If you are planning to start beekeeping as a hobby or a profession, you might have thought of buying essential equipment. An important tool in beekeeping is the beehive stand. Beehive stands do not look like anything special, they are helpful and provide comfort while tending to the hive. For the bees, a beehive stand is important because it helps to keep the hive dry.
What is Beehive Stand?
A beehive stand is a structure that elevates the beehive from the ground. These hive stands are made of wood, plastic, or metal and can be bought online, or you can make a beehive stand of your own.
A beehive stand can be used to hold a Langstroth or Warre hive and has space for some beekeeping tools and frames. There is a variety of beehive stands available in the market with different features, and at different price points.
Benefits of Using a Beehive Stand
There are many benefits of using a beehive stand. For the beekeeper, a hive stand makes it easier to work on the hive. It is much more comfortable for a beekeeper to work on a hive at waist level than to have to keep bending over.
It is also beneficial for bees to have their hive above the ground. A hive stand keeps the hive away from the damp ground and ground moisture. This keeps the hive in better condition, reducing the risk of wood rot and mold.
Beehive stands are good for keeping predators and other pests, like ants away from the hive. An elevated hive does help to deter ants it is best to also use a barrier coating on the legs of the stand. AntCant is a great non-toxic coating that prevents ants and other insects from crawling up to the hive. It works by producing a surface where ants are unable to gain traction, so they cannot pass the barrier.
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An elevated hive makes it easier for the bees to get to their entrance. A hive placed on the ground could be surrounded by grass and weeds. You have to ensure that the hive vegetation is not concealed by the surrounding vegetation. If your hive is on a stand there are fewer chances of entrance conceal.
How to Choose a Beehive Stand?
There is a lot of different hives stands available in the market, so how do you know which one to choose? There are a few details to look at when deciding on which beehive stand to buy.
- Height
- Dimensions
- Material
Beehive Stand Height
In nature, bees do not nest on the ground. They always prefer to find a place with a little more height, and a hive stand is perfect for that. But what is the best beehive stand height? You have to make sure that your hive stand is high enough to avoid pests, but it should not be too high so that it would be difficult to lift your supers off the hive. The best beehive stand height is around 18 inches as suggested by most beekeepers.
Beehive Stand Dimensions
Beehives are quite heavy, so it’s important to choose a quality hive stand. The stand dimensions vary depending upon the number of legs.
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Beehive Stand Material
Beehive stands are made up of wood, plastic, or metal. Wood is a great building material because it is strong, durable, and attractive. The plastic beehive stands are lightweight, durable, and inexpensive. Metal stands have a high strength-to-weight ratio and do well in both hot and cold temperatures.
Best Beehive Stands to buy
1. VIVO Black Plastic Beehive Stand
VIVO beehive stand is perfect for both beginners and pro beekeepers, this is a durable hive base that features interlocking joints that fit together for maximum hold. Just slide the bottom of your hive onto the stand for a secure fit, and enjoy a beekeeping setup that’s 12.4” off of the ground in an easy-to-reach location. All of the required hardware is provided, so you can get your stand assembled and improve your beekeeping operation in no time.
Four solid feet provide excellent support for the hive stand. With only the four points of the stand touching the ground, it reduces the chance of slug or insect invasion. An open slot design combined with a classic black color makes this beehive stand low profile and provides excellent ventilation.
The metal support bars extending out from the stand provide a convenient solution for frame placement when you are tending your hive. This 18.8” x 24.8” x 12.4” plastic beehive stand is ideal for lifting your hive off of the ground, making it easier to reach as you care for your bees.
2. Mann Lake HD-709 Adjustable Hive Stand
Mann Lake is an adjustable beehive stand. Quality, innovative products, and service have always set us apart from the competition. Honeybees are very important in the agriculture industry and pollinate flowering crops throughout the world. Mann Lake is dedicated to secure the future of the honeybee and the beekeeping industry.
Mann Lake manufactures and distributes a comprehensive line of quality beekeeping equipment throughout the world. We pride ourselves on providing the best products and services in the industry.
Mann Lake’s adjustable hive stand will work with 10 frame or 8 frame hives. It is constructed of sturdy, zinc-plated steel. Raising the hive 6 1/2″ from the ground helps keep moisture away from the bottom board & improves ventilation.
4. Harvest Lane Honey Plastic Bee Hive Stand
At Harvest Lane Honey, beekeepers have looked to our experience and requested the same high-quality hive components and tools of the trade that make our bee farms successful. Harvest lane honey has pioneered and manufactured all new products necessary for the beekeeping industry. They employ a staff of highly skilled craftsman to manufacture the custom woodware beehives.
They maintain strict quality controls to ensure that every product meets the golden honey standard. This is a Plastic Bee Hive Stand, the metal rests helps to distribute the weight of the hive. The stand is made up of high-quality material which makes it durable and lasts long.
