Newbee shopping list

[Murox]

Swienty National Poly Hive with 2 Supers, Frames & Foundation - £169.99
Swienty National 14 x 12 Poly Hive with 2 Supers,Frames & Foundation - £189.99

 

[madasafish]

You will need to store it all.
And then some more.

Shelving up to 2 meters high is very useful if not essential. Preferably lots of it easily accessible.

Nothing worse than having bought something you cannot then find it as your storage system is disfunctional.
Been there,

 

[Poly Hive]

No one has mentioned clearer boards. Easy to make and pretty foolproof.

I just bought a three layer ventilated suit for £40 delivered from Pakistan.

T best hive for bees is poly as they love the warmth. Your CB again is simple to make and far better without those daft holes made for the equally useless porter escapes.
I just saved you £100.

PH

 

[bunbury]

Sorry your not near Shrewsbury as having reached 92 I have to give up beekeeping so I have to get rid of everything that you might need and lots more

 

[Poly Hive]

F acebook market place is the go to now for selling kit.

PH

 

[Big ears]

Sorry your not near Shrewsbury as having reached 92 I have to give up beekeeping so I have to get rid of everything that you might need and lots more

So am I!!

 

[TomH]

Haven’t made my mind up yet on wood vs poly. Leaning towards wood on less plastic grounds but still doing research.

Plastic/plastic based products are not inherently bad. Plastic is a fantastic material, it is our single use mentality and the economics of recycling that are the real issue.

I would hazard a guess that the plastic takeaway containers you throw away that end up in landfill will be far more environmentally damaging than a poly hive that could last you 30+ years, disposed of properly.

I have both poly and wooden hives (insulated with cork) and like them both. Would certainly buy more poly hives when the time comes. Consider what is best for your bees, to achieve the same levels of insulation as a poly hive, you'd be looking at wood 6" thick.

 

[Curly green finger's]

That's more like it.

Forget the idea that one brood and two supers (standard supplier combo) will be enough, because when your queen fills the brood box quickly and a major flow starts, you're stuffed. I'd stock an extra brood per colony and as JBM said, three supers.

In the height of the season the last thing that you want to do is go online to order extras and find they're out of stock, or will be with you in a week. No matter the upfront expense, you can recoup some of it by selling honey at a good price at the end of the season.

OP doesn't know what his flows are like yet
I agree with you though Eric and jbm.
@Big ears i was wondering have you spent any time this year having a walk around to see what forage there is for your bees.
Maybe even look at Google earth and map a 1 and 3-4 mile circle around where they will be sited.

 

[Poly Hive]

I have found that an average of 3 supers works well..in general. There are the odd seasons when it's a stretch yes. But not enough to push me to 4.
Two full supers can be cleared into the 3d. Extracted and one put back to stimulate more collecting. Some colonies will need 4, aome just the one and so on.

PH

 

[Moobee]

Haven’t made my mind up yet on wood vs poly. Leaning towards wood on less plastic grounds but still doing research.

If wood, then a buy a deep roof and put a block of celotex in it.

 

[Moobee]

Thanks that’s a good addition

Don’t waste your time with a bee brush! I bought one as a newbee, the bees hate it. And so do I!

 

[Big ears]

OP doesn't know what his flows are like yet
I agree with you though Eric and jbm.
@Big ears i was wondering have you spent any time this year having a walk around to see what forage there is for your bees.
Maybe even look at Google earth and map a 1 and 3-4 mile circle around where they will be sited.

Been tied up since early august with treatment but where I live is very rural. We have loads of blackthorn early season, then may blossom, lots of ash, sycamore, oak and hazel. Later on blackberry and meadow flowers. There is some Himalayan balsam but I try and eradicate that if I can.
There is no rape nearby as mainly wheat and cauliflowers.
Now there is tonnes of ivy out as well as campion. Blackberry still flowering but much less and will continue probably for next couple of weeks.
Hope this helps.

BE

 

[coffindodger]

extra hive tool - paint yellow and blowlamp to light smoker

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

blowlamp to light smoker

or vehicle

 

[Apiarisnt]

This combination:



Option 1: Read the book and use the matches to prop open the roof of your hive
Option 2: Use the matches to set fire to the book

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

Option 2 would be the only option really - it's the only way the slightly sane person could hope to finish it.

 

[North End Bees]

I just bought a three layer ventilated suit for £40 delivered from Pakistan.

What is the veil like on this suit?
I usually wear a BB wear suit but have a SBK one for backup. In certain lights I've found the SBK veil difficult to see through properly when looking for eggs, etc.

 

[fizzle]

Don’t waste your time with a bee brush! I bought one as a newbee, the bees hate it. And so do I!

Depends what you use the brush for. I find it handy for removing a few stragglers from supers. I've never tried it for brushing bees off a frame.

 

[Patrick1]

Don’t waste your time with a bee brush! I bought one as a newbee, the bees hate it. And so do I!

When looking for queen cells how do you clear a frame without a brush ?

 

[Patrick1]

extra hive tool - paint yellow and blowlamp to light smoker

Yellow painted hive tools are generally made from mild steel, buy a decent stainless one and keep it in your hand, when not in the soda box. Learn to work with it, like it was one of your fingers.