Questions and Advice

Amanda · January 09, 2008, 02:40:39 PM

Hey everyone,
I'm new to beekeeping, and I'm planning on getting my first bees this year. I could use any advice you can give me. My plan is to get two hives, the beginner kit and expansion kit from Betterbee. If I buy two three pound packages from Rossman Apiaries, I think I can get all of this for about $500. I was thinking about going with the ten frame hive, but I've heard some people say that 8 is better. What is your opinion? Also, I'm not sure when I should order the bees. I know I should wait till after winter, but winters aren't very severe in Georgia. Thank you so much for your help!
~Amanda

Bennettoid · January 09, 2008, 02:51:39 PM

Order your bees now, they won't be delivered until spring, and if you wait too long they could be sold out. Don't forget to order Queens, too! LOL

Other than that, read this forum every day, and buy some books, and if there is a beekeepers' assoc. in your area, join it!

BeeHopper · January 09, 2008, 03:17:15 PM

Hi Amanda, Welcome to the board :-D

As for the difference between 8 or 10 frame equipment, the eights are smaller, lighter and more managable. Betterbee is an excellent supplier, I've been buying from them 3 years now and they are just great to do business with.

Quote from: Amanda on January 09, 2008, 02:40:39 PM
Hey everyone,
I'm new to beekeeping, and I'm planning on getting my first bees this year. I could use any advice you can give me. My plan is to get two hives, the beginner kit and expansion kit from Betterbee. If I buy two three pound packages from Rossman Apiaries, I think I can get all of this for about $500. I was thinking about going with the ten frame hive, but I've heard some people say that 8 is better. What is your opinion? Also, I'm not sure when I should order the bees. I know I should wait till after winter, but winters aren't very severe in Georgia. Thank you so much for your help!
~Amanda

CBEE · January 09, 2008, 03:25:12 PM

Well, The reason people use 8 frame hives is they weigh less and are easier to lift. A full 10 frame deep is heavy and some people just cant lift them or dont want to due to medical reasons such as a bad back. A lot of people here use all mediums ( 8 or 10 frame ) for brood box and honey supers because they are easier to manipulate for more than one reason. 3 mediums = 2 deeps .. Things get heavier as you get older :roll: 90 lbs weighs more than it did 20 years ago :-D :-D

Burl · January 09, 2008, 03:45:50 PM

Quote from: CBEE on January 09, 2008, 03:25:12 PM
Well, The reason people use 8 frame hives is they weigh less and are easier to lift. A full 10 frame deep is heavy and some people just cant lift them or dont want to due to medical reasons such as a bad back. A lot of people here use all mediums ( 8 or 10 frame ) for brood box and honey supers because they are easier to manipulate for more than one reason. 3 mediums = 2 deeps .. Things get heavier as you get older :roll: 90 lbs weighs more than it did 20 years ago :-D :-D

I'm certain its the earths gravitational pull . It's gotten stronger! I used to float out of bed in the morning. Now I have to peel myself out of bed like it's got me sucked down tight . That's my theory anyway. Welcome Amanda. All of the advice you get here is free. Some of it is worth all of of that and more.
---Burl---

Jerrymac · January 09, 2008, 03:50:36 PM

Not real sure you want to buy a beginner kit and expansion kit. I've heard they have a lot of stuff you don't need. But what do I know. I never even looked at one.

DennisB · January 09, 2008, 04:26:17 PM

Welcome Amanda,

I am not sure but it looks like your town is somewhere near Atlanta. Contact Linda here http://beekeeperlinda.blogspot.com/ and see if you can get with her group in Atlanta. That way you will be able to get some mentoring and help. Good Luck.

DennisB

Understudy · January 09, 2008, 07:31:59 PM

Welcome aboard.

See if there is a local beekeepers club near you or you can get to a Metro Atlanta Beekeepers meeting.

Linda's site is excellent.

I also recommend reading Michael Bush's site. You can start here.
http://www.bushfarms.com/beesnewbees.htm

Sincerely,
Brendhan

Brian D. Bray · January 09, 2008, 09:58:56 PM

Beginner's and expansion kits often don't provide the equipment necessary to be successful, they also include a lot of unnessary things like Boardman feeders and queen excluders--they also don't give you enough of what you need.

