Beekeeping - where do I start?
I want to become a Beekeeper - where do I start?↓
Finding where to start can be quite daunting - like anything these days, there is a lot of information online and its all differing and contradicting - you just want straight answers! My advice, from someone who has done it:
Sign up for a BBKA Course - For this you have thorough practical and theory training to learn the basics along with annual membership. This will also help you meet other beekeepers, you will gain a (or more likely multiple) beekeeping mentor, as well as getting your name down on a local swarm list for when you are ready to actually keep live bees
Get your Beehive and equipment ready and set it up in the location you will be keeping it - Obviously, we would love you to get all your equipment from TSB, knowing that not only is it the perfect way to begin but it is all sourced sustainably - your double environmental boost! But we understand you may want a different type of hive, or a variation of tools and you want to have a look around elsewhere. To get the basics for everything you need to begin your Beekeeping journey, see our Complete TSB Starter Pack. The comprehensive list in the description details exactly what every beginner needs - not sure what all these items are? See our Beekeeping Equipment - what does it all mean? guide.
Get your bees - There are really 3 options for actually getting live bees in your hive:
The most common method - You put yourself down on a Swarm List so you can get the next available swarm. This is natural process for a bee colony, and usually results in you acquiring local bees which is increases your chances of a successful colony and reduces the chance a disease spreading. The unwritten beekeeper code suggests the bees are usually given to the next beekeeper on the Swarm List for free, but it is courteous to reimburse you Swarm Collector for their troubles of collecting - petrol money and maybe a bit extra for their time.
The unknown delivery - Packaged bees! Yes it is possible to get them sent to you in the post?! We have to admit here….we haven’t done this before either. Depending on who you ask, some will give you horror stories of damaged boxes and the unknown quality of the bees that are sent, whereas others swear by it. Really, it’s all a bit of a risk but it is the quickest way to guarantee bees for you hive, and the best method if you are trying to expand you colony numbers quickly. This method will cost £££s
The kind friend - You may know a fellow beekeeper who is willing to give you bees, either one of their colonies or they are performing swarm control themselves to protect the health of their hives. If this is the case, you should be in good hands to get going straight away!
If you still have questions, please either use our Live Chat or Contact Us via phone or email - we are more than happy to help :)
What does BBKA stand for?↓
The British Beekeeper Association (BBKA) was set up in 1874 to discuss and apply a national standard to beekeeping. Its services and delivery methods have expanded since then, but it still has good beekeeping as its core value.
Where can I sign up for BBKA courses? Do I have to do the course?↓
There are no requirements that state you must do a BBKA course before you can keep bees - but it is highly recommended. Not only is it fascinating to learn about bee colonies - from how they communicate to when you can extract honey - but you will also meet a support a network of other beekeepers who are willing to help you when you are stuck. This really is invaluable when first starting out!
To find out times and dates for the BBKA course, find your local beekeeping association. This page will enable you to go directly through to your local associations website which will have all the details for where you can sign up for courses.
When is the best time of year to start?↓
The season starts in early Spring, so once the risk of frost lowers then this is the best time to get going as you have the maximum time to build up the hive strength before the next winter.
Although it is possible to start anytime throughout the year as you can receive a swarm of different sizes so they could be near functioning as your get them. It is possible to get take colonies this year and prepare them for a productive year of honey next season!
There is no better time than the present to get your hive set up and ready - you never know when you will get the call for your new bees!
How much time a week will I need to set aside?↓
On average you should put aside just 30 mins a week to go over your hive to perform your beehive maintenance, but remember, bees are wild animals so will look after themselves generally. You are really performing intermittent checks to ensure good health and hive stability - key if you are planning on producing honey!
If you are hoping to take a ‘laissez-faire’ approach to beekeeping you will be glad to know opening up your beehive too much can actually be detrimental to the colony health. Either you scare your queen so she doesn’t lay eggs or the bees will be agitated with you and could give you a few stings - so don’t be overbearing!
Where do I keep my bees? Countryside & urban options
Where do I keep my beehive?↓
In terms of plot, your back garden is the perfect place for keeping bees. Not only does this mean you don’t have to travel far for your beehive maintenance schedule, they will pollinate all your garden flowers to make a colourful backdrop! This will also allow you to witness there habits, which is therapeutic but offers good warning for when there may be problems.
If this isn’t possible, do not worry, most local allotments have spaces for beehives and there are even possibilities to set up hives on other people’s land - land owners can be very keen to help out beekeepers - but make sure you have their permission first!
When setting up your hive location within your plot, the following bullet points should be considered (don’t worry if you can’t tick all the boxes!):
- Placed on firm, dry land
- Elevated off the ground
- Level
- Dappled sunlight with an airflow to help regulate temperature
- Wind break behind the hive
- Southeast-facing will give your bees an early wake up call for foraging
- Easily accessible for honey extraction - a frame is heavy once full on honey!
