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Newbie trying to find alternative ways to get involved with beekeeping

23K views 89 replies 36 participants last post by  urbanoutlaw 
#1 ·
First time poster here.

My husband has convinced me to be VERY interested in beekeeping, but we don't have the money to get involved just yet, nor a place to put the bees even if we had the funds (we are diligently trying to change our situation) - and, the local bee club's 2013 course is already full. We're not looking for sympathy or free stuff, just an opportunity to learn from real human beings in addition to what we find online.

We're thinking of finding/asking established beekeepers to letting us newbies observe them in the field. This way we could still bee involved, get experience, etc. We also plan to go to club meetings, but I'm definitely more of a hands-on person.

Any other suggestions for getting involved?

Thanks in advance.
 
#6 ·
Thank you so much for posting that! These folks are talking about the bee school from our club. We really encourage folks to do exactly what you posting but for some reason most folks are slow to follow through- which always makes me wonder about how interested they really are in beekeeping if they can't even attend a meeting to learn something. This year we had a little bit different dynamic. We had up to 10 folks who stayed in touch with us all year, and when our registration opened, they got first dibs. so for all you wanna bees- attend a bee meeting at at local, state or regional level and start learning that way!
 
#4 ·
Read and study as much as you can to learn vocabulary, terminology, bee biology, basic management, etc. There are lots of free resources online. Hands on is always best but it will be easier for you and the beekeepers you shadow if you have some basic understanding.

Go to the meetings and meet the beekeepers. Start making friends. Show you are learning on your own before you ask if you can shadow.

Bee school may need volunteers for snack table or other jobs. See if you can get in that way.

Volunteer at the club. Show that you are a good worker and not an energy drain.

There are different styles to beekeepjng - try to shadow more than one beekeeper-you'll start to see where things are similar and different.

By spring you should have enough knowledge and friends for some real bee experience. Shadowing for a year is a great idea. You'll have a better idea of what to expect before you spend any money.
 
#7 ·
Thanks so much for the positive feedback! We missed the November meeting due to my husband's class schedule, but it shouldn't be an issue next semester. We definitely plan to attend club meetings starting in January and continue studying books/videos, etc.

Volunteering with activities is a great idea. I'm not sure why that didn't occur to me...probably too many bee videos. Trading labor is another good suggestion, after we get to know people.

How do you guys deal with us eager newbies?
 
#11 ·
Another area to watch for is helping at state fairs or other public information opportunities. There is setup required, and manning tables and other activities you can help with. I also agree to read, read, read, and look at videos too. It is always amazing when I hear 2nd or third year beekeepers ask what supercedure is, or something like that. There is so much information available. Everyone has a different opinion too. You will need information to try to make good decisions about how you want to keep your bees.
 
#13 ·
With so much info available about swarm traps and top bar hives, I really don't see a lack of money being a real barrier to hobby beekeeping. I've seen professional beekeepers inspect hives with just a mosquito net for a veil. I've seen how-to's on making a smoker. there's no end to reclaimable lumber...

If you don't have space, put an ad on craigslist and ask. Tell people what you're trying to do, and they will respond.

I live in the city with a tiny space.

I caught a swarm in my own trap this spring, and I have bees in three yards. I have heard from many people offering me space to put hives and traps after I posted a couple of free ads online. I even had the local news calling me wanting to do a story. I got 8 deep hive bodies and a bunch of frames for $20 from a guy (which I turned into swarm traps), and I got enough gear for 6 full langstroths from another person who wanted me to keep bees in his yard, and had a bunch of gear.

If money gets in the way, get some enjoyment out of going around it.

Adam
 
#16 ·
Do your homework. There are lots of discussions out there regarding what hive to start with. One advantage of the top bar hive is that it can be built very cheap if that is a requirement for you.

Go to the club meetings. Be friendly. Someone will take you out to their apiary.

If you're strapped for cash, spending hundreds of dollars (or many hours building equipment) when you haven't even opened a beehive could be a risky investment.
 
