Tools & Equipment
I do not want to get into choosing a hive, but that is obviously the first step before getting bees. There are many different builds to choose from, and it all depends on your intentions as well as your location, some have the means to fence in their hives, we do not have enough room to even consider something like that. So we went with the traditional Langstroth Hive, or also called the ‘box hive’. The tools and equipment you use for beekeeping is totally up to you, if you’re on a budget buying everything suggested by others will definitely weigh down your cost of things. However you can just stick to the basics, and stay efficient. I want to tell you that a veil and gloves are essential, but they’re not. I know plenty of keepers that go in hands on, veil free every time they are beekeeping. I’ve even see people catch swarms glove and veil free, and although the very first hive we inspected we went in hands and veil free, I had an incident that same year, after cracking the hive to show off, and totally underestimated the power of the colony… and they got me. So from that point on, I’ve been extra precautious and put on gloves and a veil. It’s not always needed but beware.
I can assure you that you do not need a full suit, keeping in mind we are a small apiary here, if I was dealing with dozens of hives at a time, I would likely suit up, just for working purposes and to keep everything moving along nicely. I use hardware gloves, but you can certainly purchase the hive gloves that go up the arms, if you are mentoring or teaching young children, the long gloves can be helpful. They say bees will attack certain colors or be drawn to certain shades, but I haven’t found that to be an issue either. Just pay attention and make sure you’re completely covered, they can and will find a tiny little opening, and once they get in and feel trapped they will sting.
A tool hive is an absolute must, and it helps to have more than one. You will need frame hangers for when you are inspecting, and a smoker. The bees won’t always need a smoker, that is more towards the end of the season where there are upwards of 60,000 bees in the hive, but for the most part they stay pretty docile. Smoke is used to alarm the colony, and make them think there is a hive fire, and they need to protect the queen. So upon smelling smoke they immediately enter the hive and go into protection mode, it does not hurt them or hurt the hive, they simply react in the way they know how to, and they aren’t paying a bit of attention to what the beekeeper is doing. They really mind their own business to begin with and only sting if they feel threatened, or if they are discombobulated and confused by perhaps a light at night over the sun, I’ve caught a random sting from a bee swarming a spotlight in the backyard.
Some keepers will use a bee brush, which in my opinion only comes in handy when you are ready to harvest honey frames. The brush gently removes the bees from the frame, and you can stack them outside the hive keeping the colony inside where they belong. If you can’t afford to buy an extractor as they can get super pricey, more often than not your local beekeepers association has extractors available for you to use to harvest your honey and return when finished. Here in Cincinnati we even have local bee farms and apiaries that are also very open to allowing other keepers to use their equipment, and I can’t tell you how awesome that is! Beekeepers are a whole other culture of people, and some of the best humans I’ve ever known, always willing to give a hand, and share what they can based strictly on their love and passion for the lifestyle.
A box hive comes in 2 parts, the brood box, which is where the brood (baby bee) is laid and hatched, and then you have the honey super, the box where they build and fill the honey comb. As you choose your hive, you will also choose the size of your hive, and the amount of frames you wish to have. We have an 8 frame and a 10 frame. You can also choose small, medium, or large boxes, called deep boxes. For instance we have an 8 frame hive with a deep (large) brood box, and medium super (honey box), and our 10 frame hive is a deep brood and a deep honey super. You can stack as many of these on top of each other as needed, if the bees are filling a box every 3-4 weeks, then most keepers will stack until the nectar flow goes down, harvest the honey, and leave a full super for the bees for winter. Small supers are usually stacked for cut comb only. Meaning you can cut the entire comb out, when we extract, we are spinning just the honey out of the comb, leaving the comb behind to be refilled by the bees. Cut comb can be detrimental to a hive IF there is no other honey comb drawn out, by taking all of it you are leaving far too much work for the bees before winter comes, leaving the colony susceptible to death. That’s why small supers are usually an extra stack on top of an already filled medium or deep super box.
Your tools will get you in and out of your hive, and as always watch as many videos as you can, read as many bee books as you can and by all means find a bee class! It is during this class that you will learn all of the makings of a hive, and all of your choices, as well as how to inspect your frames, harvest your honey, and keep that colony alive all winter to the spring. In our area that is no easy feat, and I’ve had a colony and the queen survive the winter, only to succumb to a late frost the last week of April. Thankfully I’m in an area that had some extra packages, and NUCS and I was able to grab one last minute, but things like that happen, and depending on your area, you might be out for the season!
When buying dishware or hardware for your hives, label everything and keep it all separate from any other tools or equipment you may use on your homestead. What touches the bees, stays with the bees, and this is for a number of reasons including the possibility of any foul brood that can live on surfaces and remain dormant for quite sometime before coming back to live to destroy your colony. These things can live on anything, and will infect everything, hopefully you or no keeper you know will ever have to deal with foul brood, but that is the main reason we keep everything separate. Even what you harvest or strain your honey in, keep it for honey use only so that no other debris or anything can get into your batches. Above all be cautious and aware that the bees are busy at work, and as long as you interfere in a respectful way, they will leave you alone.
I can promise you without these tools, you can’t even open your hive, let alone get those frames out of the sticky propolis they build to seal it all in, since the beginning I’ve recommended Dadant if you don’t have a local bee store you can shop in, and I will include their link below. They deliver in a very timely fashion, and the prices are fair. Most local keepers you will find, order from places like Dadant anyways, but I always recommend getting your packages local, if you can’t you can also order from Dadant but understand that there is the slight unfortunate possibility that the bees are dead when they get to you, not to mention most delivery people freak out when they see the ‘live bees’ label. So if you can get your bees and equipment locally, if you can’t order from Dadant.
