Top Bar Hive Pros And Cons

The possibility for cross combing is great and once a top bar hive has become cross combed it can be a very daunting task to clean up.

Top bar hive pros and cons. Top bar hives usually have legs attached which reduces the amount of bending the beekeeper has to do when inspecting hives. In a top bar hive you as the beekeeper can encourage the bees to build in natural ways. Welcome to the toyota of beehives. Because there s no pre made foundation the bees can build the combs as they like often mimicking their natural environment.

Pros my top bar bees are without a doubt the calmest both in the yard and during hive inspections. Even southwest climates while very hot are dry enough that screened bottoms do not have much benefit. Pros of top bar hives i ll sum up the pros of top bar hives in three areas. However top bar hives are becoming more popular among small scale backyard bee keepers.

It is a horizontal hive enabling beekeepers to inspect the entirety of the hive without moving heavy supers. Top bar hives are also harder to move compared to langstroth hives due to their weight and length which usually requires two people even when the hive is empty. Mistress beek has an excellent description of each style and a rundown of the pros and cons here why i got a top bar hive our free bees june 15 2014 places online that talk about the advantages and disadvantages of lang vs. When most people talk about hives this is what they have in mind.

The top bar hive has emerged as a popular alternative to the langstroth for people who are looking to avoid heavy lifting and or enjoy a more natural approach to beekeeping. Weight simplicity and access. Finally we recommend solid bottom boards for top bar hivesunless your climate is very hot and humid such as the deep south of the united states. Top bar screened bottom board comes with a removable insert.

A deep can hit close to 100 pounds while a normal top bar is probably going to max out around 15 maybe 20 pounds. That means once the hive is full they will either swarm or stop producing honey. Weight when compared to lifting a full langstroth deep body top bars are feather weights. Cons of top bar beekeeping the top bar system certainly has some disadvantages the main one being that top bar hives require a high level of skill and confidence from the beginning beekeeper.

In order to keep them from swarming and to keep honey production going you will need to regularly harvest the filled comb. There are several different top bar hive styles. By applying some starter wax to the top bars the bees take the hint and start constructing downward. This is especially appreciated by someone like me who has kids and close neighbors.