#17 ·
I say find a local commercial or sideliner that could use some help. Go out there and get into the hives with the sideliner or commercial operator. They can show you alot more than you can read in this forum or out of a book. Meetings at local bee clubs is also good. You will learn from them as well.

I have seen folks join these types of clubs and actually never participate in the purpose of the club. Just so they could educate themselves on the happenings of beekeeping. Who knows maybe your local bee club has an annual raffle for a package and woodware for bees.
 
#18 ·
I say find a local commercial or sideliner that could use some help. Go out there and get into the hives with the sideliner or commercial operator. They can show you alot more than you can read in this forum or out of a book.
Commercial and sideline beekeepers know a lot. If you want to go into the business of beekeeping, I recommend you learn from them. If you just want a few hives in your backyard, it is best they are not your only source of experience. They have equipment that you can only hope to have access to once you start. They may not care to answer questions about crush and strain, or wearing gloves, or copper hive covers... which are valid questions for a backyard beekeeper.
 
#19 ·
There is nothing like just keeping bees. Put an ad on Craigslist looking for someone who has the space and will buy all the stuff, but wants you to do the actual beekeeping. I am betting you will find someone. Older people who can't lift the hive boxes any longer are often open to this sort of arrangement.
 
#21 ·
Ok, based on the replies, I have the following for action items:

  1. Continue to read/learn/watch instructional material
  2. Ad on CL seeking space for bees.
  3. Attend local and state bee club meetings (volunteer and seek mentor once comfortable)
  4. Consider DIY top bar hive instead of Langstroth (need lumber pricing; find out considerations for management, especially in subsequent years)
  5. Research commercial and/or independent operators for different perspectives
  6. Find out hidden beekeeping costs, especially for years 1 & 2

Have I overlooked anything? After reading the replies, I feel more optimistic that we can work things out with adequate planning. As far as that's concerned, for equipment purposes, the plan is to get smokers and commercial veils, but go with TIG welding gloves (husband already has these) and painters' suits (cheap) - at least in the short run. For the hive, we were originally thinking about contacting Dadant or Virginia Bee about 8-frame medium hive bodies. I have RA, so lifting anything heavier by myself is a no-go without my other half. (I'll have to do some research on the top-bar hive to see if that might work out.)

Are there any ways to potentially save money when buying packages or nucs? I'm kind of assuming that we don't want to skimp on bee quality, but have to ask.

Thanks again, everyone, for your time.
 
#25 ·
snip...
[*][*]Consider DIY top bar hive instead of Langstroth (need lumber pricing; find out considerations for management, especially in subsequent years)
Snip...
I have RA, so lifting anything heavier by myself is a no-go without my other half. (I'll have to do some research on the top-bar hive to see if that might work out.)
Snip...
Are there any ways to potentially save money when buying packages or nucs? I'm kind of assuming that we don't want to skimp on bee quality, but have to ask.
For info on cheap DIY top-bar hives check out Phil Chandler's biobees website. If you have access to some simple tools you are supposed to be able to make them from scrap wood. I made a temporary three foot long one in a night with scrap lumber I had on hand. Check out the top-bar hive section on here too. You'll learn about some of the pros and cons on them, and some modifications to the Chandler design that most make. It may be better for your RA because there is no box lifting.

I second the swarm recommendations. Free Bees! You can requeen them in the future if you need to but at least you would be hands-on learning! I missed out on one at a friend's house this past April because he didn't know I was starting beekeeping. Major Bummer! If you don't manage to lure one into whatever hive you have set up (check out the swarm/trapout section for pointers on that) you will be ready to go if your name comes up on the swarm list or something.

Good Luck! (And keep in mind it is my first year and I know next to nothing about beekeeping -in context of how much there is to learn.)
 
