The Best Unassembled Beehive Kits
Beekeeping can be rather rewarding when you know what you are doing. In many cases, bees get a bad rap because people tend to view them as hostile and in some cases, dangerous. These notions come from an inexperienced and somewhat ignorant vantage point. Yes, bees are naturally territorial and tend to be hostile when they feel threatened or that you have intruded. If, however, you give them a suitable home and learn how to handle them, bees can be very rewarding.
That is why you need to find them the best home, to begin with. This is a review of the best-unassembled beehive kits for sale. Hopefully, this will give you a good idea on which bee hives to go for in order to give your bee colony a suitable home.
What to Consider When Choosing Unassembled Beehive Kits
There are several factors that you need to consider before you decide to spend your hard-earned cash on any given bee hive box. When it comes to bee hive boxes or unassembled bee hives, the quality of the workmanship and ease of assembly are key issues to look at. Here are some major factors that should help you choose the right unassembled bee hive:
The Design
The design of your chosen beehive should provide your honey bees with the right kind of aeration and temperature. It should also provide them with adequate protection from the elements such as rain, direct sunlight, cold and other temperature changes. Honey bees tend to be fussy, and if they don’t like the home you provide, they will swarm away.
The Setup
You don’t want to choose a bee hive box that will require a rocket science degree to assemble. Choose something that has a simple enough setup and has easy-to-read instructions.
Versatility
Choose a hive that allows you to use standardized accessories and equipment. If you can find one that allows you to share things like honey frames and brood, then you have found a winner. You can easily add more frames once your colony has used up the available one.
Ease of Use and Honey Harvesting
A good bee hive should make it easy for you to harvest honey (this is, after all, why you are doing all this). Choosing one that doesn’t make this process so complicated or labor intensive is a plus.
There are, of course, other factors to consider, such as how easy it is to transport, how much it costs and whether or not it allows for minimal disturbance of the bees once set up. You will need to inspect the bee hive every now and again, and minimal disturbance is key to not being stung during these instances.
The Best Unassembled Beehive kits for Sale
This is a review of some of the best unassembled bee hive kits on the market today:
There are very few beehives that offer you value for money as the Hoover Hives Complete Langstroth does. It comes with 20 brood frames made out of pine wood, 10 super frames made out of pine wood as well and 30 food grade foundations. All of these pieces are wax coated, which means that no painting is required.
There are 2 ways to purchase Hoover Hives. They are available on Amazon, and can be found by clicking on the button below. You can also purchase through the Hoover Hives’s partner website, GalenaFarms.com.
An advantage of going through Galena Farms is that you can apply the coupon code COMPLETEBEEHIVES to receive 5% off your order. If you use the coupon code, it is cheaper to order off their website, than on Amazon.
For a full review on Hoover Hives, see my post here.
Features and Pros of the Hoover Hives Complete Langstroth:
- It’s a complete kit which makes it very easy to use and assemble even for beginners
- It comes with a bottom board, an inner cover and an entrance reducer as well as a telescopic top cover
- The pieces are pre-cut and feature dovetail joints. The kit also comes with nails, which makes the assembly easy
- Wood is dipped in beeswax, which provides excellent protection from the elements.
- Coupon code available if you purchase through their website.
Cons:
- The nails can split the wood if not careful
2. Busy Bee’s -n- More LBH10-2D3M
If you prefer to have your products handmade, then you will appreciate this bee hive box. The Busy Bee’s -n- More LBH10-2D3M is completely handmade and produced with extreme care. This has led to a minimization of any flaws that you might typically see with other bee hive boxes.
The fact that they are crafted with superior workmanship and materials make this bee hive extremely durable. The box kit comes with 16 brood frames that are made out of high-quality pine as well as 8 pre-cut super frames. With this bee hive, you can easily use both deep and medium frames at ago.
Features and Pros of Busy Bee’s -n- More LBH10-2D3M:
- It’s entirely handcrafted with only top quality material used
- Has 16 brood frames and you can use the available 8 deep frames at the same time
- It features a food grade plastic foundation that is coated with real beeswax, which goes a long way in ensuring that your colony feels at home
- It has a telescopic top cover, a screened bottom board and an inner cover within the kit
- It’s easy enough to assemble even for beginners
Cons:
- It comes with 8 frames instead of 10
This is an affordable, handcrafted beehive box that would make the best choice for a beginner who wants a top quality product.
3. Honey Keeper Complete Box (10 Frame Kit)
The Honey Keeper Complete Box is a classy piece of workmanship. The starter kit comes with 20 frame boxes that have a premium fir wood foundation. The frames are made out of white pine wood. Once fully assembled, this bee hive will provide the perfect home for an ever-growing colony of honey bees.
The complete box kit includes a galvanized metal rooftop that allows for telescoping. It also comes with everything you will need to build a medium sized bee hive (10 deep frames, 10 medium size frames, and pre-cut unwaxed frame foundations that have hexagonal surfaces).
Features and Pros of the Honey Keeper Complete Box:
- The kit comes with everything you need to assemble the perfect medium sized bee hive
- It has a foundation that’s build using premium fir and white pine wood frames
- The kit includes an inner cover, a queen excluder; an entrance includes and a bottom board
- It’s extremely easy to assemble
Cons:
- It has plastic frames that aren’t the best for bees, but that issue can be resolved by waxing them
- While it’s a product made in China, it’s still a wonderful kit for a starter bee hive.
Summary
If you have been looking for the perfect starter kit as a beekeeper, then you have found it in one of these unassembled beehive kits. When choosing your hive take into consideration the design, set up, versatility, and ease of honey harvesting. Choose your beehive kit and you will be well on your way to beekeeping.
