Well I am now starting to think about what equipment I need to purchase for my three new hives and looking through all of the catalogs it can be daunting for a first time beekeeper. Although there are a lot of useful items in those catalogs there are some things you probably don’t really need right away. You should first begin thinking about how you will house your bees before you buy that 400.00 professional quality refractometer to measure the clarity of your honey. Lets first garner some honey and make a profit before we begin dropping some money bombs.
BTW. Profit. If you envision yourself driving a gold plated car like in the Richie Rich cartoons from all of the honey tonnage you plan on selling, forget about it. Have you ever been to a farmer’s market? How many of those folks are driving anything other than a Farm vehicle. This is a humbling hobby that should be pursued more for its enjoyment and oneness with the natural world than with fantasies of swimming in money like Scrooge McDuck. I know. There is Bert’s Bees. But is he really real or some corporate board meeting creation like the Kool-Aide man?
Basic Equipment Setup:
- Bee Suit – Get one. I reviewed my experiences with bee suits in an other article. Bee Suit Article Try not to spend more than 150.00. If you are on a very tight budget by thick painter’s overalls and a veil you can stuff into the neck opening.
- Ankle Bands – These are used to seal off your paint legs from the outside world and any honeybees that would like to climb up them. These are usually Velcro. If you are on a budget by some duct tape. I used to use duct tape to keep the ticks off when I worked out in the field for the government.
- Gloves – Get some good gloves. Will run you about 20-30.00. Don’t buy the Home Depot gloves that only go up to your wrist. These gloves need to go up to your elbows like a large animal veterinarian’s glove. Get leather.
- Smoker – Get a good smoker. It should last you a lifetime unless you buy junk. Should run you about 25-40.00. You may be able to find them in the classified section of your newspaper, at an estate sale, or yard sale.
- Hive Tool – You can always use a screwdriver and a paint scrapper but you might as well have the tools of the trade.
- Bee Brush – To gently brush your bees off of the comb or your screaming wife. Get a real bee brush and don’t use a brush for grooming your horses unless you want to wipe out your bees in one session.
- Frame Lifter – Great for lifting frames out of the hive with as little damage as possible.
- Plastic Feeding Buckets – You will use these to feed your bees early and late in the season. If you are on a budget you can always use a coffee can with holes punched into it.
You need this to trick the bees into giving you their honey.
Hive Components: This is a matter of personal preference. I will list what I will probably be buying for one individual hive from bottom to top.
- Frame Stand – It is not essential that you buy one. Some people just have their bottom board resting on two concrete blocks.
- Bottom Board – The structure of your hive will rest upon this. Try to by a Cypress bottom board as it will resist moisture better than pine. I may also get a screened bottom board as it allows for better ventilation in the hive and allows mites to drop off onto a sheet underneath that you can later brush off or monitor for infestation.
- Three Hive Bodies – This will be the the primary residence for your queen and brood. At the start of the season you will reverse them to keep the queen lower in the hive giving them more space to move up. I only use the two for the brood and use the third Hive body as a shelter for the feeding buckets when I offer sugar syrup.
- Queen Excluder – This will prevent your queen from laying in your honey supers but also may create more congestion as she cannot move upward to lay in the rest of the hive. You will need to monitor your bees more.
- Two Medium Supers – For the first season this is all you will probably need as the bees will first have to concentrate filling all of these hive bodies and supers with comb.
- Inner Cover – Will rest on top of your uppermost super. Will also be the platform for feeding buckets.
- Telescoping Cover – Is the cap for your hive. It needs to be telescoping so that rain does not enter your hive so easily.
- Spacer - I use these to provide extra ventilation and an additional secure opening for the bees to fly into.
- Entrance Reducer – Throughout the season you may use this for a variety of reasons. To keep mice out during the winter or provide an easier entrance for your colony to defend if they are new or weak.
- Old Brick – To place on the telescoping cover to help prevent the cap from being blown off in the event of a micro burst over your hive.
- Frames - For each box you will need frames and foundation to fill it. Now a days you can buy all of this assembled for you and all you have to do is insert it into the hive boxes. You can also do it like Pa did and assemble it yourself to save a few bucks. It is kind of fun putting them together but the novelty wears off after your 80th frame. If you are assembling it yourself be sure to by nails and all of the parts to put the frames and foundation together.
- Foundation – If you buy assembled frames it will probably be a plastic foundation with a light coating of beeswax to attract the bees. If you build it yourself you will buy beeswax sheets that you will need to wire in for stability. I found that bees are more willing to draw comb off of the pure wax foundation rather than the beeswax coated plastic foundation. Some people will only use the plastic foundation for honey supers and the natural wax sheets for the brood chambers.
In another article I will write about some of the ancillary items you may need such as medications if you plan on going that route, supplements, and feeding patties.
Beekeeping requires a substantial initial investment. In all likelihood you will not recoup these losses for a few years and after you have about 4-10 hives producing honey. But you will have the satisfaction of being with the bees and providing your friends with honey. If you have any questions or feel I left something out let me know. After all I am only a weekend beekeeper.
