Beekeeping for beginners Part 10 bees, honey homesteading

[mechanicalbu11]

You might want to try foundationless technique, i experimented with it and it woks fine but the best thing is it dose not cost you a thing to use this method. In a SHIT situation. This method lets the bees build their comb as they do in nature Google:"Foundationless frames bees" for more info.

[selfreliantboy]

nice video

[403766]

Wow yor hive is pretty impressive. Can you keep honeybees in wales where he weather isn't that great do you know thank you?

[buckstarchaser]

I saw in some of your other bee videos that it looks like you have several hives close together. Is it possible that since they were close together that it allowed the pests and illnesses to quickly travel from hive to hive to multiply your problem? My guess (and I've never raised bees) is that you may gain some protection by separating your hives a bit.

Also, I've recently read that growing mint near your hive boxes will result in your bees landing on it where the mint fumes suppress pests.

[quetzalandia]

how can i get one those bees for my artritis?

[slacker361]

even though the comb is ruined can you still use the wax? once melted all the garbae should sink to the bottom.

[nilrebs]

ITALIAN BEES OR APIS MELLIFERA

[BeeBoyVirts]

What type of bees do you like to use??

[SurvivalReport]

@BeeBoyVirts  These were Italian.

[BeeBoyVirts]

Do you like to use Italian over Russian?

[BeeBoyVirts]

oh, and what are Apis Mellifera?

[adryden]

Breaks my heart...

[SurvivalReport]

Yep. Nasty stuff.

[singful]

POW???

[buckstarchaser]

@singful PAW = Post Apocalyptic World. In the event of the world as we know it changing for the worse, this man and his family prepare to be self-sustaining by making their own food and power, etc.. Basically a commonsense, back to earth lifestyle that would benefit everyone for general reasons and not just one specific one.

[kick0yr0ass0blue]

My neigborhood is spraying for mosquitoes, will this harm my bees?

[SurvivalReport]

Definitely won't HELP them. Go talk to your mosquito control folks, you might be able to work something out.

[kick0yr0ass0blue]

What would you recomend should be your basic stock of medications for a beginner bee keeper? What brands are most reliable?

[SurvivalReport]

You need Terramycin for AFB and EFB. They are beginning to recommend Fumigil B again for Nosema.

[kick0yr0ass0blue]

are there any diseases or pets that seem to be more common in certain areas of the U.S.? also, i live in northern Illinois, the winter's here usualy get around -10 the coldest, should i use 2 or 3 brood boxes?

[SurvivalReport]

We use 2 deeps down here as a minimum for overwintering. 90% of the time this has been enough, last winter we lost one and all the cells were empty with a few bees dead head first in them (possibly starvation). But we had a unusually cold winter this year. Check with a LOCAL beekeeper, might need at least 3 up there. We also feed pretty much year round. Good luck.

[winterskyshadow35]

You said in the begining of this video, that you might use bleach to clean the plastic, but you didn't seem to like that idea very much. I have an alternative for you! Use lemon juice instead! it does the same exact thing as bleach without the toxic qualities of bleach. I use baking soda and lemon juice instead of commercial cleaners in my home for just that reason.

Happy Day,

Eva

[donttrustsnowmen]

What would you recommend for small hive beetles?

I bought a hive from a local beekeeper that is eaten up with these little beast..

I would like to use something all natural,,and have bought the Hood beetle trap,but it doesnt work as well as advertised.

Thanks for the great videos.

[SurvivalReport]

We have a few hive beetles. I chase them down every hive we open and crush them with the hive tool. I believe it is "Check Mite" that is supposed to help with hive beetles as well as when you have mites. Be REALLY careful if you use anything like that, the directions and cautions on the box kinda make you wonder. It's an organophosphate based product, so you may be able to test your old stocks of atropine if you use it incorrectly :)

[donttrustsnowmen]

Yea,I really hate chemicals,,tryin to do all natural,,so far its been 10 months and I havent used ANY chemicals,have had lotz of luck with the oil bottom traps.

[bozzchem]

Excellent videos and very enlightening!

