Keeping bees

Got my shipment. Was disappointed. My screen bottom boards are back ordered. I am going to call next week and see how soon. Hubby might have to make mine lol. I got him the Building Bee Hives for Dumbies book

So other than my bottoms I have all the hive sections. I also got top feeders. I know I have to feed them when I get the package.
Now have:
A half dozen books,hives,hive tool,smoker,brush...........
And the infamous jacket!
"Take me to your leader"




I still have to get gloves. And I am going to get scrubs to cover my jeans if I need them.

Also I got velco to go around the pant legs.
I didn't leave hubby out. I got two supers with frames/foundation for him to put together.

CindiLou wrote:Got my shipment. Was disappointed. My screen bottom boards are back ordered. I am going to call next week and see how soon. Hubby might have to make mine lol. I got him the Building Bee Hives for Dumbies book

So other than my bottoms I have all the hive sections. I also got top feeders. I know I have to feed them when I get the package.
Now have:
A half dozen books,hives,hive tool,smoker,brush...........
And the infamous jacket!
"Take me to your leader"




I still have to get gloves. And I am going to get scrubs to cover my jeans if I need them.

With hooded tops like that I discovered that wearing a peaked baseball hat stopped the veil being blown flat on my face and prevented any more stings on my nose .

I am lamenting the fact I will never have my own honey bees. The thought of childhood bee stings still gives me the chills. Local bee keepers will continue to get my business. Btw you guys and gals are brave.

Brave or plain stupid
I went to help an 84 yr old guy get rid of his bees as the effort was too much for him , paid him £50 for three hives with three supers and a brood box each.

Use the battery drill to screw loads of strips of thin ply to the hives to hold the sections together after blocking the entrances with foam sponge after removing the lids and putting my own stainless steel travelling screens in place.

With the help of Alison we slipped a pair of 2" wide ratchet straps under each hive and gently lifted them one at a time on a 10 foot long 2 inch thick aluminium scaffolding pole , then walked the hives back to the car and trailer 150 yards away .
The last hive and everything being lashed down by torch light about 10 min after darkness fell at about 22.30 hrs .

We drove 35 miles back to home, had a cup of strong sweet coffee with milk ( well I am a Brit ) and had to get the hives off the trailer into position asap so that as dawn broke at 02.00 the bees could exit when the temps got to 50 oF and sort themselves out .

I let Alison go get a shower & skip off to bed as she was due up at 05.45 and got cracking .

The hives were home made things made from red cedar wood old lard boxes circa 1937 and white washed each year. Two hives reset up on stands and bungs removed .

The third was OK till I came to the brood box , as I pulled it off the trailer the thing fell to bits , bees every where..... stung all over through the suit , my jeans and thick sweat top jumper .

It was a painful time getting the frames into a spare brood box and rebuilding the hive by which time the rest of the 16 hives in the aipairy had woken as it was 03.45 & obviously well over 50 o F .... they were flying well in my direction .


These other bees also homed in on the attack pehromone scent markers that the bees had covered me in .
I ran for cover back in the cellar of the house , gave the cellar a good fly spraying and waited till the bees on the suit had died .

Then stripped off the suit , went for a shower and woke Alison to get her to check I didn't have any stings left in me .. she counted 134 stings on me and treated every one ..laughed like a drain when she saw the sting marks on my JT & butt .

I don't know which hurt the most .... the stings , my pride , the ammonia pen bee sting treatment or having to display a bee sting on my JT to our lady doctor who also laughed like a drain .

Thanks for the hat tip! I was trying to figure out how to keep it were it belonged!

Rofl..oh my..yea my instructor told us "you drop a super of honey" you might as well get the heck out of there and let them clean it up or figure on beestings! Owie~

Plantoid - that is some story and not very humorous to me - ouch!

llama momma wrote:Plantoid - that is some story and not very humorous to me - ouch!

Sorry you did not get much sympathy, Plantoid. (I laughed too.)

llama momma wrote:Plantoid - that is some story and not very humorous to me - ouch!

