Friends and I have set hives (bottom boards) on shipping pallets. In addition to raising the bottom boards away from the soil this method has the advantage of discouraging skunks -- they can't protect their bellies from bee stings should they decide on a bee dinner. The pallets are free for the taking from various businesses and do need to be replaced every couple of years. On Tue, 10 Jan 1995, Jeffrey Young wrote: .snip. > One thing I have found makes the entire hive last longer is keeping the wooded > components off the ground entirely. I place four cement blocks partially > buried in the soil (to anchor them) and sit the hive stand and bottom board on > these. This serves to raise the hive up about 10 to 12 inches, protecting the > hive from the constant contact with the moisture in the soil. It also provides > more ventilation around and under the hive to help keep it dry. The cement > blocks also serve to position the supers up a bit higher so you can work in > them better without bending over quite so much. > > jeff young One backyard hive in Upton, MA > [log in to unmask] >