Decide what you want--I use 8 frame mediums throughout due to medical limitations and it lets me move any frame to any other box in any hive I have. The ability to do that is something you'll only learn to appreciate with experience.

Go for screened bottom boards as they aid in ventilation and pest control.

Ask lots of questions, we here at the forum do not consider any question dumb or stupid. You'll always get a variety of answers to choose from and teased a bit in the process.

Order you bees now, as has been mentioned, they won't be shipped until April, May, or even June. Use the time between now and then to obtain a copy of a good book ie Beekeeping for Dummies and buy the basic equipment you thin you'll need. When it comes to wooden ware buy more than you think you'll need because you'll need it.

bassman1977 · January 10, 2008, 03:01:21 PM

QuoteBeekeeping for Dummies

Great beginner book indeed. Also, if your passion and thirst for knowledge of bees increases, think about a subscription to a publication such as Bee Culture or American Bee Journal. I recently subscribed to Bee Culture and highly recommend it.

Amanda · January 10, 2008, 07:21:59 PM

Thanks everyone for your advice. This is a list of everything included in the beginner kit:
2 Hive Bodies
20 Pierco Plastic Waxed Frames, deep
2 Supers, medium
20 Pierco Plastic Waxed Frames, medium
Bottom Board
Entrance Reducer
BeeMax Polystryrene Telescope Cover
Inner Cover
Polystyrene Hive Top Feeder
Varroa Screen/Monitoring Tray
Hard Plastic Helmet
Round Tie-down Veil
Stainless Steel Smoker with Heat Shield
10" Hive Tool
Beginning Beekeeping Book
Ventilated Leather Gloves

and this is a list for the expansion kit:
2 Brood Chambers
2 Medium Supers
20 Deep Pierco Plastic Waxed Frames
20 Medium Pierco Plastic Waxed Frames
Inner Cover
Polystyrene Telescope Cover - better insulation against temperature extremes
Reversible Bottom Board with Entrance Reducer

Does this include stuff that I won't need, and are things missing that I will need?

wtiger · January 10, 2008, 07:40:31 PM

I would personally recoment using only medium boxed and framed and dump the pierco and go with wax foundation or foundationless with started strips.

Moonshae · January 10, 2008, 08:03:09 PM

You'll want a better book, at least, such as The Backyard Beekeeper and/or Beekeeping for Dummies (or both). I would suggest getting slatted racks, too.

As far as the rest of the equipment, there's nothing really extraneous there, although you probably won't need the 4 medium supers until your second year. The expansion kit doesn't come with the varroa screen, or the feeder.

steveouk · January 10, 2008, 08:31:54 PM

Hi amanda i'm new to beekeeping like you

I've just ordered ,

4 x Deep Hive bodies + Wooden Frames
2 x Screened bottom boards
30 Sheets of SC Foundation
1 x Hive tool
1 x Smoker
1 x Smoker Fuel
1 x Gloves

I've decided to make my own covers. I also already had a Vail

I looked at the price off those starter kits and some of them seem expensive for what they are. You don't really need the honey suppers to start with ( So I'm told) as your bee's probably wont produce allot of honey till later in the season or even next year.

I decided i would buy this now and if i need it i'll buy the other bits later once the bee's get here.

Good luck

Stephen

Michael Bush · January 11, 2008, 07:56:43 AM

>Does this include stuff that I won't need, and are things missing that I will need?

Yes.

http://www.bushfarms.com/beesnewbees.htm

If it was me:

>2 Hive Bodies

I would buy eight frame mediums instead of the ten frame deeps because they are lighter:
http://www.bushfarms.com/beeslazy.htm#lighterboxes

And because I want all the same sized boxes:
http://www.bushfarms.com/beeslazy.htm#uniformframesize

>20 Pierco Plastic Waxed Frames, deep

I don't want deep (see above) and I don't want the oversized cell size:
http://www.bushfarms.com/beesnaturalcell.htm

>2 Supers, medium

I prefer the eight frame boxes. (weight).

>20 Pierco Plastic Waxed Frames, medium

Cell size again.

>Bottom Board

I prefer the screened bottom board for better ventilation and some help with monitoring the mites. And, of course, I need an eight frame one.

>Entrance Reducer

Any old block of wood works for this.

>BeeMax Polystryrene Telescope Cover

I have a couple, but they don't fit my eight frame boxes and they are not as sturdy as the wood.

