Newbie

[Donks87l]

Hi I am new to all of this. I would love to have a hive which I will make over the coming year once I have researched and read more into everything. Is there any advice or tips you would advise? Or common beginners mistakes?
Thankyou

 

[Markthebuilder]

Don’t be idealistic. Commercial beekeepers use langstroth and commercial hives for good reason painted /stairs or treated pine lasts as long as ceder

 

[Markthebuilder]

Oh and welcome to the forum and good luck

 

[Patrick1]

Hi I am new to all of this. I would love to have a hive which I will make over the coming year once I have researched and read more into everything. Is there any advice or tips you would advise? Or common beginners mistakes?
Thankyou

Welcome
Learn by your mistakes, nearly 20 years and still making mistake I always think I have lots to learn

 

[drdrday]

My top tips:

• Research thoroughly before you settle on a hive type - it's costly, and just plain awkward to decide further down the line that something else suits you better. You probably won't make all of the best choices at first, but at least spending a little time looking at the pros and cons of different set ups will help to avoid some bad decisions. And don't think you'll need every gadget the suppliers try to sell you - all you really need to start is a hive tool, a bee suit and a smoker (or some would say a water spray bottle).
• Spend the next year popping in and reading this forum regularly. The same quandaries and solutions tend to come up at roughly the same points each year so you get a good idea of what you'll be in for, and hopefully most of the challenges you encounter in your first year will be things you've already read about or are at least familiar with.
• Read a good couple of bee books - Haynes beekeeping manual is good for the basics, but there are plenty of others.
• Check out YouTube too - although make sure you focus on the UK beekeepers so that what you're seeing is relevant to this country (Norfolk Honey Company's Beekeeping Basics series is a good place to start).
• Join your local association and see if you can get on a course - do as I say, not as I do on this one as this really isn't my thing and I've never been near my association. However, I can't dispute that actually being in the thick of a hive full of bees will at least let you know quickly if beekeeping is really for you.

Good luck!

 

[Curly green finger's]

Don’t be idealistic. Commercial beekeepers use langstroth and commercial hives for good reason painted /stairs or treated pine lasts as long as ceder

Not all

 

[madasafish]

Not all

Just 99.1% in the world use Langstroth.

 

[Curly green finger's]

Just 99.1% in the world use Langstroth.

Do they, I also use 14x12s I think that's big enough of a frame for black bees.

 

[Murox]

Hi I am new to all of this. I would love to have a hive which I will make over the coming year once I have researched and read more into everything. Is there any advice or tips you would advise? Or common beginners mistakes?
Thankyou

Perhaps the very first thing to do is to examine exactly why you want honey bees; then think about where you are going to locate them - the rear garden might seem fine but consider the proximity to other people. If you are unconstrained by heavy lifting and want maximum honey return give very serious consideration to Langstroth hives, which incidentally are easier to build from scratch than the british national, and they are also cheaper to buy as a hive and they come in polystyrene as well and there are three basic frame sizes for them. Slightly lighter british standard national hives are probably the most commonly used hive amongst hobbyist keepers and have been around a very long time in britain.
Here is a LINK to the Norfolk Honey Company videos on utube. As drdrday mentioned they are pretty reliable and cover different types of hive as well as general beekeeping.

 

[Malcolm Stamp]

I use Langstroth because they are so easy to make and they don’t have the stupid planted on side pieces of a national that are an invitation to rot. If I was to start again knowing what I know now I would use nothing but deep langstroth supers for both brood and supers.

 

[Patrick1]

I am a big fan of Langstroth, like majority in the UK I was encouraged to start with Nationals then realised that beekeeping in a National requires so much more effort.

 

[Murox]

I use Langstroth because they are so easy to make and they don’t have the stupid planted on side pieces of a national that are an invitation to rot. If I was to start again knowing what I know now I would use nothing but deep langstroth supers for both brood and supers.

OOH my aching back and bulging forceps, thats a heavy box when its got honey in it.

 

[Patrick1]

No one said you have to lift a box off in one go, when I had upto 20 hives I would use a wheelbarrow with empty supers in it and decant the supers from the hive into it, sealed by two spare roofs.

 

[gmonag]

I use Langstroth because they are so easy to make and they don’t have the stupid planted on side pieces of a national that are an invitation to rot. If I was to start again knowing what I know now I would use nothing but deep langstroth supers for both brood and supers.

Do you mean Langstroth Mediums?
Many do just that, in USA and elsewhere.

 

[ChrisS]

Our local beeks around Felixstowe mostly use Commercial brood boxes and National supers. A couple of my colonies in Commercials are on 9 frames of brood - that would be brood-and-a-half National which is double the work, or 14x12 which is harder to manipulate. Commercial boxes are cheaper and easier to assemble too. National supers though, because I have a dodgy back and full Commercial supers are heavy & difficult to lift off a tall stack.

The main advantage of Commercial over Langstroth is the opportunity for endless debate about arranging brood frames warm way or cold way. My bees really don't care!

 

[Donks87l]

Thanks guys, I have been reading a bit more lately I will have a look into langstroth hives. I was mainly looking at nationals before just to get a idea of how it all works, I still haven't settled on what one I would prefer. But gives me more to research noe

 

[robert gallacher]

Thanks guys, I have been reading a bit more lately I will have a look into langstroth hives. I was mainly looking at nationals before just to get a idea of how it all works, I still haven't settled on what one I would prefer. But gives me more to research noe

You have to have a double brood box if you use Nationals as a good Queen can run out of space to lay up, quickly.
Langstroth hives are far easier to build yourself so build a few.
With2 colonies you can balance them out and fix problems easier.

 

[Curly green finger's]

I am a big fan of Langstroth, like majority in the UK I was encouraged to start with Nationals then realised that beekeeping in a National requires so much more effort.

I'm wondering the same hmm but then black bees to me suite St national and 14x12s.
Bees type for a specific box maybe?
Unless you get lots of hybrid vigour and the colony need three St national.

 

[madasafish]

You have to have a double brood box if you use Nationals as a good Queen can run out of space to lay up, quickly.
Langstroth hives are far easier to build yourself so build a few.
With2 colonies you can balance them out and fix problems easier.

One big colony produces far more honey than 2 smaller ones: it's all about bees surplus to housekeeping requirements..

 

[user 20297]

Hi I am new to all of this. I would love to have a hive which I will make over the coming year once I have researched and read more into everything. Is there any advice or tips you would advise? Or common beginners mistakes?
Thankyou

I would advise that, whilst you should listen and act on all the good advice you'll get on here, also take my bad advice.....get some bees as soon as is feasible.