Have you ever wished you could be a fly on the wall? How about a bee in the hive? Schedule some time in the the country's first Bee Therapy Hut. 

The Bee Garden at our Wilmington Island location in Savannah, GA, now features a Bee Therapy Hut that lets you become one with the bees. While these huts are found sporadically across eastern Europe, ours is one of the first in North America.

A Bee Therapy Hut is an enclosed structure containing a large bench built over several open-top beehives. The bench’s screened bottom allows visitors to experience and benefit from the sounds, smells and vibrations of the hives directly underneath. The hives are accessible to beekeepers at the back of the structure, which is where the bees enter and exit.

From the outside, the hut looks like something out of a fairy tale. Sitting under the low-hanging tree branches, surrounded by wildflowers and palmettos, with a winding shell pathway leading up to the entryway, the small A-frame structure looks completely cozy and inviting.

The hut has enough room for you to meditate, do a little yoga, sit and read, or just relax while you succumb to the buzz emanating from the hives. The screen in the bench prevents the bees from entering, while still allowing you into their world.

Let’s Go Inside

When you enter the hut and shut the door, the first thing you notice is the sweet scent of honey, flower nectar, and the aromatic cedarwood the hut is made of.

Breathe in the warm, sweet air being circulated around you by a hundred thousand pairs of tiny transparent wings. Beehive air is highly-ionized and clean, which has been shown to benefit the lungs and respiratory system as well as have a calming effect on the mind.

Now that you’re all settled, focus on the constant euphonious buzzing. The sound is actually micro-vibrations caused by the bees flexing their thoracic muscles. Bees use these muscles to fly, create heat, and generate acoustical signals. A hive produces frequencies ranging from less than 10 Hz to more than 1000 Hz. Frequencies between 430 Hz and 530 Hz are said to be most pleasant to humans and are thought to induce deep states of relaxation and healing.

The soundwaves create air pressure and particle movement so not only can you hear the vibrations, you can also feel them. This light micro-massage balances the sympathetic and parasympathetic nervous systems and melts away stress and tension. 

The Benefits of Bees

It’s not surprising that Ted, our founder and the most emphatic lover of honey and honeybees we know, would insist on building one of these enchanted structures beneath the flowering trees of our headquarters.

“I’ve seen more than one employee disappear from the work day only to be found much later, asleep and dreaming in the bee hut,” he said. “No one can blame them because the hum and vibration of the bees under the bench has a way of drawing you in, whispering sweet nothings into your ears, and tempting you toward a place of idyllic slumber, or at least deep relaxation.”

Schedule a Session

Locals and tourists are invited to schedule a session in the Bee Therapy Hut at our Wilmington Island location at 211 Johnny Mercer Blvd. Call 912-629-0908 to reserve your time with the bees. Availability is season-dependent.

#savethebees