Disguise a Hive

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steve1958

Drone Bee
Joined
Jul 13, 2009
Messages
1,043
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259
Location
Hampshire UK
Hive Type
National
Number of Hives
5
I have recently been invited to place a Hive on what is a very big allotment site.
The allotment association are very keen to have Bees there.
However

Apparently they did have a Bee Keeper there several years ago, who had 3 Hives on the Allotments, but his Hives were vandalised, and he lost 2 colonies of Bees through this.

So
I have been thinking of how I can make a Hive safer in such a situation.
Several ideas spring to mind straight away:

1. Hide the Hive behind a fence, or plant some hedging to help hide it.
2. Put the Hive inside a shed.
3. Put up an electric fence to kill off any intruders (though I have been assured this would result in me going to jail!).
4. Disguise the Hive as something else.

It is the latter of these I would like ideas on really.
What could I disguise a British National Hive so idiots wouldnt think of poking around near it.

It needs to be something that would blend in to an Allotment.

:cheers2:
 
i have this problem on my allotment. ive been thinking of putting them in a shed, however instead of a roof use chicken wire to stop rocks from hitting the hive?
 
I like your mains electricity idea..
 
Some people (like me) make compost heaps out of pallets wired together. If you put up a sort of fence around the hives with pallets, perhaps only on three sides providing the open side was out of sight from the road/path, it might work. Only problem might be when you got several supers on the hive would be too high and become visible. The answer might be to turn the pallets round so they are long ways up - i.e. "portrait" format rather than the "landscape" I use for my compost heaps.
 
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I think the biggest problem with this is it's okay to disguise your hives as anything you can think of..........what are you going to disguise yourself as when you do an inspection?

The very fact that the hives will be on a large allotment means plenty of people will know what is going on, they will then unwittingly pass on the information that there are hives on the allotment...........i.e. a man with an allotment will, in passing at home, mention that someone has put hives there.......15 year old son overhears the conversation and tells his mates.

A shed would be best I think, or maybe on a platform in the middle of a lake with inferi protecting and with maybe a few dementors patrolling the edges might help........:rofl: :rofl:

Frisbee
 
I had this same worry when I placed my hive on my allotment site and had this idea of making a hive and the outward appearance looking like a load of junk or a stack of timber I am still interested in doing this but it never got much further than scratching ones head.

In the end I settled for sighting the hive in a position that it was not that easally spotted with a stand buried into the ground 8" and a ratchet strap around the whole hive and stand this should stop the hive being pushed over or at least they may have one go and I bet they wont get a 2nd chance.

This year I am going to fix the floor to the stand in an attempt to try and stop the hive being stolen easally.This will make moving the hive awkward and you will either need to get to the screws or have a 2nd spare floor at hand.

One thing will be a good thing is try and get an 2nd hand hive one that gone gray and a bit battered this will blend into the background of an allotment site.

The bees are probably the best defence to vandalism the only problem is you and your alotmenteers may have to put up with a friendly fire situation if the bees are disturbed
 
Hi

The sheds not a bad Idea, we have a number of hives working out of sheds and they do just fine. As others have pointed out the biggest give away may be you walking around in your suite.

However there is no reason why you can't operate the hives with the shed door shut keeping all goings on behind closed doors. Even without side windows a sky light/velux set up would work, I believe that's how a person operated in London with bees in a loft space. Windows have to be set up/designed so an escape is left for those trapped bees but that's it.

Regards Ian
 
I just don't think you're applying yourselves. Surely our revered MPs have the answer - you either dig a moat - or make a pond and buy a duck island!
 
I had to take a nuc home at the end of last year because they were getting battered by wasps, the agreement with MrsTAff was that they were to be gone by spring, and the neighbour mustn't know they are there because he is anti-everythingthatbreaths, and must kill it before it kills his childeren :rolleyes:

so as a short term measure it got hidden

can you see it?

IMG_5234.jpg



no?

lets get a bit closer....

there it is, cunningly disguised by a composting bin

IMG_5236.jpg



I'm not suggesting you could do this with a full hive during the summer but it worked for me, with a nuc through the winter :)
 
Thanks for all your ideas.
I like the compost bin ideas.
But like you say The Beekeeper would need a disguise then.
The Black compost Bin could cause problems in the summer, as I should imagine it would get very hot inside.
Pallets would work though.

A moat or a Duck island would be excellant.
Not too sure what the Allotment association would say though :)

The shed may be the best plan, though it would meen further financial outlay.
Still cheeper than the cost of a Hive and a Colony of Bees though.

Definately food for thought here.

I did see a hive out on the South Downs that had a metal cage over it.
The Bees were quite angry so I didnt get near enough to see how it was fixed to the floor. But it looked fairly solid.
 
Good One Taff, sounds like your neighbour needs a dose of reality sprinkled with real life, or just shooting.
I have one just the same, they make you :puke:
My allotment hives are in a 6' high enclosure covered in barbed wire, with 4 guard geese patrolling the area.
 
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in the shed idea, i did say to have NO roof so the bees will also be over head height, and wire to protect the bees from rocks being thrown in. when inspecting just close the door behind you.

If you are half good with wood build a shed, i got my wood from a local wood yard and built it for £300. its size is 10ft long x 4ft wide and 7ft high.that price includes all the wood roofing felt ( its a storage shed) 1/3 ply floor and nails
 
B&Q (Bu**ers & Q****s - I hate this retailer, but that's another story) had an offer on a shiplap shed last week for £89 - you might need to line the inside with some extra timber sheeting to make it more sturdy and probably peg it down & put some more substantial felt on the top, but it would make a good beehouse and any thief would get the shock of his life if he tried to steal the tools !!
 
B&Q (Bu**ers & Q****s - I hate this retailer, but that's another story) had an offer on a shiplap shed last week for £89 - you might need to line the inside with some extra timber sheeting to make it more sturdy and probably peg it down & put some more substantial felt on the top, but it would make a good beehouse and any thief would get the shock of his life if he tried to steal the tools !!

Just bought one from B&Q to store my hive equipment in so I can get back into my garage. Looks okay, they have added a proper floor instead of strand board but will have to reinforce the roof and cover with some decent felt but for £89 it’s not too bad.
Can’t say I like the company either after they bxxlled up my electrics when fitting a new kitchen…..oh! and the kitchen turned out to be a load of cxxp to.
 
what about a small top bar hive hidden in a old plastic water tank, a couple of dummy overflows for bee escapes and a lid You could lock down to protect the hive from the weather as well as any vandals, You could screw an old tap on it with an out of order sign to make it look more convincing, the bottom would need some holes to stop it from filling up and the hive could be made from scrap or an old drum or barrel since it would not be seen or exposed to the weather, that way as a last resort it would not cost an arm or a leg to replace if the worst happened, apart from the stress to bees of course
 
The Hyde Ranger,

Stroke of brilliance there! After all, they just want the bees on the allotment. Still the problem of a beekeeping suit. I go for the TBH behind a pallet or two. Thinned down so it will not swarm, with a queen of the year (as soon as available) would make inspections very cursory (and with few needed).

The legs could be buried deeply enough to deter vandals, the lid could be secured tightly, and also a cheap option.

As a start, that would get my vote.

Regards, RAB
 
I`ve got a galvanised water tank you could have. It`s 8ft x 23" x 23" internally. you`d get a couple of TBH`s in there.

Darren.
 

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