Hi all

[Werbo]

Hi all I've spent the weekend building swarm traps and spending next weekend building national brood hive boxes. I've read and read and finally decided to make a start after years of deliberation. Any advice for a first timer greatly welcomed. I'm north west area.

 

[Robbo8916]

Hi all I've spent the weekend building swarm traps and spending next weekend building national brood hive boxes. I've read and read and finally decided to make a start after years of deliberation. Any advice for a first timer greatly welcomed. I'm north west area.

Hello

I'm near Wigan so not too far from you. My advice is ask questions and read everything you can!

Good luck!

 

[Erichalfbee]

Joining a local association is always a good thing. Most people are comfortable with doing a beginners' course but some are not. Most associations will have a training apiary with weekly meets there in the season so you can at least get your hands into somebody else's bees to practice. With luck you can arrange a mentor. One to one help to advise you out of the scrapes you will get into is invaluable. You'll be able to talk bees with folk who don't get that far away glazed expression you encounter in friends and relatives. Good luck and welcome to the maddest club. Oh and don't rely on YouTube or Facebook but here is good.

 

[birdsandbees]

Any advice for a first timer greatly welcomed. I'm north west area.

yes, stay off this forum! its full of grumpy buggers!

as above, read lots, ask questions then do what you think is right for you and your bees, there's always more than one way to skin a cat, what works for one person and their bees might not be suitable for you and yours, one thing's for sure, asking a question of Beekeepers will give you plenty of answers to chose from

and most importantly... enjoy it

 

[taurus]

Hi Werbo

The Wirral branch do a good training course. Their theory part will have finished now but the practical course will be about to begin. The training apiary has been moved from Ness Gardens to Dale Farm. Look under the Cheshire Beekeepers website and find the Wirral branch.

Finding a local mentor isn't quite so easy but there are people around willing to help.

 

[Codford]

Hi Werbo,

Seconded the advice above about joining your local association and getting some advice/guidance - especially some "hands on" at the branch apiary. Otherwise it's a bit like learning to drive a car with only books and the internet/youtube for reference...

 

[Millet]

Hi all I've spent the weekend building swarm traps and spending next weekend building national brood hive boxes. I've read and read and finally decided to make a start after years of deliberation. Any advice for a first timer greatly welcomed. I'm north west area.

Get This book, it got me going in the right direction and fire a million questions at this forum, there's a lot of good experienced folk on here more than welcome to help, i am a member of nothing and do it on my own, the above i have mentioned has got me into my third year, not without it's ups and down's but i'm still ticking over ok..

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Bee-Manual...coding=UTF8&psc=1&refRID=KNDD8215JHSQT8VWDR02

 

[Werbo]

Hi guys thanks for the advice, I don't really like the idea of joining an association even though I have been told to many times. I have bad experiences with groups as they are often full of egos and politics, both I have no time for. But one thing I have found interesting is reading other people's problems. As for bait hives do the frames I put in need to be old or can I use new ones?


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[Erichalfbee]

One old empty brood frame of known healthy provenance is a good swarm lure and one I have used successfully over and over again. There are people who will tell you it's dangerous insofar as an unhealthy swarm will use any contaminated honey to draw new wax rather than transferring it to new brood.
I put in only one old brood frame and some empty frames with starter strips. If you read Thomas Seeley's Honeybee Democracy he goes into great detail about how scout bees choose a new home. The cavity is measured and scouts actually fly across it, so filling it full of foundation might convince them it is actually smaller than it really is

 

[Werbo]

One old empty brood frame of known healthy provenance is a good swarm lure and one I have used successfully over and over again. There are people who will tell you it's dangerous insofar as an unhealthy swarm will use any contaminated honey to draw new wax rather than transferring it to new brood.
I put in only one old brood frame and some empty frames with starter strips. If you read Thomas Seeley's Honeybee Democracy he goes into great detail about how scout bees choose a new home. The cavity is measured and scouts actually fly across it, so filling it full of foundation might convince them it is actually smaller than it really is

Wow, that is so amazing it's literally put a smile on my face reading it.


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[taurus]

I haven't found the local group to have the negative issues you're worried about. If anything they're quite laid back and take the line that everyone has to find what works for them.