Understanding behaviour

[pargyle]

Same as me I’ve never used them - I’ve only had mice problems when I used a home made entrance block which was cut in a triangle and the hive was very low to the ground, so folks keep your wintering colony’s of the floor minimum 12-18inches

Height of stand won't stop a mouse .. they can run up a vertical piece of rough sawn timber without breaking step ...

 

[Macbear]

Height of stand won't stop a mouse .. they can run up a vertical piece of rough sawn timber without breaking step ...

In the Beginners Section there is a thread named "Stand Height" Oct 6 2023 - sorry but I don't know how to make a link to it. The essence is that the height of a stand is about a beekeeper's comfort and how high the hive stack may be.
It may be that having the floor of the hive close to the ground [especially with an OMF] may readily admit unwanted wildlife e.g. ants, or easily trap windblown particles of dust etc. As my 18" hive stands are on slabs it is also easy for me to remove the sort of debris that falls through an OMF. It may be that bees don't mind doing aerobatics around vegetation in front of the hive entrance, but using a strimmer to keep things tidy and convenient for a beekeeper seems to favour a raised hive.
Rats and mice are notoriously agile. Any roughness on a surface allows claws to gain a hold. They also jump well - not necessarily their first choice for accessing a hive on a stand, but a fair swift-exit strategy. Zinc plated steel hive stands may provide a short term deterrent, but does the extra outlay really compete with the more usual options especially those of recycled materials? [You pays your money and takes your choice]. So having a rodent-proof entrance is surely the best defence.

 

[Erichalfbee]

STAND HEIGHT

 

[Curly green finger's]

Height of stand won't stop a mouse .. they can run up a vertical piece of rough sawn timber without breaking step ...

No it won’t stop them but surely it helps that and 8mmx50/100mm entrances.
As I’ve said, only once have I had an issue and that was with an entrance that was cut into a triangle
I think the best option would be to use underfloor entrances which would also help as a buffer.
Who wants to remove the entrance block and then add a mouse guard that strips pollen from bees and also leaves gapping holes to the front of the hive ? UFE are the way forward for sure.

 

[pargyle]

No it won’t stop them but surely it helps that and 8mmx50/100mm entrances.
As I’ve said, only once have I had an issue and that was with an entrance that was cut into a triangle
I think the best option would be to use underfloor entrances which would also help as a buffer.
Who wants to remove the entrance block and then add a mouse guard that strips pollen from bees and also leaves gapping holes to the front of the hive ? UFE are the way forward for sure.

The entrance blocks on my Paynes hives are 100mm x 8mm .. we have mice in the garden (well fed ones by the look of them !). Never had a mouse problem and I don't use mouse guards. The stand height is irrelevant - unless you have a 4" overhang all around the stand as even an acrobatic mouse cannot hang upside down for 4" and the stand is high enough to prevent them jumping up.

As I recall your apiary photos - don't you use pallets to put your hives on ?

 

[Curly green finger's]

The entrance blocks on my Paynes hives are 100mm x 8mm .. we have mice in the garden (well fed ones by the look of them !). Never had a mouse problem and I don't use mouse guards. The stand height is irrelevant - unless you have a 4" overhang all around the stand as even an acrobatic mouse cannot hang upside down for 4" and the stand is high enough to prevent them jumping up.

As I recall your apiary photos - don't you use pallets to put your hives on ?

No not all apiary’s, some have proper stands and I also use hardwood crates that are left over from Indian stone packs. I also have some stands made from hardwood sleepers which again are left overs from landscaping projects like this.

 

[ldwgs]

Height of stand won't stop a mouse .. they can run up a vertical piece of rough sawn timber without breaking step ...

I have a mouse that runs up to the 2nd floor to get to mt bird feeders, a sheer wall

 

[JamezF]

I also have some stands made from hardwood sleepers which again are left overs from landscaping projects like this.

Damn! If you fell down there you'd not stop until you hit the bottom.

James

 

[pargyle]

Damn! If you fell down there you'd not stop until you hit the bottom.

James

and then drown in the river at the bottom !

 

[The Poot]

No not all apiary’s, some have proper stands and I also use hardwood crates that are left over from Indian stone packs. I also have some stands made from hardwood sleepers which again are left overs from landscaping projects like this.View attachment 41737View attachment 41738View attachment 41739

That was quite a project!

 

[Curly green finger's]

Damn! If you fell down there you'd not stop until you hit the bottom.

James

Defensively, the original plan was to have the steps running right down the middle, but I redesigned it so they were snaking to make it safer and also give them more interest with seats set out in different parts of the planters
The client has been using them to grow veg and cut flowers.
When you look up at them from the river it just looks like there isn’t any levels at all but just a huge block of sleepers, it’s only when you get close you get to see the steps/planters.
A 14week project which also has rsj’s backing the sleepers in different places to give it extra strength, it’s quite funny really because the original plan was only going to take 8 weeks but the client asked me to change the plan which cost him £12k extra

 

[Curly green finger's]

That was quite a project!

some digging involved for real! because we had to cut into the bank, we also had to do it all by hand looking back it’s hard to comprehend that I built that with 3 other landscapers.
In fact looking back on another project we did which took 14months makes my back ache.

 

[The Poot]

some digging involved for real! because we had to cut into the bank, we also had to do it all by hand looking back it’s hard to comprehend that I built that with 3 other landscapers.
In fact looking back on another project we did which took 14months makes my back ache.

Where do you start with a project like that - at the top or the base?

 

[Curly green finger's]

Where do you start with a project like that - at the top or the base?

Diatom peg from the bottom and then using a laser level from that point,string lines and levels.
But firstly drawing it out on a plan A1 paper areal veiw and side views

 

[Gilberdyke John]

Diatom peg from the bottom and then using a laser level from that point,string lines and levels.
But firstly drawing it out on a plan A1 paper areal veiw and side views

However did you see a diatom? I thought they were microscopic

 

[Curly green finger's]

However did you see a diatom? I thought they were microscopic

I have great vision when I’m wearing my

 

[ericbeaumont]

do it all by hand

Years ago when I was gardening professionally we were to cut into a slope to lay a retaining wall and then a big Indian stone patio. Half-way through the easy dig - we were down to blue clay, and found an intact section of ancient clay pipe with the word 'drain' cast into it - the client decided his fencers took priority and we had to take a few days off the job.

In those four or five days a heatwave hit London and turned everything to concrete; we had to finish cutting the bank with jackhammers. Needless to say, the client declined to pay the full whack for the extra costs.

 

[Penninetrader]

When you are in a bind, it is how hard blue clay is described by navvies when they were tunneling and came across that natural material which is harder than rock. As for your hillsides, it is step and cut which produces terracing. very common in our hills.