Is it legal to keep bees in your garden?↓
There are no legal requirements to keeping bees, anybody can do it. There are legal requirements on importing bees from abroad, but if you have gone down the BBKA route this shouldn’t be too much of a worry to you as you will have plenty of local options.
You might be worried what your neighbours will think, but if you have a large garden they may not ever know. In urban areas with tighter space, it just requires a little more thought when planning you beehive location but there are plenty of urban beekeepers. If you make sure the hive entrance isn’t pointed towards any walkways or common areas this reduces collision issues.
You will find that bees work out their flight paths in straight lines from the hive, so if you have your hive entrance facing towards a fence the bees will fly directly upwards to get over it. This means they also go above head height so shouldn’t be irritated by any pesky humans walking across their paths!
I don’t have a garden - what are my options?↓
Beekeeping Equipment - what does it all do?
The Beehive - what are all the parts?↓
The Roof - self-explanatory, but does need to have holes to provide ventilation.
Crown Board - Sometimes called the Internal Roof, this board closes of the top of the hive internally with cut out holes. This allows you to rest a Feeder on top within the hive should you want to supplement the colonies food source - this is usually done when you first get a colony to help build them up, or through winter to get them through the cold without having to venture outside too much.
Super Box - This is the smaller of the boxes that build a hive. The National standard sizes are 15cm x 46cm x 46cm. Super boxes are generally for honey production so your aim is to keep the Queen out of here, although traditional beekeepers may not exclude the queen from certain areas of her palace! Usually you are supplied with 2 super boxes per standard package, although you can add as many as you wish as you look to increase yield - word of warning, only add new super boxes once the previous box is nearly full, otherwise your bees will build a thin channel vertically through your hive from the start and it becomes a nightmare!
Super Frames & Foundation - The frames and foundation are a man-made accompaniment for the bees to build their honeycomb structure. The foundations are made from beeswax, usually collected from the previous years beekeeper yield. These frames are specifically for a Super Box (Height = 14cm).
Queen Excluder - this is a metallic grill plate that is specifically sized to allow worker bees through but be too small to allow the Queen to pass. This is used when you don’t want to let your Queen lay eggs in the super boxes, so that they can be dedicated to honey storage (improving your yield and making extraction easier).
Brood Box - this is a larger version of the Super Box and is where the main body of the colony live. This is the ‘hive hub’ where nearly everything happens but mainly where eggs are laid. Standard National sizes are 22.5cm x 46cm x 46cm.
Brood Frames & Foundation - same as Super Frames & Foundations above, but designed to fit the larger brood box (height = 21.6cm).
Bottom Tray, Entrance Guide with Varroa Inspection board - this is the base to your hive. The mesh tray allows for good ventilation, the entrance guide reduces the size of the entrance to block unwanted guests and gives the bees better control over visitor access. The Varroa Inspection tray lets you check whether your colony has Varroa through catching little mites that fall off the larvae - this is usually only needed at the start and end of the honey season.
The Tools - What do they all do?↓
Beekeeper Suit - The suits main reason is obviously to stop the bees from stinging you, but remember that a bee will only really resort to stinging as a last resort. You will find a large selection of suits from full body, pullovers and just hats with netting - they all work. In reality, the suit you should pick is what makes you feel comfortable when you open up the hive. For a new beginner a full body suit is probably the option, although as you become more comfortable with being around bees you may change this to a pullover just for ease. But always make sure you have your head covered!
Hive Tool - Most hive tools have 2 functions; firstly they are used to clean/scrape the excess propolis off of the hive parts and help separate the boxes when you come to opening up the hive, secondly the other end has a hook so you can get under the frame handles when trying to pull them out for close inspection. The bees will stick everything together so this tool really helps separating it all for inspection.
Smoker - When opening up your hive its commonplace to puff a little smoke into the hive which has a calming affect on the bees. There isn’t a definitive reason why this is the case, although a widely accepted explanation is that the smoke stops the bees communicating through pheromones so they are quite placid when you first go in.
Feeder - A feeder is used to provide your bees with a food source when you may wish to supplement there food intake. It is a container to hold a sugary solution. Usually used for new colonies or during the winter to help build up their energy levels.
Gloves - like the beesuits, there a different levels to gloves. For a quick guide:
- Gloves aren’t necessary, in fact most experienced keepers don’t wear any. You may feel uncomfortable with this at first in terms of protection
- Thick leather gloves are obviously the best defence against stings, but they make it very hard to handle the frames and can result in squashing bees as you can’t get any ‘feel’ into your tips
- Thin rubber gloves allow you to keep the sensitivity in your fingers but also offer you a little protection/piece of mind. We recommend these gloves for beginners