>Inner Cover

I use top entrances with no inner cover, but it's a handy piece of equipment to have around. Of course I want an eight frame one...

http://www.bushfarms.com/beeslazy.htm#topentrance
http://www.bushfarms.com/beestopentrance.htm

>Polystyrene Hive Top Feeder

I've gone to feeding dry sugar.
http://www.bushfarms.com/beesfeeding.htm#drysugar

But it's an ok feeder.
http://www.bushfarms.com/beesfeeding.htm#miller

>Varroa Screen/Monitoring Tray

Then why the solid bottom board?

>Hard Plastic Helmet
Round Tie-down Veil

I much prefer the English hood style. They fold up nicer and you don't need a helmet.

>Stainless Steel Smoker with Heat Shield

The large one is better than the small one that comes with the kits. A large one is easier to light and easier to keep lit.

>10" Hive Tool

I prefer the Italian hive tool:
http://www.beeequipment.com/products.asp?pcode=591

I gave all my regular ones away.

>Beginning Beekeeping Book

There are a lot of good books out there. I haven't read theirs.

>Ventilated Leather Gloves

I wear regular gloves tucked into the elastic on the Jaket with a zip on English veil that I wear most of the time:
http://www.beeworks.com/beekeepersuits.html

>and this is a list for the expansion kit:
>2 Brood Chambers

More ten frame deeps and I want eight frame mediums.

>2 Medium Supers

More ten frame mediums and I want eight frame mediums.

>20 Deep Pierco Plastic Waxed Frames

More deep frames when I want medium and large cell (intermediate actually) when I want small.

>20 Medium Pierco Plastic Waxed Frames

More intermediate sized cell when I want small cell.

>Inner Cover

Ten frame again, and necessary.

>Polystyrene Telescope Cover - better insulation against temperature extremes

A small piece of Styrofoam on top of the lid would serve as well.

>Reversible Bottom Board with Entrance Reducer

I generally use the screened bottom boards. But you could convert this one to a feeder:
http://www.bushfarms.com/beesmisc.htm#smithbottomboardfeeder

No. There is NOTHING in that kit that I would buy. Sorry.

Hopeful · January 11, 2008, 08:08:21 AM

My avdice as a fellow beeginner is to find someone local and buy everything used,except for maybe the suit and hat. You will save hundreds.

Amanda · January 12, 2008, 11:04:38 AM

Thanks everyone for your help. I've decided I need to do some more shopping around. What do you think of buying new hives on ebay? I found a place there called Long Lane Honey Bee Farms. All of there stuff is 10 frame, but I'm not really concerned with the weight. My dad is going to do the heavy lifting for me, and I might be able to get my brother to help(if he likes the honey;))

steveouk · January 12, 2008, 12:39:25 PM

I've bought all my stuff from either Dadant... or Mann Lake

Its good service and i've been very happy with the quality of equipment

JP · January 12, 2008, 01:40:44 PM

Amanda, looks like a few items there you don't need, but I can't make out everything just by the picture. Check out Michael Bush's site, www.bushfarms.com and scroll the page to where it says beginners, click on that for some really good advice. I would suggest as M.B. points out that you go with all mediums. I recommend a jacket with zippered veil from Dadant, I think it goes for around $40.00, a great investment. Buy a size or two larger than you think, the extra room is nice. I wear a baseball cap and long pants with the jacket and veil setup. Most beginner kits just have things that you won't use. Good luck, and welcome to the world of beekeeping!

Sincerely, JP

mark · January 12, 2008, 02:55:19 PM

hi amanda

the advice to start with all mediums is real good advice. it is not just a weight issue but will also standardize your operation and eliminate confusion. dad and brother are there for you but why add a burden when you can avoid it going in to your hobby. there will likely be times when dad and brother are tied up with other things. full medium supers are a handful. full deep supers are HEA-VY. most things i've seen on ebay are NOT a deal when you factor in the shipping. buy from a reputable dealer and you'll be happier in the long run even if you don't know you are because everything is working together as it should. frames should all be from the same source because the dimensions are slightly different from different suppliers. read as much as you can and figure out what you really need and what you don't. a hive tool with a frame lifting hook is imo a must have. it's good to see young folks interested in beekeeping.