One day when I have time I'll tell yo why not to stand in front of the entrance of a double brooded canadian commercial hive that is being manipulated by the keeper from the rear .

Oh my! That sounds even MORE painful!

I have gone into hives on multiple occasions with no stings. If the bees are stinging and getting pissy you're probably doing something wrong and they ain't happy.

You've obviously missed the amusing concept of manipulating a double brood box


It is two full brood boxes of bees and lava and sealed brood , when you take the top set off it weighs 70 or so pounds so to make it easier the bees & frames are stacked to one side outside of the top box .... So yes they do sometimes have a sense of humour failure especially if there is a lot of static /thunderstorm weather locally .

Standing in front of the hive entrance in such situations is to risk ones family jewels indeed as they tend to come boiling out of the entrance and onto the nearest thing in sight .

I'd been set up as a novice keeper by my mentor Alvin & his bee keeper mates who were using Alvins apiary to give instruction to us & six other novices ..
All the locals were all hanging out their windows camera's at the ready, to see me go tear assing across the meadow & stop in front of the houses then rip my bee suit and jeans off as I'd got 30 or so bees crawl up my trouser legs and sting me around the nether regions .

Alison was at the side of the mentor at the rear of the hive , she nearly wet herself laughing ,all she could say later was , "Put the bee sting stuff on but leave the swelling ".. so much for my dignity ..... yet again.

Sorry..couldn't help laughing picturing that! But oh how mean! And funny! and bad wifey! And funny! Ouch!

Sorry, but I just had to laugh.

On a separate note for all you bee keepers. Your bees may become more valuable. I just read that they believe bee venom can have a positive affect on HIV.

Kay

plantoid wrote:
All the locals were all hanging out their windows camera's at the ready, to see me go tear assing across the meadow

Heh heh. Our fearless beekeeper. If you see him running, you'd better follow!

Varroa screened bottom board finally coming! It was on back order. Told hubby "not here by Apr 1st guess what?" Now why did he think I bought that book for him? I think he willed them to come! Anyway, he was outside playing in his shed this afternoon. Guess he put together two supers and got around 6 frames put together. He told me if he had to do more as a bunch, he would definitely make the jig that is in the book
Bought scrubs for over my jeans, leather gloves, rubber gloves. I have some plastic arm sleeves I got from a job I had years ago. Always wondered why I kept them things!
Told the granddaughter she could paint the supers color she wanted. As long as it is light! Oh no..she picked purple and orange! The two colors I really do NOT like! So I will go get some VERY VERY light purple and orange paint.

On a separate note for all you bee keepers. Your bees may become more valuable. I just read that they believe bee venom can have a positive affect on HIV.

Kay

I read about that. Also bee stings are supposed to be good for M.S. Don't know if I am ready to try that. But at least I know the darn stings will be good for something.

Now for the bees.

Such casual views towards painful bee stings. Bee people are weirder than worm people. My worms don't bite they don't even see me.
:lolsignwave:

I just met with a beekeeper yesterday in Kansas City (Ross Murphy) and it's his mission to get as many beekeepers going as possible. He mentioned bee keeping can be expensive...many bees are dying off and the costs of bees themselves are skyrocketing. Can anyone help me with a turn key cost for a first-timer to keep a single hive?

llama momma wrote:Such casual views towards painful bee stings. Bee people are weirder than worm people. My worms don't bite they don't even see me.
:lolsignwave:

Ditto

Farmer Ray (Mr. Lavender) keeps bees. He puts them in a bag and keeps them in the refrigerator with my seed stash over winter. We have held them in our bare hands and never been stung. His bees are Mason Bees. There is no honey, we still buy that by the jar full from a local bee keeper. Last year was our first season for Mason Bees and we have not looked back. The apple and pear crops were the best EVER.

I support honey bee keepers by buying their over the top expensive product. We pay whatever they ask and don't blink. But on our own urban farm, we stick to Mason Bees while keeping the edges of the garden bumble bee friendly.

landarch wrote:I just met with a beekeeper yesterday in Kansas City (Ross Murphy) and it's his mission to get as many beekeepers going as possible. He mentioned bee keeping can be expensive...many bees are dying off and the costs of bees themselves are skyrocketing. Can anyone help me with a turn key cost for a first-timer to keep a single hive?

