Czech bee shed / house

[olriley]

Thought this may be of interest. I couldn't speak to the owner or get any closer on this occasion, but may be able to in future.

I have seen freestanding hives too in Czech; a common feature seems to be 'one-size box', each with small entrance / vent (I gather this is controversial here!)

The bee shed is an interesting concept, with seeming advantages in compactness and reducing winter heat losses. Anyone using this method? Any disadvantages aside from complexity and cost?


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[colinc]

If they find a route into the shed you lose the use of the shed


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[Hivemaker.]

I couldn't speak to the owner or get any closer on this occasion, but may be able to in future.

Nice picture of the bee house, careful, they may have a trail camera watching what your up too.

Any disadvantages aside from complexity and cost?

The biggest disadvantage would be moving them.

 

[pargyle]

One of our association members has his hives on an allotment and the hives are inside a shed on a low bench with a tunnel entrance from the brood box to the outside wall of the shed. There's a few advantages - inspections in any sort of weather, the shed door can be padlocked shut so less chance of vandalism or theft, you can use cheap pine boxes as they are protected from the weather, the bees are kept in a relatively warm and dry environment in winter.

He has vents in the shed roof which he opens when inspecting so any errant bees can escape and find their way home and in summer he leaves them open to keep the shed from getting too hot.

His bees seem to be fine ... the entrance tunnels are only a few inches long and made out of 32mm poly waste pipe. They fly straight in and out and if he needs to reduce the entrance for any reason he has a cap fitting with a small landing board attached to it and a single bee space slot in it.

Supers can be stored in the shed and with space on the low bench between hives he can do AS and other manipulations quite easily. No difficulty at all moving hives. Space in the shed behind the hives to stand and the windows on the opposite side provide some light but I think I would need an additional light source.

Disadvantages .. only room for about four full size hives in any 'normal sized' shed - he could possibly double up with a two tier system if he thought about it.

Can't use a 'normal' floor and hive entrance - they need a bit of simple modification - he uses a hole for the hiive entrance tube at the top of the brood box with a plastic plumbing fitting that the entrance tube slots in to.

But ... for a hobbyist with the space it's a nice arrangement. You could also keep an observation hive like this one permanently in there if you wished.

https://www.thorne.co.uk/index.php?...MIo_uh8snD2AIV7LXtCh2ZDwuREAQYASABEgIDx_D_BwE

 

[Hachi]

Didn't Hedgerow Pete keep his bee's in a shed?

Is he still a member of the forum?

Liked his youtube video's

 

[pargyle]

Didn't Hedgerow Pete keep his bee's in a shed?

Is he still a member of the forum?

Liked his youtube video's

Still a member but not been seen since 2016 - no activity since then at all... His videos were good ...

 

[Ely]

I like the look of bee sheds. You still can't inspect in all weathers, maybe mild drizzle. The bees still need to leave the shed windows and find their way back to their hive entrance. I wouldn't want them doing that in heavy rain.

 

[Finman]

. You still can't inspect in all weathers, maybe mild drizzle. rain.

In bad weather you get lots of stings. Even calm bees are nervous then. And air temperature is often limiting factor. The dark shed is not a good place for nursing.

I have been in bee shed, and I almost suffocated for smoke.

Shed is not a nice place to nurse hives. It is a cave. And modern colonies are too big to keep there.
.

Notice that Western Europe does not use any more sheds. Over 60 years ago they were popular.

We have lots of empty buildings on countryside, but no one situate hives inside barns.

 

[fatshark]

In bad weather you do not get lots of stings. Unless you've got crap bees.
Other than a torrential downpour (when you'd get wet getting to the shed) you can inspect in any weather you like. The bees cope perfectly well getting back to the entrances.
Double brood and 3-4 supers is manageable. Any more and you're struggling.
The smoker is an issue but can be left on the doorstep.
The lighting can be an issue but is surmountable with LED's and solar panels.

If space is an issue ... get a bigger shed.

 

[Ely]

I hadn't thought about the smoke. It is certainly nicer being out in the fresh air surrounded by countryside

 

[fatshark]

I hadn't thought about the smoke. It is certainly nicer being out in the fresh air surrounded by countryside

In the p1ssing rain ...

The smoker really is not a major issue. A waft at the entrance or under the OMF, a waft as you crack the cover board, plonk the smoker on the doorstep and let them think about things for a minute. Inspect. If they get fractious step over to the door, pick up the smoker and give them a little puff.

