My top bar hive is an unusual style. Most bee hives today are the Langstroth hive, boxes on boxes that you’ve probably seen along the roadway. They are perfect for producing a great quantity of honey while pollinating large acreages.
I didn’t need that.
I wanted a small amount of honey for myself, maybe some beeswax for some crafts, and pollinators for my garden and trees. I wanted something that could work on small acreages, even though I probably qualify as large! Top bar hives are perfect for suburban sites, and even rooftop city living. I also didn’t want to have to invest in lots of equipment, although, setting up is not too cheap anyway that you look at it!
Well, I take that back. If last fall I had my act together, I am perfectly capable of building a top bar hive… I probably could have got a bee suit off of ebay (or been brave enough to go without), and gleaned enough info off of youtube to make an honest go of it.
But, I didn’t. I waited til the last bit, bought the hive pre-built, bought a new suit, a dvd, and a fancy hive tool (which was a want, not a need!). I did pass on the hand blown honey jar and bee necklace, though! 😉 I lucked out by getting my bee order in just under the wire.
Remember, this was designed to be used in Kenya with whatever materials were at hand.
Me? I wanted gorgeous! This is. The quality of workmanship is excellent. Corners match. Screws are countersunk. Everything is sanded.
In fact, I do believe I will seek affiliate status… which means, if I send you to them, I get a commission. Keep an eye out, if they accept me, there will bee (I love doing that!) a link on the sidebar with my other affiliates like Emergency Essentials, Sierra Trading Post, and Amazon.
Tonight, I’d like to introduce you to Top Bar Hive. Top Bar Hive, say hi to my readers!
Let's Socialize...
Cool! We always had Langstroth hives, so this different style of hive is interesting to see. Just watching your videos has made Craig think we should get bees again. Only he’s thinking we should just set an empty hive out by a building that usually has a swarm move into it every year. They don’t survive – probably because there is little winter protection even in the wall. Anyway, if a swarm came by, maybe they would move into the hive instead of the wall of the building. Happens.
They say to encourage them from staying in the hive rub beeswax on the top bars and rub in, or leave a cotton ball with lemongrass essential oil in it as well… worth a shot! Everyone says swarms are the best!
Thanks for the interesting demo of the Top Bar Hive. It looks very well made for your new adventure! And I hope everything about this will be fun and successful. When do you get the bees?
I caught a glimpse of a dog off to the right….Dally? Haven’t seen many dog posts lately, how are they? Thanks for the bee lesson!
Nope. That was Lucas. The dogs are fine… Dally is currently in heat, so she’s kept separate!