See if you have local beekeeper associations .
They usually have early season spring auctions to sell off old kit , they might also know of some one giving up bee keeping and wiling to sell for a song , as well as deceased keepers effects disposal sales / auctions .

landarch wrote:I just met with a beekeeper yesterday in Kansas City (Ross Murphy) and it's his mission to get as many beekeepers going as possible. He mentioned bee keeping can be expensive...many bees are dying off and the costs of bees themselves are skyrocketing. Can anyone help me with a turn key cost for a first-timer to keep a single hive?

I am trying to do it as cheap as I can. This is what it cost me minimum for ONE hive. Approx. $565
Broke it down a little:

medium super (I will be using 3 just for the hive body, more for honey supers) $36 x6 = $216 each hive
bottom board =varroa screened with drawer $22 each hive
top feeder insert $16
telescoping cover with inner cover $37 each hive
bee brush $5
smoker (larger one) $36
pollinator jacket $110 (this has the veil)
gloves $20
velcro straps (to go around legs) $3
scrubs (to go over jeans) $20
hive tool $4
bees $79

$370 for each additional hive

If you buy old stuff, make SURE to have it inspected first! Remember, you are also buying their chemical residue from bees foraging and any diseases they might have!

Tip

Never use a bee brush , if you must use something use green grass instead .
That way you won't take disease from one hive to another .

A hive tool can be a big 3/4 inch wide bladed screw driver or a metal scraper from a garage sale .

Gloves ..go for the latex or neoprene single use ones .. again no diseases spread from hive to hive. they are also cheaper initaily . I used to get 100 neporenes for Alison & I @ £3.50 per hundred in a box .

Eventually I lashed out £8 on a proper flat hive tool , then got my mate to use his plasma cutter to make me five more in stainless steel . With 50 hives on the go and giving classes every week end it made sense , for even the most experienced keepers lose a hive tool .... apparently. I did .... on several occasions .

i nearly forgot

Fumigate or use a blowlanp to sterilize second hand gear ..you don't want to try and keep bees in a hive that has died from disease or one that is harbouring verroa mites / wax moth eggs etc.

llama momma wrote:Such casual views towards painful bee stings. Bee people are weirder than worm people. My worms don't bite they don't even see me. :lolsignwave:

Believe me, your body adapts. The ones with the worst problem (and the most apt to get sensitized) are the ones who bundle up like spacemen, trying to avoid a single sting.

If you handle bees, or a family member handles bees, but you don't get stung, you may suddenly develop a severe reaction. Beekeeper's family members, who never get stung, are statistically the most apt to have allergies. We think it comes from tiny trace exposures to dried crystalline venom in clothing, perhaps as dust that is breathed. Those who "bite the bullet" and go ahead and get stung rarely develop allergies.

There is one exception, and it's a little known interaction between pain killer drugs of the ibuprofen family. Many beekeepers have reported a similar experience of one that happened to me.

One time, following surgery, I was on pain medication. As I was feeling a little better, I walked into my back yard, where I had what I called my "hospital yard" of bees, a half dozen hives that had been brought in because they had problems.

As I stood watching their flight, I must have gotten in the way of one returning and I got popped on the stomach right through my t-shirt. Bees will reflexively sting you if you are in their habitual flight path and they run into you. I think that last race to the entrance, they quit looking where they are going, because the route is so familiar. This is not aggressive behavior.

At any rate, I soon began to swell all over my body, broke out in hives and began to itch like crazy. For a few minutes I started to have a little trouble breathing. I returned to the house, took a Benedryl, and tried to stay calm. Perhaps I should have gone to the emergency room.

But I'm sure the doctor never would have made the connection with the pain killer, and probably would have warned me, "You've got to stop keeping bees; the next sting could kill you!"

Well it didn't work that way, although I was worried. This was my livelihood! But I made sure that I didn't go near the bees again, until I'd been off the pain killer for several days.