5. Blythewood Bee Company Ultimate Hive Stand
The classic design looks great in any garden. Easily removable frame holders raise the hive 12″ from the ground for easier access and better ventilation. It works with any bottom board, no wood hive stand is required. The hive sits on heavy-duty rails for total support. Hive stand is available for 8-frame and 10-frame hives.
The built-in drains keep hive and hive components dry for longer life. This is the perfect way to dress up any hive, even English garden hives.The large footpads spread the load and ensure stability. The security screws add extra strength and prevent the hive from moving. You can assemble the stand fast and easily with not more than 2 minutes with only a screwdriver. The textured surface looks natural. The ports allow legs to be filled with sand for additional stability.
6. LOVSHARE Metal Hive Stand
This Lovshare beehive stand is manufactured from sturdy, zinc-plated steel material for durability. Raising the hive 16.1 inches to 20.9 inches above the ground helps to avoid ants and pests. The beehive stand is featured with width and height adjustment to provide convenient uses. You can adjust the width from 15 inches (38 cm) to 19 inches (48 cm) and height from 16.1 to 20.9 inches.
The beekeeping stand is capable of holding 331lbs weight capacity that is enough to work with 10 frames or 8 frame bottoms to keep moisture away from your bottom board. It is easy to assemble with the help of screws. This stand is suitable for potholes, uneven floors, and can also be fixed on the cement floor by mounting screws. This adjustable hive stand has a wide applications of beehive frames to raise the hive off the ground.
How to get started in Beekeeping?
Beekeeping is a popular practice nowadays that is continuing to rise as the bee population is declining. For many years, honey was the major motivator for beekeeping. It is the only way to produce natural succulent sweeteners for food and drinks until the discovery of cane sugar came along. But, there are more benefits to beekeeping than just the sweet reward of honey, such as nourishing your garden to working as a therapeutic area to relieve stress, it has a significant amount benefits. People have learned the basics of beekeeping and they are now using it as a fascinating hobby and few are doing it as a profession.
Beekeeping is exciting, but it needs hard work. Just like other jobs, beekeeping takes up to 40 hours of your time each week. If you’re thinking that beekeeping could not possibly take that much of your time, you might want to look at the bigger picture. There are additional responsibilities in beekeeping that include basic hive inspection, disassembling and reassembling your beehive, extracting honey, and interaction with the bees. Much like any other pet, you should take care of the health of your bees and become familiar with their movement and normal behaviors. It is important to record any irregular behavior and treat your bees with the proper medication if they need it.
If you properly take care of your hive and your honey bees, you can expect 40-60 pounds of honey in the second year and never look to buy honey from the store again. It is important to get the right information about beekeeping, so here are 7 simple steps you can go through to start beekeeping.
1. Read About Beekeeping
At first, you have to learn how to take care of your bees and other things they need in order to maintain a healthy life. Find out if you can afford beekeeping. Don’t buy a package of bees and then figure out that you do not have enough money to buy all of the necessary beekeeping equipment. Beekeeping needs more education and understanding than hands-on work. Make sure you have enough space and ground you plan on placing your hive on is level. Contact a mentor or someone who has years of beekeeping experience under your belt to seek advice if required. There are also beginner classes available for beekeeping and also books to help you gain knowledge about beekeeping even further.
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2. Check with Family, Neighbors, and the Law
Check with your family and anyone else living in the same household to ensure no one or yourself has a severe allergic reaction to bee stings. It does not happen often, but beekeepers occasionally do get stung. Even though this is not required, it is assisted you to confirm with neighbors to make sure that they do not carry any serious reactions to bee stings. If not, give them a heads up as to what you plan on doing and where. Most importantly, check with your local laws as some states require to register the location of your beehive and will provide you with specific guidelines.
3. Find out your Reason for Beekeeping
It is most important to determine the reason for beekeeping to choose a beehive that fits that reason. Do not feel limited, you can pick more than one. There are different beehive plans available, the three most popular reasons for beekeeping are.
- A hive for gardening—the primary reason for beekeeping is to pollinate your flowers and create a flourishing garden.
- A hive for observing—the reason for breeding bees is to observe their movement and study the behavior of bees.
- A hive for harvesting—the main reason for breeding bees is to harvest natural honey or beeswax.
4. Buy a Beekeeping Starter Kit
Buying a beekeeping starter kit to begin your journey in beekeeping hobby and finding out a good place to start because you do not know whether you like a hobby or not until you try it. The more you enjoying and learn about the process of beekeeping, the easier it will be to determine which changes you can make to your equipment are beneficial for the beehive most. The starter kits come with equipment that can last for years.
Conclusion:
For both beginners and experienced beekeepers, using beehive stands is easy. You may use any of these best beehive stands for sale in order to get the best beekeeping yields. They make the management of the beehive simple and give you good value for your investment. You can also prevent the ants and pests using these Beehive Stands.
