Be careful it seems to be addictive.
My Uncle Mack who use to have the deer processor in Chapin was a big beekeeper as well. He use to go around teaching classes at the jails in SC.
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It is indeed a hands on hobby. The bees do most of the work themselves. However, they will need your help from time to time. Treatment of the Verroa mite is probably the biggest thing they need from us.
And small hive beetles. Hate ‘em. It’s the nastiest mess they leave behind. I was at first fascinated when a huge limb fell and revealed a feral colony. I started with one nuc and ended that summer with 3 I think. Quickly became 9 the next year. Catching swarms around places is a lot of fun! I’’m down to 4 over wintered. One being a 5 gallon bucket hive that a dude found in his tree stand!
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Last edited by duckandbuckhunter; 04-25-2023 at 10:19 PM.
Ha! In a bucket…
That is pretty cool!
My dad is/was a certified master bee keeper. That lasted. A few years. He doesn't mess with them anymore. Mites, months, seemed to always be an issue but I think it hurt his feelings when they would just up and leave. He gets much more enjoyment out of his garden and chickens.
“If ye love wealth better than liberty, the tranquility of servitude better than the animating contest of freedom, go home from us in peace. We ask not your counsels or arms. Crouch down and lick the hands which feed you. May your chains set lightly upon you, and may posterity forget that ye were our countrymen.”
-Samuel Adams
I may have to pick your brain on this in the near future. I went and picked some culls up a couple weeks ago from a gentlemen that sells them for funerals, weddings, etc. Pretty cool how they were just flying around his property and how he "trained" them to come back. Guy said he sold the same pigeon to 12 different funerals. That's a pretty good business model
For it to be sustainable and not a huge money pit buying two new colonies every spring, you'll need all the treatments mentioned here, 4+ hives, knowledge of splits, catching swarms and wild hives, requeening, preventing your hives from swarming, etc. You will lose more hives than you'd think even taking every prevention step.
I no nothing about bees, other than both my grandads had a few hives years ago, but a local Bee man came to my brother wanting to set some hives on the edge of our biggest field (~35 acres). Said it'll help with pollination in the field and ETC. Well about a month ago dude comes and cleans off a large spot on the edge of the field and sets around 20 hives. For some odd reason I wasn't expecting that many hives and seems excessive to me.
Last edited by HT; 04-26-2023 at 09:18 AM. Reason: Can't type worth a shit.
Biggest thing is to treat for varroa mites...i treat twice a year .
If it aint got 8 toes & a green head,it aint a duck.
My coworker treats for mites 2-3 times a year. He has 150 hives now on his third year I believe. He went ahead and got in it big time.
Insecticides are yet another worry for beekeepers. You can control insecticides on your end, but you cannot control what your neighbors do or the farmer down the road.
I started off with a purchased nuc this March. Started building my own boxes a and now I’m up to three hives after catching a swarm and being given a another swarm that someone didn’t have room for. I enjoy building all of the woodward needed. Would be cool to get some honey this year, but I doubt I will.
I put this swarm trap out on Monday. Had 30-40 scout bees checking it out today. Hope to have a swarm in next few days to a week or so.
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