Choosing your apiary site in Ontario

A farmer near Anne offers her a corner of his land for her hives. He suggests a spot down by the creek, out of the way, low and shady under a line of cedars, a short walk from where she can park. It's quiet and it's hidden. And for bees, it's close to the worst place on the property.

Choosing your site is one of the few decisions in beekeeping you make once and keep for years. So let's go through it in order, starting with the one thing that isn't a choice.

First, the law. Your hives can't be within thirty metres of a property line that borders a home, a park or another public gathering place, or within ten metres of a highway. Measure before anything else. And when you register, you'll give the location of each bee yard and, if it's someone else's land, the landowner's name and phone number. You'll also post your sign.

Second, sun. Put hives in the open where they get plenty of sun, with the entrances facing south or east, so the morning sun gets the bees flying early.

Third, shelter from the wind. Ontario winters are hard on hives exposed to the north and west wind. A hill, a building or a row of evergreens behind the hives, on the windward side, makes a real difference.

Fourth, dry ground with good air drainage. Avoid low, damp, shady spots. Extension guidance links damp, shaded sites to more nosema and European foulbrood.

Fifth, water and food. Bees need water every day, so a pond, a stream or a pan with floating wood for landing should be within about four hundred metres. And good forage, flowering trees, clover, wildflowers, should be within a mile or so, about a kilometre and a half.

Sixth, and extension guidance calls this perhaps the most important factor: vehicle access. You'll be carrying boxes that weigh up to forty five kilograms, plus sugar, feeders and tools. If you can't get close with a vehicle, you will come to dread every visit.

Seventh, the neighbours and the flight path. A fence or hedge at least a metre and a half high between your hives and a property line makes the bees fly up and over, well above people's heads. Don't point the entrances at a play area, a patio or a clothesline. And space your hives at least a metre apart.

And eighth, wildlife. Bears are more common in northern and forested parts of Ontario and can wreck a bee yard in one night. Raccoons and skunks are a nuisance too. The province runs a program that can compensate for some wildlife damage.

One more thing to know about neighbours of a different kind. Bee colonies interact over three kilometres or more, and American foulbrood can spread several kilometres. So your bees share mites and diseases with every colony around you.

Now let's change one fact. Suppose Anne takes the sunny rise near the farm lane instead, thirty metres from every line, with the cedars behind it for shelter from the wind and a stock pond nearby. It's the same farm, but now the hives get morning sun and dry air, and she can back her car right up to them.

The mistake beginners make is picking the site that is out of the way for people, instead of the site that is best for bees and easy to reach. Hidden, damp and awkward is a bad combination.

Here is the rule, in one breath. Meet the thirty metre and ten metre setbacks first, then choose sun, a south or east facing entrance, shelter from wind, dry ground, water and forage nearby, a flight path over people's heads, and a spot you can drive to.

That's the end of module three. Next, we get our bees.