When I first built our apiary I put down a few 20×20 pavers to serve as a base for the hive and working table.  It worked pretty well, but mowing has been a bit of a pill.  I haven’t gotten stung in a while, but it is always pretty dicy.  They just don’t like it when the mower gets right in front of the hive.  I can’t blame them, it is noisy and vibrates a lot.

My solution was just to roll down a bit of weed screen and extend the area out by another set of pavers.  We have already inspected the hive once with the new setup, and it makes seeing the bees easier in our immediate surroundings.  The first mow went really well too.  Just that little bit of extra space made a big difference in their comfort level.  When planning your apiary, it might do both parties some good to plan a mower buffer zone in front of the hive entrance.

Before

After