I wonder at times why adults are so fearful of bees. I understand why a child who has been stung or watched another child's reaction to the sting may over react in the presence of these little flying creatures. I also understand why an adult who has a serious allergy to the bee sting would want to avoid contact. But, a majority of adults should be glad that bees are around our homes and doing what they do best. Pollinate our plants and then make that wonderful substance called honey. Honey is by far, to me, the most amazing naturally made product that exist.
So, let me share the first of this series, by guest blogger Petticoat Prepper.
“Honey Beekeeping (Oh Lord, part one)” plus 2 more
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A while back MD said he needed posts
from all of us to help keep things moving along. My thought of offering to
write about honeybees was encouraged and so get out your salt shaker and bear
with me. Beekeeping is an inexhaustible subject. I haven’t a clue how many
parts there will be to this but I know it can get very overwhelming and I’ll
try to keep the parts shorter rather than longer.
First let me say, I am no expert. I
have been keeping bees for the past year. It’s been fun, frustrating,
interesting and challenging. I’ll share what I’ve done and hopefully those
interested will find a bit of help. Just keep in mind; it’s rather like
herding cats.
I am setting up to add 3 more hives
to my backyard this year. I just placed my order for two more starter kits as
I have one empty which I got for a swarm that left before I got back with it
and then I’ve the original one (bees are still there). Once I have all of
them set up I will have 4. The maximum number allowed by my city is 5.
By law, if I have 5 or more I am required to register them with the State
Agriculture Department. I don’t care to have the government in my back yard
so I’m stopping at 4. The fee is very small and they check for diseases to
help keep all the honeybees healthy. I am prohibited from selling any of the
bees, honey, etc. as that would make them ‘live stock’ and I’m not zoned for
live stock…gotta love ‘em!
I would strongly suggest you look for
a local beekeeping club to join. I would also suggest getting a decent book.
My club suggests Beekeeping for Dummies.
There are lots of YouTube videos that are very helpful and tons of web sites
too.
The first thing you need to
understand is that it’s December 30, 2012 as I write this and that means
you’re almost behind if you want to get going this coming year. Even if you
don’t have a hive set up and clothes; get your bees ordered. You have no idea
how hard it is to get them if you wait. My bees will come in April but I have
to order them now.
Bees come in 3 pound boxes. Yes,
that’s 3 pounds of bees and one mated queen shipped with a can of food. 3
pounds of bees will be about 11,000 bees. Yes, 11,000 that’s a lot of bees
and you’re going to let them out of that box! My bees are Italian; they are
yellow brown in color with dark bands. They are gentle, produce a good
amount of comb and large brood which results in quick colony growth.
They winter over a large amount of bees so they need a good amount of food
storage. Italian bees are the most popular followed by Carniolan.
Ok, you’ve ordered your bees and now
you need to start looking at a home for the ‘girls’ and a place to put them.
There are a several options for homes but I’m only talking about mine. I use
the Langstroth method named after the ‘Father of Modern Beekeeping’. I
order my supplies from Ruhl bee supply as they are about 45 minutes from
me. You can see their products at Ruhl Bee Supply
depending on where you live you may want to order closer to home.
I order their PNW starter kit
assembled. I have no desire right now to put this stuff together and I
pay them the extra $50 figuring it’s worth the loss of frustration. Plus I
don’t have to make a second ‘oh crap!’ trip to get something I broke. This
gives me everything I need to get the girls going. I also get a second medium
super (terms are coming up hang in there), a queen excluder, mouse guard, and
plastic feeder.
Terminology on hive
parts:
I also get cinder blocks from the
lumber yard for the hive to sit on. I want them off the ground to help keep them
dry. I want them up so any invading animals will have to stand on its back
legs thus exposing their tender tummy’s to painful stings.
When you site the hive you want
dappled shade. The sun will wake them so you want them to get some but you
also want to protect from the heat of the day. A wind break is important too
as is a water source. I’m on a creek so the girls have plenty of water and
the shade from my fruit trees helps keep them cool when we get hot. A 5
gallon food grade bucket with a line of holes drilled a couple
inches from the top and filled with water and a couple inches of packing
peanuts will work fine if you don’t have water within half a mile. Peanuts
give the girls something to stand on so they don’t drown and the holes let
rain water drain out so you don’t lose the peanuts.
Wet bees are sick and unhappy bees.
Take care to adjust the blocks or pallets so the hives lean forward a bit to
help drain out any moisture. In the valley here we get lots of rain so I
worry about drainage a bunch.
The last I’m covering for this part
is clothing and hand tools. Look through the style and types of beekeeping
clothing and pick out what appeals to you. I bought a one piece pull over
jacket with hat and veil. I like it as there is no zipper opening for a bee
to find. The ‘hat’ part slides around a bit and I’m sewing a ribbon inside to
tie under my chin to see if it will be still on my head. I find a bandana
helps to keep my long hair contained and sweat out of my eyes while working
the bees. I added painter’s coveralls for my pants. It’s a disposable one and
I found it hot to work in during the heat of summer. I like it because the
pant cuffs have elastic and I wear them outside my boots. I may look for just
pants. I bought bee gloves with mesh at the wrist to help cool me off. The
thing to think about when trying on the official outfit is being able to bend
and stretch. AND how many openings are there?
Bees will search you while you
work and I for one do not want one inside with me!
Tools:
Get a good hive tool. Don’t scrimp
here you use this for just about everything. A smoker and fuel is a must.
Learn to keep the smoker going. You want cool smoke for the girls never hot.
A bee brush is nice. I used a small fresh branch with leaves before I got my
brush and it worked fine, but I like the brush. A frame holder is great to
have. This hangs on the side of the super and you remove the first frame and
place it there while you work your hive. This gives you a bit of space to
move the remaining frames forward. A frame grip is one of those things you
think is stupid to have until later in the season when you’re trying to pull
up a frame filled with pounds of honey and bees. Trust me you never want to
drop a frame of bees. This stupid little tool is a must!
In part two, I’ll explain how to get
bees from box A into box B. Hopefully, this part wasn’t too long!
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