Bee Keeping

[OhZark Biddies]

Beekeeping is both ridiculously easy (the bees do most of the work if you stay out of their way) and frustratingly difficult ( if you get off on the wrong foot and/or land on the wrong foot later, you end up working against the bees).

Here are some things to think about

1) much of the information about “save the bees” is nonsense... so be wary of all that and go in understanding that there is a commercial ‘big bee’ entity kinda like ‘big tobacco’ or something, that seeks to influence hobby beeks.

and a lot of the nonsense you find online is influenced or perpetuated by commercial beekeeping and not at all in the best interests of the bees or the hobby beekeeper. And a lot of that online nonsense comes from well meaning hobby beeks that are repeating things not from experience, but from reading it or watching YouTube, etc.

2) the most successful hobby beeks are people that are a bit regimented ( I do this every month, I do this every spring, I do this every fall... ) ...

others, like myself , who are “a day late” and react to problems with the bees ( I do this when I should have done it two weeks ago, but I see the problem now... and I do this in mid April when I should have done it in March, because I just remembered, etc) are less successful

but I’m proof that it can be done the hard way, ... and to be fair, many people ebb and flow between regimented to less regimented and back and forth over their years of bee keeping... but again it seems to me the ones that are most on schedule as far as doing bee chores have more success

3) I have a stack of bee books, but the “Dummies” book for beekeeping is as good of a book as I’ve seen for the new bee keeper... you might pick it up and read it over the winter

4) if you can source your bees from another hobby beek, vs a commercial beek that trucks his bees to almond fields out west and then trucks them back and offers ‘local’ packages of bees ... then do that. I’ve bought those packaged bees and have had success with them, but it’s not the best way to start out for a number of reasons. Just understand that the “trucker beeks“ seldom mention that they are doing all of that, so it’s buyer bee-ware

5) there is an old saying that ‘bee keeping is local’ and that means local to each hive... so the beek from Texas and the beek from Florida might have almost nothing in common for what seems like a common issue... and likewise the beek from north of town might have solutions that don’t work for you on the south side of town... and your own hive sitting on the left might have a completely different set of circumstances than the hive on the right, even though they’re two feet apart... beekeeping is often times THAT local

6) we used to say “a boat is just a hole in the water that you throw money into”... these days beekeeping has become “a box in the yard you throw money into” ... so plan out your expenses... many new beeks quit one year in because they didn’t have the money saved to overcome setbacks, others falter in the second year because they didn’t budget to be able to expand on their success, and the second year becomes full of problems

7) I want to tell you that shouldn’t expect honey the first year... but I’ve never kept bees in FL so I won’t because... well because beekeeping is local ... but I will say if you’re in it for the interest of the insects, you cannot fail, because even when things don’t work out you’re still learning... one of my beek friends always says “honey is gravy”... which makes me really wonder about his pot roast


If you’ve made it through all that long windedness and are still awake and interested in keeping bees... that might be a good sign

 

[AltonaAcres]

I wouldn't always say beekeeping is environmentally friendly. There are countless native species of bees (like mason bees, bumble bees, carpenter bees, etc.) that are having trouble because honey bees are so widespread now. As are other pollinators like wasps, flies, and butterflies. I always felt guilty having hives of honeybees...................

 

[HiEverybirdy]

Great advice on this thread. Definitely find your local resources: clubs, beekeeper neighbors, etc. It can't be said enough that every region is different for beekeeping, from what pests to watch out for to when to rob and feed.

There are a ton of parallels between bees and chickens:

• Like every chicken, every hive has its own personality.
• There's plenty of misinformation and challenges for backyard keepers due to corporate/big industry practices.
• You'll probably pay more into it than you profit off of it, and you'll probably be just fine with that.
• There are a ton of ways to do everything.
• Used equipment can save you money, but the trade-off is scary biohazard risks, so proceed with caution.

Local friends may also have extra bee colonies each spring, helping you get off the ground with lower initial cost to buy bees. If you can, take a class! Or 2 or 3!

 

[Ascholten]

Bees do ok in florida. You DO have to register with the state. Things to watch out for, predators, coons, bears etc. Borilla? sp... mites, and foul brood. You might have to feed them for a month or so in the winter if you didn't leave them enough honey but otherwise they do well.

CHickens and bees do well, they tend to not bother each other, in fact the chickens may scratch around under the bee hive, eating dead bees that fell out / were kicked out and the hive beetles and stuff that is in the dirt under there if you did not put them on bricks or other solid surfaces, so it's a mutual interaction there.

There are beekeeper's clubs and associations in several places, you should look one up and go visit one of their meetings, most all, id love to say all, i can't see why they wouldn't, LOVE new people and visitors wanting to learn at their meetings.

Aaron