Article From SubmitYOURArticle.com: Beekeeping Supplies

Prior to taking delivery of bees, you need to
start getting things ready and that includes
getting the right beekeeper supplies. To prevent
diseases from other bee hives from infecting your
new hive, it's highly recommended that you
purchase new beekeeper supplies instead of buying
used.

Beekeeper Supplies for the Bees

- Hive - There are many different types of
beehives, and choosing one will be largely
influenced by whether or not you intend to do
beekeeping as a business or hobby as well as your
decision to purchase at beehive or build your
own. If you're going to build your own beehive
you can find a lot of different plans on the
internet - just make sure the plans contain
step-by-step instructions, diagrams or pictures,
and contact information should you need further
support. Tip - to make collecting the honey
easier, put a wax foundation in.

- Syrup - To prevent your bees from starving to
death when food is scarce, provide your bees with
a sugar syrup. Normally bees can find enough
food on their own, but this is just cheap
insurance. It may also be more important in
cooler climates, but doesn't hurt to have this
anywhere.

- Feeder - A feeder is used to feed the bees
syrup. A top feeder will hold several gallons of
syrup. There is a screen to prevent the bees
from drowning. Make sure the cover fits tightly.
This will prevent bees from other colonies from
robbing the syrup.

Beekeeper Supplies (Beekeeper)

- Protective Gear - This is extremely important.
Protective gear includes a beekeeping suit, a
hat, veil, and gloves. Make sure the suit is
white or light colored to reduce the risk of the
bees attacking. They sometime confuse dark
colors with predators. Bees tend to sting the
face and neck the most.

- Smoker - This is not the type that the Surgeon
General provides warnings for, it's a small tool
designed to blow smoke at the bees to calm them
down. How does this work? Well guard bees produce
and release pheromones when the hive is under
attack. The smoke masks these pheromones
allowing the beekeeper to get into the hive and
work. Smokers burn a variety of fuels.

- Equipment for Handling the Honey - A honey
extractor and container is needed for handling
honey. The honey extractor will take the honey
from the honeycomb without destroying it. Be
sure to have a clean container to put the honey
in.

- Hive Tool - This tool opens the hives. It
scrapes wax and propolis and pries the frames
apart.

How to Purchase Bees

To reduce the likelihood of introducing foreign
diseases, a local beekeeper is a great source to
purchase your bees. As an added bonus, these bees
will be acclimatized to the weather and seasonal
conditions in your area.

normally you have two options to buy bees. The
first method is to purchase them as a package,
which is not recommended, as the bees are usually
assembled from several different hives and a
queen bee is added. Not only is this stressful,
but increases the chance of disease. A better
alternative is to purchase a Nuc hive.

A Nuc hive is similar to a regular hive, except
that it is a smaller version. Bees are just
split off from the same larger hive, which will
include five frames of honey, brood, and pollen.
This supply will help give them a head start in
the spring without forcing them to go out to find
their food source immediately. It is also
important to claim your bees during the winter
months. You can do this by putting a down
payment on them. Bees will be hard to get if you
wait until spring.

Once you purchase the basic beekeeper supplies,
you will be ready to purchase your first swarm of
bees!

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Get a free 10 lesson beekeeping course and learn
more about beekeeping supplies and other
beekeeping information at
http://www.beekeepingstarterguide.com/beekeeper-su
pplies

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