Free Beehive Plans to Find a Spot for In Your Backyard (2024)

FAQs

How to find a beehive in your yard? ›

You're looking for holes in trees and bees flying in the same direction past openings in the canopy. Investigate any tree holes and cavities. The colony will probably be in a cavity in a large or damaged tree, so pay close attention to these.

In addition, Galena Farms does not recommend you put a hive directly near your house, your garden, a shared property line or near any high foot traffic areas. If you have no other options though, make sure to try to give your bees at least 20 feet of space.

Generally, lots of full sun is ideal to keep the hives warm and dry, with some shade in the hottest hours of the afternoon. In areas with very hot summers, however, a shadier spot will be better. Wind chill is another environmental factor to consider.

Positioning the Hives

The best positioning for a honeybee hive is facing southeast preferably free from early morning shade. You want your workers to warm up and wake up early in the day and get to work finding pollen, nectar, and water.

It's best to grow a variety of plants with flowers in a range of colors that bloom from spring through autumn – the showier, the better. As you're selecting flowers, remember that bees are highly attracted to white, yellow, and shades of purple and blue.

Ground bees are solitary insects that dig nests in the ground, typically in sandy or loose soil. Here are some signs that you may have ground-nesting bees on your property: Small Mounds of Dirt: Look for small piles of soil near the entrance to their nests. These mounds are often a telltale sign of ground bee activity.

You can absolutely keep bees in California. In fact, the climate, agriculture, and biodiversity of California make it one of the most popular states for beekeepers.

Utilize a hive stand or cinder blocks to elevate the hive 12 to 18 inches off of the ground to keep it safe from skunks and other animals which may want to disturb the hive. Place a large rock on top or strap down your hive to keep it safe from raccoons, wind, etc.

Unless your neighbors have an attractive water source or hummingbird feeders in their yard, they will likely never even notice that there are bees around! For tips on safe hive placement, click here. Water source.

The real learning begins when you start to spend time with your bees. Each colony is unique. They have different temperaments, different preferences, different needs and they can vary in strength quite a lot. You can have two colonies right next to each other and get completely different outcomes.

Why do beehives need to face south? ›

The southern exposure makes sense. During the winter months – at least in the northern hemisphere – the sun sits low on the southern horizon. The direct rays of sunshine on the entrance during the late fall and early spring enable a beehive to potentially gain some sunlight and extra flying hours.

Looking at hives anytime temperatures are warm, it is sunny and calm is usually fine. Mid-afternoon is still the preferred time. Winter- This season brings cold weather, and the bees are often clustered, and focusing on keeping their hive warm. Quick inspections during the middle of a sunny and warm day are ideal.

But just how close to your house can you put your hive? The general rule is there should be a minimum of 4-feet behind and on either side of the hive, with a minimum of 25-feet of clearance at the entrance – but there's really no cut-and-dry answer for this.

Don't: Spray chemicals or pesticides into the hive. This won't kill the bees immediately, but it will aggravate them––probably not what you were going for. Professional bee removal services will look for ways to lure bees away instead of killing them.

A general rule of thumb is to have six to eight feet of space around your hive. This gives your bees enough room to fly around the hive without getting in anyone's way, but if your yard is on the smaller side, putting a tall fence in front of your hive will encourage the bees to fly upward.

Dark patches on the walls or ceilings

If you notice dark patches emerging on your walls or ceilings, this could be a sign of a honeybee infestation. This is because, the honeybees have built a nest in-between your walls or above your ceiling meaning that this is where the honey is being produced.

Is it safe? Find out if there are any serious allergies in your household (and if you have neighbors nearby - ask them, too). Bees aren't aggressive, but keeping a hive in close proximity will increase your chances of getting stung on occasion.

Nest is used to discuss colonies that house themselves in natural or artificial cavities or are hanging and exposed. The term hive is used to describe an artificial/man-made structure to house a honey bee nest. Several species of Apis live in colonies.