[bigbearomaha]

Continued from the thread where he wanted to know where the term "beek" comes from, some started down a path of what makes a beek a beek

1. Thick wallet or good credit
2. Thick skin (literally and figurtively)
3. Dogmatic (will not give up - see rule 1)
4. Love of bees (see rule 1 and 2)
5. Endure painful losses because of stupidity and nature (see rule 1,2 & 3)
6. Willingness to learn from your mistake(s) (See 1 and 5)

I can agree to this except for number 1, which I would replace with :

Cheap to the point of enduring physical pain at the very thought of spending money.

Maybe it's the region I live in, but every beekeeper I have personally met would rather save money if there's even a remote thought they could build it/do it themselves instead of buying it. Yes, this includes me.

I've always thought cheap (sorry, "cost efficient") was an inherent trait in beekeepers.

Big Bear

 

[USCBeeMan]

I build what I can and use scraps or what I can find (sometimes beside the road). But in the end, it's still expensive. You can't make hardware cloth. You have to buy equipment. Some supplements can be made but you have to purchase the ingrediants. I need to figure out how much sugar I purchased last year. I have the data in a spread sheet, just not in a way that I can select a specific item and it's cost.

Purchasing packages and nucs are quite an expense. I am not yet where I can grow only by splits and swarms. I had so many swarm calls last year that I had to purchase some stuff as I couldn't make the starter boxes/nucs as fast as I was bringing home the swarms. But some of the decisions on what to do with swarms can go back to rule 5.

As an addendum to saving by making your own. I need to add the expense lost time, and painful learning while using a tablesaw. Fingers and sharp fast spinning metal objects do not meet without consequences.

 

[mike haney]

and there is another thread going about the "cost" of a college education. got nothing on what the little i know has cost me! i do have all my fingers left,though. good luck to you!

 

[bigbearomaha]

If you only feed during dearth, sugar costs g odown a lot.

If you don't medicate, that cost is eliminated.

If you build your own bee hives you can reduce the cost by half or more ( I can build a ktbh for about $30 using wood bought from Menards, less if I use scrap wood.)

observing use of care and patience using any tools will lower risk to fingers and other injuries quite a bit.

Catching swarms and doing cutouts eliminates the cost of buying bees, except for how much one wants to value their time spent doing it.

Instead of buying top of the line bee suits, using coveralls and other sting preventing clothes from second hand stores reduces that cost quite a bit.

So now we're down to smokers (or spray bottles that many people say work very well for them at a much lower cost) and hats/veils ( or mosquito netting over a wide brim western or safari hat, also less expensive)

Beekeeping doesn't have to be all that expensive. At least not for me.

Big Bear

 

[StevenG]

From an old woodworker, I learned to "Count your fingers when you enter the shop. Count your fingers when you leave your shop. If the count matches, you've had a good day in the shop."

 

[bigbearomaha]

Think of the money to be made though to pay for all that store bought equipment and items when you "find" that finger or thumb in some fast food joint.

Just make sure they don't see the bandage.

Big Bear

 

[USCBeeMan]

From an old woodworker, I learned to "Count your fingers when you enter the shop. Count your fingers when you leave your shop. If the count matches, you've had a good day in the shop."

Amen!

I did get the same count coming out, but the shapes were slightly different.

 

[giant pumpkin peep]

It can bee expensive. I am a in high school and my family cant offer much money so I am working to make money. I visit the neighbors dogs twice a day. Its not hard work but it pay for beeking. The cost of beeking can be a little discoraging but the benifits out weight the cost.

 

[devdog108]

If you only feed during dearth, sugar costs g odown a lot.

If you don't medicate, that cost is eliminated.

If you build your own bee hives you can reduce the cost by half or more ( I can build a ktbh for about $30 using wood bought from Menards, less if I use scrap wood.)

observing use of care and patience using any tools will lower risk to fingers and other injuries quite a bit.

Catching swarms and doing cutouts eliminates the cost of buying bees, except for how much one wants to value their time spent doing it.

Instead of buying top of the line bee suits, using coveralls and other sting preventing clothes from second hand stores reduces that cost quite a bit.

So now we're down to smokers (or spray bottles that many people say work very well for them at a much lower cost) and hats/veils ( or mosquito netting over a wide brim western or safari hat, also less expensive)

Beekeeping doesn't have to be all that expensive. At least not for me.

Big Bear

Cheapo!!!!:lpf::lpf::lpf:

 

[bigbearomaha]

Well....yeah.

I wear it like a badge ( but not a boyscout badge)

Big Bear

 

[Countryboy]

The word you are looking for is 'frugal'. It is wise to be frugal. To quote Dave Ramsey, "Live like no one else today (sacrifice and do without) so you can live like no one else tomorrow (enjoy the luxurious fruits of your labor.)"

There is a difference between being frugal and being cheap. Do you understand the saying, "A poor man pays twice?" He tries to be cheap and pays a lesser price for substandard goods, and in the end has to buy multiple cheap items and pays more than he would have if he would have just bought the higher dollar (and higher quality) item.

