Getting Started
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How Close Can Beehives Be to a House?
Backyard beekeeping is becoming increasingly popular lately. With beehives, beekeeping equipment, and bees easily shipped through the mail, many people can now enjoy beekeeping from their own backyard. When deciding where to place your beehives, there are a few things to take into account. You’ll need to consider the ground, the bee’s food and water sources, the sun, wind, and the proximity to houses. How Close Can Beehives Be to a House? When keeping bees in a residential area especially, you don’t want your hives too close to houses. You want to keep yourself and your neighbors safe, plus bees need ample space to fly up and over houses. But…
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The Best Time to Start a Beehive
The weather is finally starting to get a little warmer as spring approaches. For beekeepers, this is the perfect time to prepare for the upcoming season. For a bee colony to flourish, you want to get started at the right time. So, what is the best time to start a beehive? Why it’s Important to Start a Beehive on Time If you start too early, and the weather is too cold, the bees will be unable to forage for food. Starting a beehive in winter is a very bad idea. Usually in the winter, the bees focus all of their energy on staying warm in their winter cluster. They do…
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Where To Buy Bees For a Hive
You chose your beehive, set it up and got it ready for it’s new little dwellers. What’s next? Now it’s time to get your first bee colony! If you are new to beekeeping, the question of where to buy bees for a hive is a very important one. It’s not as if you can go to the local pet store and order a box of bees. So where do beekeepers get their bees? How Do Beekeepers Get Bees? There are 3 ways beekeepers get bees. They either buy a package of bees, buy a nucleus colony, or they catch a swarm. The most common method for new beekeepers is to buy…
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Where to Buy Beehives – A Guide to Buying the Perfect Hive
Are you a budding apiarist that would like to start a beehive? You probably already know this, but beekeeping offers many wonderful benefits and is such a fun hobby overall. If you are new to beekeeping the first thing you must consider is where to buy beehives. If you live in an urban area, chances are that you don’t live in close proximity to a store containing beehives and beekeeping supplies. But don’t let that deter you! Nowadays, the best way to buy a beehive is to shop online. Disclosure: As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. This is at no cost to you and helps to keep…
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How to Do a Hive Inspection + Free Printable Hive Inspection Sheets
An important part of beekeeping is the hive inspection. While healthy, established colonies may thrive without much intervention, newer colonies might need some help. You cannot just put bees in a hive and expect everything to go well without checking on them. The only way to know what is going on in the beehive is through regular hive inspections. When doing a hive inspection it is good to document your observations. It would be difficult to remember everything without keeping records, especially if you have multiple hives. This post contains free printable hive inspection sheets that you can download and print for free. What is a Hive Inspection? During a…
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Best Beekeeping Books for Beginners
It’s a question many experienced beekeepers are asked – What advice do you have for someone interested in beekeeping? The answers may vary, but most will say, “Do your research!” What they mean by that is that you should take time to read about your new hobby. In particular, learn as much as you can about how bees function. Learn about their life cycle and why they do the things they do. It’s all very fascinating, so even non-beekeepers would enjoy learning these things. Luckily, nowadays there are tons of free information on the internet. Tons of resources about beekeeping are at your fingertips. However, some people may enjoy having…
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Guide to Urban Beekeeping
When you think of beekeeping you may think of the rural countryside, forests, or homesteads. You may even be interested in beekeeping, but think it is not possible because you live in an urban area. However, that is not true! Urban beekeeping is a rising trend, and with urban beekeeping kits readily available, it’s never been easier to raise bees, no matter where you live. What is Urban Beekeeping? Urban beekeeping is basically what it sounds like – the practice of keeping and raising bees in an urban area. It is sometimes also called backyard beekeeping, or hobby beekeeping. Beekeeping in a highly populated city may not sound feasible, but…
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What Are The Advantages of Beekeeping?
You may have noticed that beekeeping can be a lot of work. Beekeepers have to tend to colonies of thousands of bees and make sure that everything is just right. They are constantly fighting off pests, such as mites and ants, while also ensuring that the bees are producing enough honey to survive winter. So, why do people do it? What are the advantages of beekeeping? Most people get into beekeeping because it is so interesting. The way bees work together to make honey is truly fascinating. Other than that, the advantages of beekeeping are honey, pollination, and to help bees. Beekeeping can also be profitable, so it’s nice to…
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Technical Terms Used in Beekeeping
If you are unfamiliar with beekeeping you may ask, what is the technical term for beekeeping? Sometimes beekeeping and beekeepers go by a different name. The technical term for beekeeping is apiculture. Beekeepers are called apiarists. Beekeeping uses a lot of terms that are not used in other hobbies. It’s not uncommon for people new to beekeeping to become confused by all of these new words. But don’t worry, with some reading and practice, understanding these terms will be easy. This article will go over some of the common words used in beekeeping. Apiculture Apiculture refers to the maintenance of bee colonies. Apiarist The technical term for a beekeeper is…
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Is Beekeeping Legal in my City?
There are many reasons to start beekeeping. You may want to harvest your own honey and beeswax, add pollinators to your garden, or you may just find bees fascinating. And with urban beekeeping on the rise and beekeeping supplies easy to obtain, there’s no better time to become a beekeeper. But, before you start you must ask this question – is beekeeping legal in my city? If you live in the US, beekeeping is probably legal in your city. However, your city will have ordinances in place that must be followed. Scroll down to see beekeeping ordinances by state. The absolute first thing you should do before becoming a beekeeper…
