I’ve spent a lot of time on this site telling you that bees aren’t aggressive and won’t sting if you leave them alone. Unfortunately, beekeepers don’t have this luxury. While every effort is made to treat our bees with care, we handle them, and their hives, directly. Getting stung by your own bees is inevitable, and sore (no matter how many times it happens).
Beekeeping is a fun, fascinating, and rewarding hobby, but it can be intimidating to first-timers. It’s not exactly a matter of jumping right in whenever you feel like it. You’ll need to prepare, and you have to invest in some necessary tools of the trade.
Collecting honey is perhaps the most popular part of beekeeping. It’s the fruits of the bees’ and your labor. In fact, many people become beekeepers solely because they want to harvest honey.
Whether you want to keep your honey or sell it to others, honey harvesting needs specialized tools. Let’s take a look at one of the most hotly-debated tools: honey extractors.
As a beekeeper, a bee smoker will likely become your best friend. Bee smokers are essential equipment or anyone working with and around bees. The smoke they emit soothes the bees, making them less likely to attack while you’re inspecting their home.
It can, however, be tricky to use one, though. This is why we’ve created this guide for you. We’ve included everything, from the best bee smokers and fuels, to the how-tos.
Most people assume that bee hives are the stereotypical mounds we see hanging from trees, exaggerated in cartoons. In reality, the word bee hive specifically implies that it’s manmade. That’s where bee hive boxes come in. They’re built to contain bee nests as naturally as possible, in such a way that humans can manage what goes on inside them.
Mites are the sworn enemies of honeybees and beekeepers alike—these tiny pests are known for causing great distress within a beehive. Fortunately, experts have found that using an oxalic acid vaporizer can keep them from causing too much damage.
By using an oxalic acid vaporizer, beekeepers can now safely prevent these mites from destroying their colonies. Today we’ve put together a complete guide to help you find the best oxalic acid vaporizer. We’ve also included a small guide to using them toward the end.