#24 ·
If the bee club as a swarm list, get on it. And/or, if you make some arrangement with a local beekeeper you might be able to make part of that arrangement that you'd be able to help collect swarms and as long as he/she gets an adequate number, you get dibs on any others. If winter plays nice and the swarms next spring are like they were this past spring, you may get lucky and get a call. But if you do this, *be prepared*. Have the place ready, your equipment ready, the hive built, the frames built....everything sitting and waiting for bees. But hey....free bees!
 
#26 ·
Thanks for the link. We will read up on the pros and cons here as well. I'm not sure how much the RA will come into play other than I know having 10-frame deeps is out of the question. It's nice to see how much flexibility there is in beekeeping.

Please don't think I was ignoring the swarm advice. I hope we get lucky in that regard, but I won't get my hopes up until we've made some contacts. Our immediate area seems so monoculture central: Mostly stunted trees and sterile, well-manicured lawns with a choice of maybe 5 different plants. It's not my thing, but the rent is unbeatably low. I'd pity the honey bees that wander near this place! Though beekeeping is prohibited in the covenant, we do our best to help by growing a few pollinator-friendly herbs and flowers.
 
#29 ·
RA shoudnt be a factor-i just use one arm and manage by taking the frames out one at a time until the deep is empty,then move it. put the removed frames in a cardboard box,cooler,spare deep,etc.
practice undercover beekeeping to get around the covenant-put the frames in a cooler,hide the whole hive in a doghouse or storage building,camoflage/screen with vines/bushes, use your roof or attic.
i would consider such arbitrary rules and financal limitations as a challenge to be overcome.
if all else fails,deny,deny,deny and claim the bees are wild and defy them to prove otherwise.
 
#27 ·
Based on my initial experience, your first purchase should be a bee suit or jacket with zip on veil of some type. The rest is easy - but to volunteer to help, or to deal with a suddenly appearing swarm, you can patch a box together to get them through a day or 2, but you need a suit or jacket and heavy jeans. With hood. and I use $4 heavy nitrile gloves from Home depot.
 
#28 ·
Based on my initial experience, your first purchase should be a bee suit or jacket with zip on veil of some type. ..
Yes, totally agree - without reasonable beesuit,you could not go to the class or help with swarms. It is approximately $50 apiece plus free gloves and sometime shipping. I saw somewhere on beesouce that currently, hive bodies are $8 for the deeps and $6 for the mediums plus free S&H. Top bar hives are also inexpensive. I would probably prefer local bees rather "imported" ones. Based on my experience, one need to plan at least two hives. One hive is not realistic to keep it especially at the beginning. Bee-club is very good idea,but read the books! Good luck with your project, Sergey
 
#30 ·
as far as a suit goes, i used white pants over jeans and a long sleeve white shirt from GOODWILL (or other "thrift" shop that may be local) for years. a "mosquito" or bug veil from a sporting goods store or (in season) WALMART over a wide brimmed straw hat (from GOODWILL) is actually my choice over a traditional veil. the gloves from HOME DEPOT would absolutely work great too.
with some luck and dilligence you can suit up for $5
 
#33 ·
You guys have no idea how uplifting this thread has been. I am truly thankful for the time you've taken to share these ideas. Hopefully, I'll be in the position to help out a newbie someday!



RA shoudnt be a factor-i just use one arm and manage by taking the frames out one at a time until the deep is empty,then move it. put the removed frames in a cardboard box,cooler,spare deep,etc.
practice undercover beekeeping to get around the covenant-put the frames in a cooler,hide the whole hive in a doghouse or storage building,camoflage/screen with vines/bushes, use your roof or attic.
i would consider such arbitrary rules and financal limitations as a challenge to be overcome.
if all else fails,deny,deny,deny and claim the bees are wild and defy them to prove otherwise.
This actually crossed my mind, but the HOA has an inspection person who randomly walks everyone's property for noncompliant items. I decided not to buck the system seeing as the landlord is an in-law and actually very cool. It was tempting though!

What about assembling frames a few at a time? They're way cheaper unassembled. I'm still looking at the top bar hives, but if we end up with conventional boxes frames will be a factor.



