Humans and bees can both benefit from the symbiotic relationship produced by beekeeping. As humans, we rely on bees more than we know, especially since they’re responsible for pollinating 80% of the world’s crops! In recent years, however, the population of bees have been steadily declining due to colony collapse disorder, pesticides, and disease. Beekeeping helps replenish our world’s natural pollinators while also offering a rewarding hobby that’s as unique as it is educational.

Though many wrongly believe you need a great deal of space or farmland to keep bees, the reality is that urban beekeeping has been steadily increasing. The following list of the top bee keeping supplies you’ll need can help you invest in your newfound hobby!

Bee Keeping Supplies You’ll Need As A Beginner

1. The Hive: to get started, you will need to select one of the three main types of hives available. The Langstroth hive is the most popular option as they’re essentially stacking boxes.

2. The Suit: you will need to wear a special suit for protection against potential bee stings. This suit covers all areas normally exposed on your body.

3. The Veil: your face and neck are highly vulnerable areas when it comes to beekeeping, which is why you’ll need a great quality veil.

4. Pair Of Gloves: you need to use hands to inspect the hive every week or two, and adequate protection can only be offered by elbow-length cotton gloves.

*Experienced beekeepers often choose to use their bare hands.

5. Bee Smoker: in order to safely access your hive, a bee smoker helps to emit smoke that masks bee pheromones. These are the hormones that bees use to communicate signs of danger.

6. Hive Tool: this tool is responsible for helping separate the different frames. These are found in two varieties: the standard and J hook.

7. Uncapping Tool: this tools helps remove the initial layer of beeswax that covers your frame.

8. A Brush: these brushes are made of solid wood and have soft bristles to help gently brush bees off the comb or frame.

All beginners need to have a comprehensive toolbox filled with beekeeping supplies. The above list highlights the basics and of course, as time wears on and you gain more experience, you will discover what you need and what you don’t. Every beekeeper has different techniques and some will choose to skip certain steps or supplies as they have the skills necessary to adequately care for their hive. If you need to relocate a hive, always hire a professional company that does live bee removals.

Getting started in bee keeping is a rewarding and fulfilling experience while helping solve a serious environmental problem— the decline of these pollinators! From gathering information to the right supplies, the following steps will help you get started!

Step 1: Educate Yourself

The first step to becoming a successful beekeeper is learning all you can about it by educating yourself. There are a large number of blogs and online resources that help you get in touch with other beekeepers.

Step 2: Gather Equipment

You will need to purchase a hive and proper equipment for beekeeping. Bear in mind, you need to commit quite a bit of money to achieve this as supplies aren’t cheap!

Step 3: Order The Bees

It’s always advisable to order your bees in the winter as most places sell out quickly. Look online to find local distributors you can get in touch with.

Step 4: Establish Your Hive

After having properly educated yourself, make sure you find the perfect spot for your hive. It will need to stay there for a long time as moving it is not advisable and also difficult.

Step 5: Introduce The Queen First

It’s time to release your thousands of new friends! However, you need to ensure that the queen is alive and healthy as the hive won’t function without her.

Step 6: Place The Lid On The Hive

You can now safely enclose the hive with the top and hope for a positive outcome for all of your efforts. If you’ve done everything well as advised, your honeybees will produce plenty of delicious honey because they’ll thrive in their new environment.

Step 7: Leave Sugar Water

When it’s still fairly cold out and flowers aren’t in bloom, you will need to leave a sugar water solution out for your bees for feeding. Once you notice that the bees are leaving the sugar behind, stop feeding them!

Step 8: Check Progress

Check on your hive regularly about every week or two. If the queen is constantly laying new eggs, it’s a good sign she is content.

Getting started in bee keeping is all possible thanks to the wide availability of reliable sources online and offline! Bees are dying by the millions every year, and as such, we have to do what we can to replenish nature’s supply of these winged insects. With the right steps, you can, too, enjoy the process of keeping bees and reaping the benefits.

If keeping bees is something that you are interested in, you have landed on the right page. We will cover beekeeping basics for beginners, whether you are a homesteader, backyard beekeeper, or you own a farm and you would like to start selling honey or other types of bee products.

It is a fairly easy process to learn about beekeeping, but there are a few factors to know about before you begin your adventure. Here is our guide on the best bee keeping tips and tricks to help you get started:

1.) Study Everything That You Need To Know About Bees

There are loads of books and resources on beekeeping. Learning as much as you possibly can about bees can help get your hive started on the correct footing.

2.) Find Out How Bees Produce Honey

Before you start ordering your supplies, it is important to first gain an understanding of how hives work and what bees actually do. In nature bees build nests. They then visit flowers in the areas to extract the nectar that they then bring back to the comb and hive, where it gradually turns into honey.

3.) Connect With A Local Beekeeping Organization

When it comes to beekeeping, there may be a few details that pertain to your specific area. To become a successful beekeeper it is important to have reliable resources in your area that you can draw on. This could include someone helping you to find a queen or checking on your hive.

4.) Find Out How To Set Up A Beehive

If you want to keep bees, they need a beehive. This is perhaps one of the most important bee keeping tips and tricks. In nature, bees usually build hives in hollow tree trunks or other sheltered places. As a beekeeper, you will be setting up a man-made hive to maintain a colony and a convenient place to harvest the honey. Some of the more common beehives to choose from include the top-bar or Langstroth.

5.) Educate Yourself On Beekeeping Tasks

Similar to gardening, the tasks involved when it comes to beekeeping will depend on the season. Spring is the ideal time to set up a hive, which will give the colony enough time to increase its numbers, build up baby bees (lay brood), and accumulate enough honey before winter.

6.) Gather Your Supplies

First, find out about the most important supplies you are going to need (as well as the ones you can do without for now). It is advisable to start small which will allow you to make changes as you go. You can either buy your supplies online or buy them in person.

The last step involves ordering your honey bees, once you have accumulated enough beekeeping knowledge and ordered your supplies. The options usually include something known as a “nuc colony” or “package bees” that comes with a queen.