How Do I Get Started With Honey Bees? - Fixanswer

First things first: Take a beekeeping class in the fall or winter (

around November or December

). From there, order your bees and equipment. When your bees arrive in the spring (typically April), you’ll install your hive and spend the next 3-4 months feeding them a combination of sugar and water.

What is the best month to start beekeeping?

The best time to start your hive is in

the spring

so that the colony you begin with has time to build up, lay brood (baby bees), increase in number, and store honey before the winter sets in.

How much does it cost to start beekeeping?

The minimum cost to start beekeeping with one beehive is

about $725 for the first year

. One set of hive components costs around $275. A bee package is approximately $150. Protective gear and basic tools cost $165 while miscellaneous costs for supplies and sales taxes are about $150.

Can you start a beehive without buying bees?

But the good news here is that, yes,

you can start a beehive absolutely for free and without buying the bees themselves

.

How hard is it to start a beehive?

There’s

some heavy lifting and physically difficult tasks

involved, especially when it’s time to harvest your honey. Bees are also susceptible to many different pests, diseases, and predators that you’ll need to watch out for. And the financial investment to set up your first hive can also be hard for some people.

How much time does beekeeping take?

What Is The Time Commitment For Beekeeping? In short, expect to spend

15 to 30 hours during your first year to care for one hive

. The more hives you have, the more time you’ll spend on beekeeping. However, that does not mean that you should expect to spend 15 to 30 hours a year per hive.

Where do you get bees to start a hive?

The two most common ways to receive bees are: package bees or a nucleus hive. Package Bees: To order a package of bees,

contact a local beekeeper supply or local beekeeping association

. Most packages will contain a queen, multiple workers, and a feeder filled with sugar syrup.

What month do bees come out?

These bees usually become active in

the spring

with the warm weather and flowering of plants. They remain active throughout the summer and into the fall. Cooling temperatures in the fall prompt them to prepare to overwinter.

How profitable is beekeeping?

A strong, healthy colony can produce 100 pounds of honey in a season. … Natural, local honey can sell for much more than the stuff in grocery stores. It depends on your location, but it’s safe to say that you can charge $10 per pound. That puts you at a profit

of $600 per beehive, per year

.

What months do bees swarm?

Most swarming activity takes place from

April through May

. Bees don’t swarm during the rain, so this year we will most likely see the time frame pushed back a few weeks. Honey bees, Apis mellifera, swarm for one of two reasons.

Will an empty beehive attract bees?

Yes,

an empty beehive will attract bees

. Even if it isn’t positioned up in a tree or converted to a bait hive, the scout bees can smell residual beeswax in the wood. If you have an empty hive and want to make it more attractive to bees, you can add a swarm lure.

What happens if a queen bee stings you?

Queen bees, however, almost never sting people;

they reserve their stinging for other queen bees

. … This is unlike what happens to a worker bee, which loses her stinger and dies in the process of stinging.

How far should beehives be from a house?

It is equally as important to think about how your neighbors use their yard, so it is not a good idea to put a hive directly on a property line. Instead, place your hives

ten feet or more from the property line

.

How much does a queen bee cost?

So how much does a queen bee cost? Queen bees are generally

around $70-100

regardless of breed. Some can go for much more on the open market, especially if they belong to one of these strains. At times, you’ll see someone who unfortunately can’t keep his or her hive anymore so they’ll liquidate everything.