that I've found. I've been running just top entrances since about 2005

>Will it affect honey production?

If it stops the skunks, yes, if you don't have skunk problems, I don't think you'll see any diffeence.

>Does it bother the bees to return to the hive if you have the entrance removed while doing hive checks? That is likely an advantage for a bottom entrance. 

Someone working the hive disrupts the returning bees regardless. Either way they are confused. You might notice it more with a top entrance.

>The folks I've talked with locally that have tried a combo bottom and top entrance, they say the bees ignore the top entrance.

I've noticed about an even split on that observation as far as which they prefer. In the end, they adapt to either just fine.


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## Fergus (Jan 27, 2015)

I have a stand system similar to Fivekai, and I find that it works well. I dig a hole and drop a 5 gal bucket in and set posts in sakcrete about 3" from top of bucket. When water accumulates in the top of bucket it creates a little moat which helps with ant control. I have even went so far as to mix cayenne pepper and vaseline and slather it on the post. The carpet strip trick at the entrance helps with skunks, though I have only had one skunk bother hives. This is great for me as I have few hives, for you all that have alot of hives this may not be as practical.


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## grozzie2 (Jun 3, 2011)

The thing about beekeeping, it's all about local conditions. I tried leaving them on palettes but the issue we ran into with that, everything gets waterlogged over the winter during our season of incessant rain. I built new stands this last summer in a manner water would not be able to weep up and waterlog the hives. I did a careful analysis of how high they needed to be along this line. Take a tape measure, and measure how much clearance is required for the mower deck when it's doing a 1 inch cut on the grass, then cut the support posts so that there would be a half inch clearance when I mow. We built these stands when the bees were moved out to the fireweed patch, and put hives on them when they came home. They worked well this winter, so I'll build more along this line over the summer this year.



I'm not really worried about stacks getting to high, we extract 2 or 3 times over the season, so they dont get unmanageable.


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## Dragiša-Peđa Ranković (Feb 24, 2015)

With that much space you should leave more distance in between the stands.

When you fill those stands with hives you´ll see.


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## mac (May 1, 2005)

2x4's will bend when get a couple boxes of honey


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## snl (Nov 20, 2009)

Looking at that pic on post # 26, if you're placing hives (vs nucs) you'll need much more support. Almost a support between every hive.....they'll get heavy and severely bend or break those 2x's.


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## Brad Bee (Apr 15, 2013)

I'm about to make the MOAHS. That would be the Mother of All Hive Stands. I've saved some steel catwalk material off a few bulk feed trailers we've scrapped. I'm going to make the deck for hives to sit on about 12" tall (on average with our sloped land) and I'm going to make one for nucs that's 24-28" tall.


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## Michael Bush (Aug 2, 2002)

When designing stands keep in mind what a booming hive full of honey will weigh. It could be in the 300lb range...


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