Of course, if the weather is bad and the bees are worse, perhaps you need a smoker to kipper the colony and prevent all those stings

 

[Finman]

Of course, if the weather is bad and the bees are worse, perhaps you need a smoker to kipper the colony and prevent all those stings

Bees do not mind about smoke when they are angry.
I use to wait for better weather. Angry bees make working less pleasant. The longer you work, the more stings. I bet that you have better days.

20 stings per hive is a limit, but 70 stings....

If it is becessary to work in rain, you can buy
a 3 x 3 m tent. Cost is £ 25. Movable.

 

[masterBK]

You can control most bees quite successfully by misting the lugs and tops of frames etc with water from a hand sprayer. Smoke tends to contain all sorts of nasty chemicals. Some people use so much smoke that I taste it occasionally in honey presented on the show bench.

 

[Finman]

You can control most bees quite successfully by misting the lugs and tops of frames etc with water from a hand sprayer. Smoke tends to contain all sorts of nasty chemicals. Some people use so much smoke that I taste it occasionally in honey presented on the show bench.

Very often I am near temperature limit, can I open the hive. Sun shining is important. If you spray water on bees, bees' temperature drops 5 degreed. - yes, I have measured.

If out temp is 12C, and you spray water on them, after some seconds bees are rigid like dead.
.

 

[Ely]

In the p1ssing rain ...

The smoker really is not a major issue. A waft at the entrance or under the OMF, a waft as you crack the cover board, plonk the smoker on the doorstep and let them think about things for a minute. Inspect. If they get fractious step over to the door, pick up the smoker and give them a little puff.

Of course, if the weather is bad and the bees are worse, perhaps you need a smoker to kipper the colony and prevent all those stings

No. I don't inspect in the ... rain

 

[masterBK]

Finman: If the bees are being manipulated within a beeshed your argument doesn't apply . I was suggesting an alternative method to smoke within a bee shed. Smoke in your eyes within the confines of a shed most unpleasant not forgetting breathing the stuff in. Most users of Apideas including me use water mist rather than smoke to set up the Apidea and control the bees. Not seen any rigid dead bees as a result of water misting yet but there again I have only been keeping bees a mere 58 years. Also many beekeepers dip queens in water to aid direct introduction and they seem to survive OK.

 

[For want of a better word]

Finman: If the bees are being manipulated within a beeshed your argument doesn't apply . I was suggesting an alternative method to smoke within a bee shed. Smoke in your eyes within the confines of a shed most unpleasant not forgetting breathing the stuff in. Most users of Apideas including me use water mist rather than smoke to set up the Apidea and control the bees. Not seen any rigid dead bees as a result of water misting yet but there again I have only been keeping bees a mere 58 years. Also many beekeepers dip queens in water to aid direct introduction and they seem to survive OK.

Warm water with a sprig of rosemary in a spray bottle keeps my bees under control... like the Snow fairie's idea of a moveable pop up gazeeboo... but would involve a lot of faffing about to move between a dozen apiaries and 150+ colonies... on your Jack Jones!

Yeghes da

 

[fatshark]

No. I don't inspect in the ... rain

My point was sometimes you have to inspect and/or go into colonies. If you're outdoors and it's raining it can be pretty unpleasant.

I've got colonies in a shed and have had them there for over 2 years. My comments are from sometimes daily experience handling bees inside. You don't get any more stings than outdoors, even if the weather is dreich.

After an inspection the shed clears of bees in about 5 minutes so it's a great setup for grafting (other than the lighting).

As masterBK says, misting works fine as well. The temperature in the shed - if the sun is on it - is always appreciably warmer so chilling the bees is really not an issue.

Actually, that's probably the biggest problem with the shed. On a hot day it can be sweltering inside the shed and makes it a thoroughly unpleasant and sweaty experience.

Er, ... tents are moveable ... but generally not transparent ... not sure I'd want to open a colony in the dark in a closed tent and do an inspection

 

[Finman]

finman: If the bees are being manipulated within a beeshed your argument doesn't apply . I was suggesting an alternative method to smoke within a bee shed. Smoke in your eyes within the confines of a shed most unpleasant not forgetting breathing the stuff in. Most users of apideas including me use water mist rather than smoke to set up the apidea and control the bees. Not seen any rigid dead bees as a result of water misting yet but there again i have only been keeping bees a mere 58 years. Also many beekeepers dip queens in water to aid direct introduction and they seem to survive ok.

ok!

.

 

[Anduril]

Just resurrecting this thread, thought this may be of interest!
https://youtube.com/watch?v=kSL9Ao_KwI0