How valuable is your time? Tally your costs first. If you have more time than money (and your time is low cost) then you can afford to salvage materials to save a buck. If you have more money than time (or your time is high priced), then you may be better off buying new, high quality druable items.

A local bee supplier sells plastic deep boxes for $24 each. (This is the same plastic that milk crates are made out of. These boxes are supposed to last 50-100 years unless you run over them. Pre-assembled and never need painting.) This local bee supplier also sells unassembled deep wooden boxes for $14. You have to assemble them, paint them, and hope they last more than 5 or 6 years in out nice Ohio weather.

Which box is the better deal financially?

The bee equipment supplier tells me only myself and serious sideliner/commercial guys buy the plastic boxes. (They know it is the last box they or their kids will have to buy.)

With the time I save by not assembling and painting, I can do other things to earn the $10 price difference. A $24 plastic box pays for itself pretty fast when you start having to replace rotten wooden $14 boxes.

There is a difference between saving a dollar, and making a dollar. I have heard it said, "You can't save yourself into having a fortune. You must first earn your fortune before you have anything to save."

 

[bigbearomaha]

thanks for the lecture. enjoy your bees .

good luck on chasing that fortune. I'd rather be happy.

Big Bear

 

[Countryboy]

Money isn't everything, but the lack of it is.

If there is anyone around this area that would be interested in helping our conservation project and willing to negotiate on price (I am the furthest thing from "well off" at this point) I would like to hear from you.

Big Bear

good luck on chasing that fortune. I'd rather be happy.

Your above post doesn't sound like happiness.

No, money does not buy happiness, but I have found that I am able to enjoy life much more now that I am not as hungry as I used to be. You don't have to become a millionaire before the financial stresses of day to day life stop being a stress.

Only fools chase a fortune, because you will chase it forever. Wise people earn their fortune a little bit at a time.

 

[bigbearomaha]

While I know you find it great fun to be interpretive and anti social, no, that quote you much mi- used only indicates that I am willing to work out a price for bees from a local beekeeper. Projecting your own thinking into others words I'm sure is fun for you, but still not accurate.

by the way, fortune is not the same as 'having enough", since you are the one who mentioned seeking fortune, I will let you own that, but this is not the thread for that discussion as you should well know. your stale platitudes might buy you something in tailgater, but it's only annoying here.

Thanks for your participating though.

Back to the light hearted and fun thread this was supposed to be , wet blankets need not apply.

Big Bear

 

[sqkcrk]

and there is another thread going about the "cost" of a college education. got nothing on what the little i know has cost me! i do have all my fingers left,though. good luck to you!

Are you sure? There are supposed to be ten, not nine.

"Education is expensive, no matter where or how you get it. Not learning is even more expensive."

 

[sqkcrk]

These boxes are supposed to last 50-100 years unless you run over them. Pre-assembled and never need painting.) This local bee supplier also sells unassembled deep wooden boxes for $14. You have to assemble them, paint them, and hope they last more than 5 or 6 years in out nice Ohio weather.

Which box is the better deal financially?

The bee equipment supplier tells me only myself and serious sideliner/commercial guys buy the plastic boxes. (They know it is the last box they or their kids will have to buy.)

I have wooden boxes that are well over 50 years old and are in good shape.
I know no commercial beekeepers who use the plastic boxes. I saw them at the ABF Con in Orlando and didn't see very many people around their booth.
Wood is more environmentally responsible, imo.

 

[valleyman]

Can I interject my 2 cents worth? Ok, without permission here goes. I think that frugal is the key here. One mans frugal is too expensive to another. Another mans frugal is cheap to someone else. To some frugal and cheap are both not good enough. We all do it our way and hope it works for the bees. Me personally I hate to mess with junk, it takes too much work, with too little success. But for those that do I understand that they are happy and wish them luck. By the way I am frugal, I think.

As for the plastic vs wood. If you paint and maintain your wood it will be here long after the sun has bleached and made the plastic brittle. I think the reason the commercial beeks use the plastic is it is labor friendly, and they destroy a lot of equipment moving it. So therefore the plastic MAY be stronger before the sun destroys it.:doh:

 

[sqkcrk]

and they destroy a lot of equipment moving it.

I don't know anyone who is that much of a hurry that they are destroying their equipment. I would think that doing so would be grounds for disciplinary action or firing if emplyees destroyed equipment.

I have had plastic equipment in the past and my recolection is that once the propolis bond is broken the supers tend to slide when being moved by machine. Not so much w/ wood, especially when it is cold.

But what is a beek or beekeeper?

 

[StevenG]

Hey Big Bear, the key is not to "lose" that thumb or finger in the first place! :thumbsup:

 

[bigbearomaha]

Steven, you mean I could've kept those?

Dangit, and here I'm a 'two finger typist' and didn't have to be.

Big Bear