Once I started pricing the equipment for getting from hive to jar, I quickly realized it was no different than when I started brewing beer. By the time you pump out the coin for the equipment and get yourself comfortable with the process-you could have bought enough beer (honey in this case) to last for many years.

25 gallons of honey goes a LONG way and costs far less than half of that for the equipment needed for production.

Still considering...

[SurvivalReport]

I agree. But 25 gallon jugs of honey won't pollinate your garden and fruit trees though. Nor act as a deterrent to trespassers either. ;)

[bozzchem]

touche! Their pollination potential outweighs any other cost involved. What good is a garden without them?

[ryer9000]

you videos are great. im very interested in starting a colony. what book do you recommend for beginners that has the most practical advise on keeping bees. thanks

[SurvivalReport]

ABC's of Beekeeping is good. There is a video/DVD set that was on GA public TV "A year in the life of an apiary" that Keith Delaplane did years ago. Dr. Delaplane is "the man" when it comes to beekeeping. You can usually find a set on Ebay under "beekeeping." I would highly recommend ANYTHING Delaplane authored. Good luck! If you have any questions please let us know! SR

[keyofliberty]

Could I use Brushy Mountain Frames with another companies hive body/super?

[SurvivalReport]

Yes. Everyone uses standard Langstroth dimensions. Only difference will be Deep hive body, medium hive body or shallow super. Width of frames will be the same but they will get SHORTER in height from deep (over 9 inches) down to medium than shallow. I'd advise using standard 10 frame hive equipment. Down here we use 2 Deep bodies, then a shallow super for honey. Even down south, the bees use almost a full deep super of honey every winter. You have to leave some for them to make the winter thru.

[jc7622]

I'm in the learning phase. You say that you use two deep boxes and then only harvest from a super on top of those two. What size super do you use? Also, do you put a queen excluder in there somewhere (under the super, under the top deep box)?

[SurvivalReport]

We use shallow supers for "our" part of the honey crop. Now this depends greatly on what area of the country you are in. If it gets really cold where you are, they may need 3 or more full deeps just to make it through the winter. We are in the south with somewhat mild winters. Good luck!

[idahoswarmbegin]

Caught a swarm, no equipment stuck in a cardboard box 15 days ago. Have new equipment (no queen secluders) What would be best way to move temporary hive for success.

[SurvivalReport]

Have you checked in on them in the cardboard box?

[idahoswarmbegin]

Haven't opened yet, have observed alot of activity. Going to open towards evening to make the switch. Been thinking about cutting the branch if everything looks ok, and removing some frames and depositing the swarm and brood and honey into the hive with less frames to make room or to shake them check the comb for larvae or pupae and tying it into a open frame with string????? Depends on what I see, maybe get lucky and spot the queen. I'll let you know what I find>

[SurvivalReport]

We've had good luck with the Brushy "superframes" which are wood frame with plastic foundation. For a 10 frame setup you would need (10) of item 228B. This is going to make it a bit easier for a beginner also- not having to assemble the frames. A deep hive body will be necessary (#371DT- unassembled but very easy to assemble)as well as a bottom board- either IPM screened (#277) or solid (#668) and a telescoping top cover (#667) and perhaps an inner cover (#671) if you live in a cold climate .

[frozentootsiepop]

I'm very interested in starting a hive of my own and I just finished watching 1-10 of your bee videos. I'm now on Brushy mountains website and trying to pick a good hive. Can you tell me which one you used? Would a beginners kit be adequate?

[SurvivalReport]

to resort to using an insecticide to SAVE trees and fruit crops. Ironic that the "tree hugging hippie" types would rather sacrifice trees than use a short term insecticide to SAVE the trees.... Makes you kinda wonder huh??? :)

[SurvivalReport]

The problem with refusing to use chemicals- as I have done here- is that eventually you WILL have losses. If your homesteading/raising food for just a "hobby", it's one thing, when your family is depending on the food you grow for there sustenance, it's something completely different. It's easy for folks with OPINIONS but not EXPERIENCE to say "don't ever use commercial fertilizer, pesticides, etc." It's much harder to actually produce a significant amount of food without SOMETIMES having- cont.