Site Preparation and Hive Placement

Setting up your hive site is about giving your bees the best possible environment — and yourself the easiest possible management. Get this right, and you'll save yourself headaches down the road.

Hive Elevation

Raise your Primal Bee hive 12–14 inches off the ground. This is one of the most impactful things you can do for hive health and is easy to overlook during setup.

Why it matters:

Pest reduction: Small hive beetle (SHB) larvae drop out of the hive to pupate in the soil below. More height means more exposure to predators and environmental stress before they can burrow. Elevation also reduces ant access.

Yellow jacket defense: Yellow jackets are most aggressive around hives in the fall. Elevation makes it harder for them to reach the entrance, giving your guard bees an advantage.

Moisture and rodent control: Keeping the hive off the ground improves airflow underneath, reduces ground moisture reaching the bottom board, and limits access for mice — especially in winter when they're looking for warm places to nest.

Beekeeper ergonomics: A raised hive is easier to inspect without straining your back, especially once supers are added.

What to Use as a Base

Keep it flexible — beekeepers use all kinds of setups, and there's no single required configuration. The key is that whatever you use is heavy, stable, and level.

Common options: cinder blocks, wooden pallets, cement pavers or paving stones, commercial hive stands, garden benches or tables, dunnage racks (stainless steel or aluminum shelving from restaurant supply stores — the right height with built-in rails for strapping).

A stand slightly larger than the hive provides more stability and a small landing area for returning bees.

Optional: Lay 1/4" or 1/2" hardware cloth on top of the stand surface to prevent mice from accessing the bottom board from below.

No Forward Pitch Needed

Unlike wooden hives with solid bottom boards, Primal Bee hives do not need a slight forward tilt for drainage. The entrance is positioned so rain doesn't get in, and the screen bottom board drains any excess moisture. Keep the hive as level as possible to reduce cross-comb.

Ground Cover

Install black landscape fabric (woven or non-woven) under and around the hive stand. This serves two purposes: weed suppression and SHB control. The fabric prevents beetle larvae from burrowing into the soil to pupate after they drop from the hive. The dark color heats up in the sun, increasing mortality of any larvae that land on it.

Extend the fabric at least 3 feet on each side of the stand. For areas with significant SHB pressure, extend to 6 feet or more.

Cover the fabric with a layer of pea gravel. This improves drainage, further reduces beetle and ant traffic, and protects the fabric from UV damage.

Choosing Your Location

Before you set anything up, think about what makes a good bee yard.

Forage: Your bees need food within flying distance — nectar and pollen sources throughout the season. There are online mapping tools that can show what floral resources are available in your area.

Water: Fresh water nearby is non-negotiable. A creek, drip system, or water feeders. Bees will find water somewhere, and you'd rather it be close than have them visiting your neighbor's pool.

Sun and orientation: Face hive entrances south, southeast, or east to give bees maximum morning sun and a warm landing area when returning from foraging.

Windbreaks: A fence line or tree line that blocks direct wind impact protects your hive without shading it completely. Think about prevailing winds in your area.

Drainage: Avoid low spots where water pools after rain.

Leveling

This is critical and not optional.

Bees use gravity to draw comb. They hold each other's legs and hang straight down in a behavior called festooning — this is how they build perfectly vertical comb. If your hive is tilted, their center of gravity is off, and you get crooked cross-comb that makes inspections and frame removal much harder.

Use a carpenter's level. Check it twice. This is a recommended tool to keep with your beekeeping equipment.

Strapping and Security

Primal Bee provides safety straps with each kit. For a more secure hold, ratchet straps are recommended — they don't slip and hold tighter.

Important: Position straps on the SIDES of the hive, not across the front and back. Straps across the entrance disturb the bees and can startle them when you remove the strap to inspect.

For high-wind or hurricane-prone areas: cinder blocks work well as both a base and as weight on top, strapped through. Add a third strap running lengthwise (like a belt) to bind everything together. Ratchet straps are strongly recommended over nylon straps in these conditions.

Multiple Hives: Spacing and Layout

If you're setting up more than one hive, space hives at least 6 inches apart. This helps reduce colony drift (bees returning to the wrong hive) and robbing. Spacing of about one hive-length apart gives you room to set down supers or equipment while working. Painting hives different colors or adding different painted shapes to the front can also help reduce drift.

For 10–15 hives, use 2–3 rows with 4–6 hives per row. Stagger the rows like bricks so entrances in the back row are not directly behind entrances in the front row — this reduces bees flying through you while you work and eases traffic congestion.

Assembly Tip

Assemble the entire hive completely BEFORE placing it on the stand. This is much easier than trying to assemble it in position. Glue and paint before setting out. Use only water-based products — water-based carpenter glue, water-based primers, water-based paints, and water-based polyurethane. Avoid anything with oil or alcohol solvents, as these can damage the EPS material.