(05-26-2023, 05:52 PM)Snarl Wrote:
- Beekeeping takes some effort to get going.
- Honey collection/storage/distribution is way more work than most would think.
- If, what you're really after is the honey, better to save on the effort and just go buy all that you will ever want to eat. The stuff doesn't go bad.
If you're still set on having bees:
Bees live in a house. A house has to have a good foundation. Do not fail or it will cost you.
Bees will get to know you (what you sound like moving around too).
If you feed them (and you will have to), they will trust you and you will only get stung once in a blue moon. The trust phase only requires a minuscule amount of sugar syrup. Walk up and feed them. Go out with your dog running all around you and feed them. Ride up on a horse and feed them. Drive up on your lawnmower and feed them. Drive up on your tractor and feed them. You probably get the point of this exercise.In the winter, feed them 'pollen patties'. They like water, so don't make them waste time looking for it.
All you really need to control them is a smoker. You can go $$crazy$$ on bee clothing, but eventually it's just not worth the trouble and you realize you wound up wasting money. All you have to do is 'listen' to the hive and you'll hear what the bees are saying. When you find the hive tool you like the best ... buy two more ...
Spread out your hives if you've got the room. I've got two (barely connected) rectangular fields that are 100 acres each. I've run four hives (3 honey supers and two deep supers each) total over the past two years and I haven't 'seen' any of them swarm (yet). I've got eight more complete hives out in the barn to catch splits and set out next spring. These still need a lot of work before they're ready to go outside.
Bees get sick. There's a lot of video to watch on YouTube. You'll hear a million different Voodoo stories. Only had to treat for mites. Every prospective beekeeper should plan for that. Several different ways. Some do it differently. Any of 'em seem to be effective if you ask me.
If you're still gonna go down this path, I'd strongly recommend buying your first hive off of Amazon. Get one that comes pre-treated with beeswax. My buddy's a woodworker (and generally one of the handiest guys you could ever meet). He made me all of the components off the Amazon model's design. And, while he's crazy precise, I can assure you the bees are going to seal up any 'craftsmanship drafts'. All of my subsequent hives are painted to keep them preserved. They're cut from white pine. Bees double. Make sure you have enough hives at the ready for this. And, you can't have too many spare frames.
Buy foundation sheets for the interior frames and understand how they fit before you make the frames. Also, start collecting beeswax now if you can (flea market). Bees are better scavengers than a US Army Platoon Sergeant. They'll get a jump on making the comb if you provide old beeswax to build with.
I get about 12gal of honey from one of my hives. That ... is ... a ... butt-ton ... of honey!! I made the mistake of harvesting twice a long time ago. I know other beekeepers get away with it, but you might 'kill' a hive inadvertently like I did. So, I leave them their second harvest and worry about them dying a lot less when it gets cold. Did I say, "Treat for mites?"
All of my neighbors have ALL of the honey they'll probably ever desire. I care for the bees because everyone's crops around here are improved. There are only two other beekeepers I'm aware of around here for miles. They sell their excess honey at the flea market. Not a good way to make money for me. Sterilizing glass jars is more than it's worth to me. I might change my mind if I run all 12 of those hives and they get full fast ... and if I can find a commercial buyer.
I let the preacher know when I'm bringing in honey the following week. I've got two 5gal buckets with honey spouts (those were my biggest investment). I've never brought them back home completely empty. Some people think it's a miracle that they never seem to run dry ... even the time some greedy yahoo dumped out two gallons of water and filled 'em up.
What else ya wanna know?
Yea, still considering bees. So far I haven't seen or heard much to dissuade me. Here's my plan in detail:
First I need to set up the hives. I want to get this done by end of summer, because I don't do well in a hurry anymore. They can set over winter no problem. I'm pretty handy with woodworking myself, so I plan on building the hives and frames. What I am trying to figure out is how to construct a hive so I don't have to completely disassemble each one, one-by-one, if I need access to a lower hive. I need something that will allow me to go in, get the honeycomb, and button it back up fairly quickly before my strength gives out.
Thanks for the advice on keeping them docile! I do plan on getting a smoker... the bee suit I have my eye on is a cheap one, just to stop the occasional miscreant. Where I am placing these is just out from the treeline at my barn, so I have good room. I don't want to overcrowd them, which is why I mentioned 3 hives maximum. That would put them up to 100 feet apart. That area is right now covered in dead brush from some old cedar trees I had cleared out; that is why I just got a used wood chipper. Cedar chips are great for deterring termites and ants.
I also have something similar in my backyard, but oak brush instead of cedar. That is going on my garden. The lareger sticks I will use on my lathe; the brus will be shredded into mulch.
That area where I plan on putting the bees is also where I keep my tractors, so I will heed your advice and feed them when I crank a tractor up. I want to get it mowable, so the same for the lawn mower. I have noticed that the bumblebees no longer get agitated when I ride the mower out there and leave me be, so that makes sense.
One question is what material to make the hives out of. I can buy pine cheaply, and i can get oak, cedar, elm, poplar, hickory, etc. out of my mountain. I doubt they would like cedar (although the bumblebees love it), so I am wondering if red oak would be appropriate? I have close to 1000 board feet of that here, ready to be planed and straightened. Or I could drop a couple trees of whatever species works the best. I have been told cypress is perfect, but cypress doesn't grow here and is pretty pricey.
Maybe poplar? I've got some of those. A few black locust too, although I would have to hunt for those.
Anyway, I figure if I can get the hives ready this year, next spring I can get the bees and introduce them. Looks like one day's work. Then I will get the smoker and bee suit. Before fall I want to get the buckets (I keep five gallon buckets), strainers, and a centrifuge, along with any other tools I think I'll need for the honey. I can store it in the barn if needed, but I am thinking it might be better closer to the house.
I plan on making my own frames as well, using purchased beeswax inserts. Later on, I'll just make some beeswax as well for new frames, and for finishing wood projects. I know it's cheap, but it will be right here; why not use it? I like sustainability and I despise waste.
It looks like with three hives, I might have a couple hard days (for me) processing the honey. I'll keep what I need and if there is any excess, I'll sell it to someone who has a farmer's market. They might actually buy it in bulk and do the canning themselves. And of course, neighbors will all get some. I'm not really looking at the honey as an income source, but we're back to that hating waste again. Besides, I have had a lot of luck bartering. Maybe trade honey for veggies I don't grow? Or even for meat.
I'm working on expanding my chicken flock for that very reason: eggs, especially free-range organic brown eggs like I have, make great bartering material!
I will keep an eye out for mites, thank you!
TheRedneck