Beekeeping

[Beekeeper]

Check this site out and feel free to contact an association or club that is in your area. They will be happy to help you get started in beekeeping. Now is the time to begin looking at it because if you wait untill April or May it will be too late to get started.


http://www.tnbeekeepers.org/

Here are some websites for equipment:

http://kelleybees.com/CMS/CMSPage.aspx? ... 6f3d4e5214

http://www.brushymountainbeefarm.com/?g ... gwod2WulJg

These are the two places I use most of the time but there are many more.

 

[catman529]

Thanks this is something I would love to do in the future. I found a swarm a couple years ago and caught it bare handed but had nowhere to keep them other than the cardboard box which they stayed in for a few days...

I can't afford all the gear right now so maybe another year I will get into it...also when I have a house in a better location (as I am in college living with the parents right now).

 

[Beekeeper]

You would be supprised where people keep bees!!!

 

[catman529]

Sure I bet they would do fine in the backyard if a) the parents were OK with it and b) the neighbors were OK with it (they probably would be as long as there were no allergic people). However I do have a 3 year old sister as well and I think it would just work out better to wait till I have my own place to settle down.

they are just cool though, watching their nonstop work throughout the day. The swarm was the coolest to see and a bit of a challenge to put into a box. But I had them in the box with only being stung 3 times in the hand.

 

[CATCHDAWG]

I would be one of the allergic people...

 

[WTM]

i used to get most of my stuff from
http://www.dadant.com/

i havent kept bees in 5 years but i wish i had some more now but gonna wait till i get my house built in the country. lol i used to have my hives behind a fence in my subdivision, they werent a problem cause their flight path was as high as the fence.

if you ever get into beekeeping, make sure you read george imirie's pink pages on the web. and remember you have to have your hives registered with the state.

 

[WTM]

other than package bees, another source of bees is with your local pest control company. honeybees are illegal to kill, so if you are friendly with them they will give you a call when they have a bee complaint. an ad in the paper when swarm season starts is also another good source of free bees.