1. Get a couple of books on Beekeeping. You have generally 3 choices of hives; the Langstroth type hive, top bar hives, and the Warre hive; we’ll talk about them in step 3. I really think the Beekeeping for Dummies book works just fine for someone starting with a Langstroth hive. For the top bar hives I recommend The Barefoot Beekeeper book because you can go to the Biobees website and get free plans to build your own hive and use The Barefoot Beekeeper book to operate it. If you are interested in the Warre Hive then The Garden Hive Construction Guide is the best, most affordable solution to get you started with the Warre Hive. This book actually tells you how to build a beehive. These hives are very easy to build but they are available readymade as well.
2. Find a mentor and/or join a club. There is just no substitute for a good mentor; they can make the journey into beekeeping a very pleasant trip. It is important to be up front with them if they are traditional beekeepers and you want to go the natural route. While the concept may be out of step with their normal behavior they will at least find you amusing and try to help as they know how bees behave. If you are building a Langstroth hive they will know exactly what to do. If you are building a Kenya Top Bar Hive KTBH then they may be intrigued enough to help, again with a vast knowledge of bee behavior. My traditional beekeeper mentor actually bought a KTBH full of bees from me and the last we spoke all is well and it has been 2 years now. The mentor can also help with such things as providing some old brood comb to start your hives, setting up bait hives, retrieving swarms, doing cutouts, or may even provide you with a few frames of bees. The later isn’t necessary if you get bees by any other method.
3. Build or buy a hive. Let’s look at hives briefly starting with the most common, the Langstroth. This is the hive that is most often seen as you are out riding in the car and has been the hive of choice for over 100 years. It is designed to be manipulated to suit the needs of the beekeeper. The Langstroth hive is quite expensive when all is said and done but it is a onetime expense and the hives can last a very long time. I would recommend the cypress hives in 8 frame format for longevity and ease of operation (lighter lifting). I got my cypress hives from Simpson’s Bee Supply in Ohio. The owner Carlton Simpson wanted me to use all mediums as that is what most folks request for the cypress. But I wanted the standard 2 hive bodies and 2 medium supers as the basic hive. I also added 4 shallow supers to use for honey. You can still apply natural beekeeping methods to the Langstroth hive by avoiding some of the manipulations used by the traditional beekeepers. I recommend you join the beekeepers forum at Beesource regardless of how you plan to keep bees as there are sections for the various types of beekeeping. I am also a member of the Beemaster forum that you will find equally interesting.
The KTBH Kenya Top Bar Hive is a great way to start beekeeping because you can build a beehive hive yourself for under $50 and perhaps way under if you have suitable scrap available. This is where you get the Build a KTBH plans for free from Biobees and get the accompanying book to guide you along. But wait, it gets better…You can join the Natural Beekeepers Network a forum that supports the KTBH and have a tremendous resource available for gathering with like minded folks. This is where I started. Honestly, I like the KTBH better for backyard beekeeping. Or if you just want to buy a top bar hive then here is a great deal on a KTBH
If the Warre hive meets your fancy then you should definitely check out The Garden Hive Construction Guide.
4. Order bees or plan to bait bees. You have several ways to get your first colony of bees. I started with a cutout from a barn that the farmer wanted gone. You can get a swarm from just about anywhere if you get on a swarm list. You can order 2 or 3 pound packages or a 5 frame nucleus colony from bee suppliers but you should order early; like now. If you are extra lucky your mentor may help set you up with a few frames of bees with some queen cells to get you started. You can also set up bait hives to catch feral swarms by putting out smaller versions of your hives as the bait hives and get free honeybees.
5. Get supplies from wherever hives are sold. There are a few beekeeping tools you will need to tend your bees safely. You should have a veil, some gloves, a hive tool, and a smoker. If you only want to buy one thing then that should be the veil as you don’t want to get stung in the eye. The second thing I use is the hive tool, followed by the gloves but I very rarely use the smoker.
6. Run your mouth to anyone and everyone that you are a new beekeeper. Burn all your bridges and don’t look back. You just go about telling friends and family that you are a new beekeeper and if they hear of any swarms then they need to give you a call. Make up business cards on your computer and hand them out to anyone that will take one. You want folks to think of you when they spot that swarm in the bush behind their house. Just one swarm call or cutout and you are in business. Lastly, If you made it all the way to this sentence without skipping ahead; I do believe you are already a beekeeper and you just didn’t know it yet. So go forth, get some bees and be a good steward. As always feel free to contact me if you need help.
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