When I went back to work, there was no further problem.

Those who handle bees on a commercial scale would normally be stung 2-10 times on a decent day. Once in a great while you have a bad day, when the bees are really unhappy (rainy weather, or maybe a predator like a skunk riling them up at night). When you are 100 miles from home, you don't have the luxury of saying, "Well, I'll come back on a better day." You just do ahead and work the bees, even if you do get stung.

Now a dozen stings makes you feel good all over. The inflamation of your joints from arthritis goes away; your blood gets to circulating, and your mind becomes as sharp as a tack. It's a natural high

Fifty stings in a day, is different; it makes you feel like you have the flu. You feel a bit feverish and your joints ache.

I do believe there is something healthy about bee stings - in moderation. I've known a bunch of old timer beekeepers in their 80s and 90s (one over 100) that went out and worked like young men. I would be still doing it myself, if it weren't for my back going bad, and the difficulty of making a livelihood of it.

Now that I'm retired, I have to go handle bees now and then to hold back my arthritis, and pull down my blood pressure. It only takes four or five stings, and I feel good.

So don't knock it until you've tried it...heheh.

landarch wrote: Can anyone help me with a turn key cost for a first-timer to keep a single hive?

Beekeeping as a hobby has exploded lately and prices have risen dramatically. I probably should not have retired when I did, because a part of my income was in selling bees each spring (the "calves" from the cows, if you will). When I retired, I was selling five frame nucs for $35 and doing pollination for $45. Now rates are somewhere around triple that. I could be making some serious money! That's the story of my life, I guess; buy in when prices are high, and sell out when they are low...

I would strongly recommend that new beekeepers start with TWO hives rather than one, for a number of reasons.

But you certainly don't need to spend a fortune like some newbies do. You don't need a fancy bee suit. Go to your Salvation Army store and get some tan Dickies, or some white shirts and white painter's britches. Anything with a light color and a tight weave will do just fine.

My wife made my veils from black tulle and elastic strips. It was just a big tube, with the elastic on the top end being the right size to hold onto your hat like a hatband, and the elastic on the lower end going around your shirt collar. I'll bet you could still make them for under five bucks.

I do recommend a good plastic helmet, though. A straw hat will work in a pinch, but when it gets wet, it goes limp. A real smoker is necessary, as well. I'd go with stainless steel so there is a real expense. Tin ones rust out fast, especially if they get wet.

You can get a hive tool cheap at Harbor Freight. You might want to get a couple. I have always expected to come into one of my bee yards and find a hive-tool tree, because of all the hive tools I've planted over the years.

Forget the gloves. You don't need them. If you are determined that you do, buy a package of a hundred latex ones at Harbor Freight for a couple bucks. Real beekeepers keep a pair of gloves behind the seat of the truck for emergencies. Usually they are brand new.

Make up a pair of "sleevies" from an old sheet and some Velcro to hold your shirt sleeve snug against your wrist and the gap behind the button closed. Again, these are for emergency use; you'll only need them once in awhile when the bees act like they want to go up your sleeve.

You can save a lot of money by getting used bee equipment. There is one danger, that is, of buying disease. American foulbrood is residual in bee equipment.

So either buy from someone you really trust; or have them inspected by a state inspector; or inspect them yourself for any traces of AFB. Here's a pictorial on what to look for: http://pollinator.com/afbscale.htm

If you find AFB, or if you suspect it, burn the frames and scorch the insides of the boxes with a propane torch, thoroughly charring the surface layer of wood (without setting it on fire). That will kill the spores.

Swarms are much less common nowadays, as varroa has killed off most of the feral honey bees. But there still are occasional swarms. If you want to risk not getting any bees this spring, in exchange for a chance you might get some free, then get your name on the list that is kept by your county extension agent. Sometimes fire and police departments also keep list of those who will remove swarms.

Who knows, you may get a call! I love to get a nice big swarm that's hanging four feet off the ground in a bush. I hate the ones that are forty feet up in a pine tree. There are ways to get that high one, too, but you have to be prepared ahead of time. And that's another topic.