Bee keeping

[Life is Good!]

Have you heard of the Oleander trees? I have heard/read that they are poisonous to bees. I see them all over the place in my area. Wouldn't bees have the instinct to stay away from things like this?

Lisa

Ok, there are pollens and nectars that when mixed into honey make it unusable to humans. Rhododendrons are one. Oleander is another common one. So in those areas with an abundance of those trees, care must be taken to make sure the honey extracted is good for humans. (Typically, once the nectar is capped during these bloom seasons, the frames are marked and noted in the hive so as to avoid pulling that frame/topbar for honey for human consumption).
The honey is fine for bees. But not so much for us two-legged critters.

 

[Life is Good!]

I got my first bee keeping book in the mail today. I am going to do a lot of research prior to starting, but I am getting an itch!

Got a local library that will interlibrary loan materials for you? That's a great way to get a lot of material without spending a lot of $$. I'd rather spend $$ on other stuff. If I get a book and keep it past it's due date - THEN I go and buy it!

Read as much as you can. Find a forum such as www.beesource.com or others. Ask questions. Read. It's a lot like starting with chicks! Knowledge is power!

 

[SunnySkies]

The local beekeeper association is doing a demonstration and has an exhibit at the county fair. I hope to check it out today. I know I won't get to visit like I would want to because my kids won't tolerate standing about forever with all the excitement, but I hope to perhaps get some information.

 

[SunnySkies]

So I learned my kids (8 and under) are completely freaked out by bees.

Hmm.

 

[Life is Good!]

So I learned my kids (8 and under) are completely freaked out by bees.

My now 14yo has always been fearful of bees. To the point of running indoors whenever one was near him. Even at Boy Scout camp, although I was told that he was a bit more nonchalant about it there!

Getting bees and learning so much about them (through me) has made it so when he sees a bee, he stops to REALLY look at it. He can now identify paper wasps, bumblebees, carpenter bees, sweat bees and our honey bees as well as our neighbor's bees. If it's a wasp, he's still out of there as fast as he can. If it's a bee, he rather ignores it. He's learned a LOT by watching me work our bees as well as listening to some of the information I've gotten through classes. He's even gotten brave enough to come and peek through the observation windows in our hives - not right up to the glass, but just about 2ft away. Which is a HUGE improvement!

There's hope! Would I have done this with toddlers around? Not so sure I'd have had the time. It's all about seasons of life (yours, the kids and the bees!)

 

[SunnySkies]

I wouldn't be messing with the bees if the little kids are nearby and without someone else looking after them, but some bees had escaped the enclosure and were flying around trying to get back to the hive the beekeeper had set up inside the enclosure. Kids spazzed out, and it made me wonder if they would not handle bees in the yard and garden well.

 

[culdesacfarm]

I have always thought about Bees.. My Grandmother-In-Law has Bees and for the past 2 years my Dad has talked about Bees. Im going to add Bees to my farm soon! This is exciting for me to be able to do something with my Dad esp something he wants to do, not something that needs to be done. When my parents finally move to my neck of the woods, I cant wait to help my dad get his bees started!

 

[SunnySkies]

After the kids and I have been studying bees in our school, we are definitely considering bees again for spring. They have relaxed and no longer run inside if they see a bee in the front yard and will actually stop and watch what she is doing.

Looks like nectar begins flowing here in April, goes to June and that is that.

Still think a top bar would be easiest for me to handle, even though it takes more time to watch the combs. But no picking up much of anything, lol. We read two top bar hive books, and I read several top bar websites.

 

[Life is Good!]

Still think a top bar would be easiest for me to handle, even though it takes more time to watch the combs. But no picking up much of anything, lol. We read two top bar hive books, and I read several top bar websites.

Keep reading and researching! The beekeeping adventure seemed a bit more complex to me than chicken-keeping. Chickens I can physically hold, move and otherwise physically control their environment. Bees are a bit trickier in this regard!

I've adored our top bar hive. Putting windows in the sides was the best investment I made - you can see them closed off in the photo below (the light colored wood sides). The windows allow me to 'peek' to see what the bees have been up to - if combs are straight, the status of the cluster, check for mites, etc. Peeking allows me to gauge when I need to get suited up and go in and manage their activity. Bee-ownership is different than bee-keeping. Just putting bees in a box and never checking them isn't bee-keeping! LOL. Although, when the garden was going gangbusters (along with the weeds), the bees got short-shrift. I'd peek through the window, open the top, move the follower board back, add a bar or two to give them more room and call it good! I did a full inspection just once a month it seemed. Now, it's too cold to go in and manipulate anything, so I'm just watching through the windows to make sure they get through winter.




Good luck! There's a couple Yahoo groups also. There's a top bar group that's rather quiet during summer season. There's a treatment free group that's REALLY active. The beesource website has been wonderful for information like this site is for chickens.

I'll pull our first honey next spring, after the winter dearth....I'm SO anxious to get it! But the girls need it to sustain them this winter, so it's theirs......the wait is nearly as bad as that first egg!

 

[SunnySkies]

Keep reading and researching! The beekeeping adventure seemed a bit more complex to me than chicken-keeping. Chickens I can physically hold, move and otherwise physically control their environment. Bees are a bit trickier in this regard! I've adored our top bar hive. Putting windows in the sides was the best investment I made - you can see them closed off in the photo below (the light colored wood sides). The windows allow me to 'peek' to see what the bees have been up to - if combs are straight, the status of the cluster, check for mites, etc. Peeking allows me to gauge when I need to get suited up and go in and manage their activity. Bee-ownership is different than bee-keeping. Just putting bees in a box and never checking them isn't bee-keeping! LOL. Although, when the garden was going gangbusters (along with the weeds), the bees got short-shrift. I'd peek through the window, open the top, move the follower board back, add a bar or two to give them more room and call it good! I did a full inspection just once a month it seemed. Now, it's too cold to go in and manipulate anything, so I'm just watching through the windows to make sure they get through winter. Good luck! There's a couple Yahoo groups also. There's a top bar group that's rather quiet during summer season. There's a treatment free group that's REALLY active. The beesource website has been wonderful for information like this site is for chickens. I'll pull our first honey next spring, after the winter dearth....I'm SO anxious to get it! But the girls need it to sustain them this winter, so it's theirs......the wait is nearly as bad as that first egg!

Your TBH is beautiful! I have Les Crowder's book and several TBH plans, and I think I could build one (not any worse than a chicken coop...right...) so I am getting some lumber and messing about next week with this. The window...I want one of those too! The chickens were easy! I grew up with chickens, so getting them again was nothing. But the bees.....it seems intimidating! I have been reading beesource and biobees forums, and I stay up half the night reading all the posts, lol. And YouTube. What a resource. Wish I could find a local mentor. The four clubs in my area all meet on awkward nights (swim team MWF nights), hubby always works late, or on Saturday, and I work weekends. Makes it tough. I do think it very cool that my kids have taken quite an interest. They freaked out about bees just a few weeks ago. Now my four year old watches YouTube videos with me every evening, lol.