What about some white voile (sheer curtains) for the veil? I have some left over from another project and could put it on my hat.

Any reason why leather TIG gloves wouldn't work? They come in white, fit tighter, and are thinner than other welding gloves...trying to think of stuff we have on hand. Dark leather work boots ok or do I need to make white spats to slide over them?

You will eventually want some food grade buckets, probably for honey. Don't buy them! Go to your local supermarket deli and ask if they are tossing any fondant buckets or other food grade buckets. Eventually you might want to fit one or more of them with a honey gate, but you could probably get by without that until you want to buy it. To find wood for hives, check out new housing developments. Talk to the builders and ask to raid their scrap wood piles. There are often some excellent pieces of wood in there that is perfect for hives, top bars, covers, etc. Keep an eye out for demolitions too. You might find free lumber there, along with free bricks, stones, etc. Bricks and stones are great for holding covers down on hives.

I don't recommend Phil Chandler's top bar design for use in the US. I would recommend going a lot simpler than his. I have complete designs on my blog (link below). I can build a top bar hive for about $20 for the hive body with new wood from Home Depot. Bars are a little more, but can easily be made from scrap, or from 2x4s from the cull bin at Home Depot which cost $.51 each.

Ted
What about 5 & 6 gallon fermenting buckets? Too big? We hadn't gotten around to selling our brewing gear and it seems like a lot of it could be useful at some point for honey storage and processing.

Thanks for sharing your hive plans. Cheap and probably the easiest to follow of the ones we've looked at.
 
#31 ·
You will eventually want some food grade buckets, probably for honey. Don't buy them! Go to your local supermarket deli and ask if they are tossing any fondant buckets or other food grade buckets. Eventually you might want to fit one or more of them with a honey gate, but you could probably get by without that until you want to buy it. To find wood for hives, check out new housing developments. Talk to the builders and ask to raid their scrap wood piles. There are often some excellent pieces of wood in there that is perfect for hives, top bars, covers, etc. Keep an eye out for demolitions too. You might find free lumber there, along with free bricks, stones, etc. Bricks and stones are great for holding covers down on hives.

I don't recommend Phil Chandler's top bar design for use in the US. I would recommend going a lot simpler than his. I have complete designs on my blog (link below). I can build a top bar hive for about $20 for the hive body with new wood from Home Depot. Bars are a little more, but can easily be made from scrap, or from 2x4s from the cull bin at Home Depot which cost $.51 each.

Ted
 
#40 ·
For the welding gloves, it sounds (from your veil question) like you can sew. If you have some canvas or cotton scraps and elastic you could make extensions for the gloves that go up to mid bicep. Simple loose tube gathered at the end so the bees can't get in. My purchased gloves have them and they look simple enough to replicate.
 
#41 ·
FIRST LET ME SAY WELCOME!. two you are among a bunch of great , and helpful people here , 3 we have a chat room that fun to be ,but sometime it get a little crazy there,lol,, and we do have experts in this forum some even have books out on beekeeping, you will learn alot in this forum , because im a newbie and started beekeeping in 2012 got my first swarm on april and just got just got my second swarm last week small swarm about a 1000 africanized bees, here in Puerto Rico, i am in a very tight budget also ,and the way i got around it is i made my own hive , made a top bar and noc hives and trap which are easy to build , here the link to the spec on diff hives you could build yourself from beesouce , http://www.beesource.com/resources/elements-of-beekeeping/alternative-hive-designs/ also you tube has tons of infor on beekeeping and building your own hives , one guy come to mind that show all about beekeeping and gear is outofabluesky on youtube, as for gloves use the dish washing rubber glove are ok welding gloves are way to thick to work with. first thing you need to fight is fear when you working with 10,000 to 30,000 bees , you just have to respect them, and it best to start with two hive not one ,that way if one is weak , you could take blood from the other hive or eggs laves , good luck!

 
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