# To build a top bar or buy a Langstroth



## DaisyDuke (Nov 21, 2017)

I am planning on getting bees this spring, from a local beekeeper not online. I am torn between building a top bar or buying a real hive. Since I am new to beekeeping most folks are saying to buy my first hive and not build one regardless of if it's top bar or Langstroth. I have limited space so as much as I've enjoyed working with top bar hives that beeks I know have, I'm thinking in the long run opting for Langstroth would be more sensible. I know I do not have the woodworking skills to build a Lagstroth hive and a couple of local beekeepers build and sell them.


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## siberian (Aug 23, 2011)

I believe Langstroth to be easier to maintain. That being said, if your friends are running top bar with good results I would say go with the one you want.


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## alleyyooper (Apr 22, 2005)

I also suggest the Longstroth you have no location in your profile so I will presum your in the midwest.

Top bar hives were designed to be used in hot Africa countrys and work there but only in a few spots in the USA.

 Al


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## DaisyDuke (Nov 21, 2017)

B


siberian said:


> I believe Langstroth to be easier to maintain. That being said, if your friends are running top bar with good results I would say go with the one you want.


Both the folks I know with top bar and Langstroth have had some success, neither of my friends have extracted honey so far. They mostly have bees just to have bees and help with pollination etc.


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## DaisyDuke (Nov 21, 2017)

alleyyooper said:


> I also suggest the Longstroth you have no location in your profile so I will presum your in the midwest.
> 
> Top bar hives were designed to be used in hot Africa countrys and work there but only in a few spots in the USA.
> 
> Al


Yup, I'm in the Midwest. I'm mostly concerned with my limited space being on only two acres and wanting to juggle a handful of homesteading activities


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## alleyyooper (Apr 22, 2005)

Then a double stacked Lanstroth is your best bet, also suggest two colonies so you can compair and take brood from a strong hive to boost a week hive.

I have 3 colonies in 8 feet of 6 in 16 feet works well gives you room to work and set hive bodies between to transfer frames and such. Also can put a frame hanger on the side and hang frames from it.










 Al


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## sweetbabyjane (Oct 21, 2002)

Has anyone tried the Flow Hive from Australia? They look interesting if you have the money. Might be worth it if you intend to stay in the bee business for awhile...

https://www.honeyflow.com/

So much easier,
SBJ


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## Northof49 (Mar 3, 2018)

I built a top bar hive and they wintered over ok here in Canada. Having said that I did not like it. The combs were way too interconnected and they break off way too easy from the top bar. Sticky mess. 
Never again. Spend the extra and get a real hive.


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## Danaus29 (Sep 12, 2005)

In my area regulations are written so that you are permitted to have only Langstroth hives.


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## fireweed farm (Dec 31, 2010)

I had kept langstroth hives for nearly 10 years when I set up two top bars, in a climate with a distinct colder winter. Loved the idea, the observation window to show others what was going in, but in 3 years only once did one hive survive winter, where my langstroth hives on average survived. And that survivor was so weak it failed.
There (was?) a movement claiming top bars couldn’t get mites, I’m pretty sure by now that would have been proven false. And harvest was destructive to the comb. In a shorter summer region comb is valuable, perhaps these are great in Africa as mentioned where there could be a flow year round, but I wouldn’t want one as a first hive. 

And re: flow hive. I bought a couple used ones 2 years ago. I think it’s an incredible invention but would suggest NOT going that direction. They are super expensive, smaller boxes so you can’t just buy regular langstroth bottom boards/covers etc. The information that comes with them is for a hot or temperate climate which is setting up bee keepers in colder climates for failure. I could go on for days. Again neat idea, but beekeeping is so much more than harvest day. 

So yes my suggestion is langstroth for a new beekeeper


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## fireweed farm (Dec 31, 2010)

sweetbabyjane said:


> Has anyone tried the Flow Hive from Australia? They look interesting if you have the money. Might be worth it if you intend to stay in the bee business for awhile...
> 
> https://www.honeyflow.com/
> 
> ...


Didn’t see this, just with the cost alone I’d say you couldn’t be in the bee business with a Flow hive as it would take a few years before you could get any money back- in my climate that is.


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## fatrat (Feb 21, 2009)

A beehive can be made in just about anything that has the proper space for the colony. I've seen bees in walls, ceiling joists, barrels. All types of beehives are "real hives". The top bar hive is very easy and cheap to build. For that reason it is one of the most widely used hives in the world and that is why it is used extensively in Africa. It's just a bee hive, a hollow space for bees, just like any other type of hive. I've built top bar hives for the price of a box of nails and a bottle of glue. Top bar hives overwinter as well in the north as they do in the south and as well as any langstroth hive. If a top bar hive doesn't survive the winter it's not because it's a top bar hive it's because of other reasons, mice, mites, lack of food, moister in the hive, etc... Most of the failed top bar hives I've seen failed because of bee keeper error. If the only type of hive you have ever kept is a Langstroth and then one year you try a top bar hive, you will probably fail and that's not the fault of the hive. If you have never kept bees before and try a top bar hive as your first hive and have an experienced top bar beekeeper mentor you, you will probably succeed. If you have never kept bees and you try a top bar hive as a first hive and are mentored by someone who has only kept Langstroth hives, you will probably fail. Top bar hives will take more time if you want to make sure the combs are being built straight. They build very quickly and so you have to check on them just about every day. If you just want a couple hives in the back yard and like checking on the bees that is no real issue. Langstroth hives are the most common in North America and ideal if you want more than just a few hives in the back yard or just don't want to check them every day. Layens hives are one of the most popular hives in Europe and produce very well and overwinter well. Spain and Romania use almost entirely Layens hives and they are the largest producers of honey in Europe. All bee hives are "real hives". It's just a matter of what type fits your style and what pros and cons are important to you.


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## muleskinner2 (Oct 7, 2007)

I know where there is a hive in a cave, in the desert in Arizona. The honey combs cover the roof, about ten feet wide and sixty feet long. Some of them hang down nearly touching the floor. How would the bee experts here suggest I go about harvesting some of the honey? Oh yeah, they are Africanized bees, does that make a difference?


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