novice

[carpinus]

Hello,Im a total newcomer to beekeeping,
living in Isleworth/Hounslow area of West
London.
Have bought a hive and in the process of
getting the other stuff. How do the rest of you
go about getting bees?,I've looked at buying
them by mail order but working within a budget,
or trying to! So wondered if there was a more
obvious/inexpensive/local solution.
Any advice would be welcome. Thanks
Tony

 

[region2]

Welcome Tony

I suggest you join your local association to find the best local source for bees (and for courses on how to look after bees...)

R2

 

[Easy Beesy]

Hi tony
What kind of hive have you bought?
Eb

 

[rbaz]

Read read and read some more is the best advice I can give. Loads of info available on this site and get a good book. Would also try to find a mentor , association or somebody willing to give you a hand.

 

[DarynWebb]

Get yourself some books to read also you will learn alot just by reading on forum, trust me there is alot to learn the cost of some bee keeping items is a big one

oh and welcome

 

[biglongdarren]

read alot and try and get yourself a experienced beekeeper as your new best friend,join your local association and the best of luck.
Darren

 

[itma]

I suggest you join your local association to find the best local source for bees (and for courses on how to look after bees...)

read alot and try and get yourself a experienced beekeeper as your new best friend,join your local association and the best of luck.

The point being that you can obtain bees (locally adapted mongrels) through your local association. Whether deliberately produced from known stock, or pot-luck from a captured swarm can be your choice (and choice of how much to pay).
Sure you can buy much more expensive pedigree stock, but let that come later.
Once you have an established colony, you might contemplate bringing in a different queen, to alter the colony's characteristics (and character - learning is easier if you don't have to battle with agressively-defensive bees!)

Without wanting to pre-empt your learning, the 'breeding season' for bee colonies doesn't get going for another couple of months.
So you have time for learning!
Take a look at the Haynes Bee Manual for a first book.

 

[Hivemaker.]

I have deleted some posts in this thread, after a few complaints,if some are incapable of offering helpful, friendly advice to new beekepers,and members of this forum,then don't bother posting anything.

Sorry about this Carpinus,and welcome to the forum.

 

[onriver]

Hi Carpinus - as before, welcome and ta to Hivemaker for moderating some excesses!
There's a lot of information out there, to a point where it can become overwhelming and can seem contradictory when you first go through it.
For me the important point was having access to high quality information at the point it was needed - your first bees will test your confidence, then go on to test your knowledge and you'll return to the point of having the confidence to stick with that knowledge.
People have kept bees for a fair bit now and will have gone through the same process you are going through - use us and enjoy your beekeeping!

 

[REDWOOD]

Welcome to this forum and to the wonderful world of beekeeping, Take a beekeeping course read lots of books,there are free ones on the net look for pdf beekeeping books, also fera is brilliant, your budget will fly out of the window just buy wisely and you should start with 2 hives, there are lots of beekeepers out there who will be more than willing to help you, as for your bees goggle bee breeders, I traveled 35 miles to get my first nuc.
Good Luck

 

[Queens59]

Local association - or make friends with a pest controller or swarm collector...but make sure you know the basics, raed books, have a knowledgeable friend and have a good back-up mentor. Bees unfortunately haven't read the books we have so don't always do as expected.

 

[beeboybee]

Read read read..... But what helped me the most was a local association course and attending the monthly meetings I then offered my help to any established beekeepers, this lead to me watching them work the bees and also good contacts for when things go wrong. I spent my first summer doing this and was really glad I waited until I felt confident before getting my bees, so much so that I was given a Nuc as an elderly beek I had helped out was so impressed I had not rushed out and bought a Nuc before I had spent anytime near a full colony.

 

[Tom Bick]

Welcome Tony I never got to see the deleted posts so don’t know if they have made you decide this is not a place for you?

You can if you want to contact me with a pm I am based in Hounslow and know of a few beekeepers that may have some spare bees that if all the boxes are ticked may sort you out.

I can also point you in the direction of the local associations.

Failing that you can always set up your hive as a bait hive and go fishing as to say for a swarm.

 

[Monsieur Abeille]

Hi Tom - a sticky thread for new beekeepers, may be of use

http://www.beekeepingforum.co.uk/showthread.php?t=14770

Whoops, sorry TONY (guess Tom knows a bit more)

 

[Luminos]

Welcome to the forum, Tony

 

[BeeNice]

Hi and welcome to the forum.
Only buy bees from someone you know or are recommended to you. As said, join an association, learn from others, go on a beginners course, read and learn as much as you can before you buy. Buy a nuc to start with, then you grow your knowledge of the bees as they expand. Bees should be available from May, you will have to let the seller that you want to buy as they can sell out. Take someone along who knows about beekeeping when you buy. You have lots of time to find out about beekeeping before you get your first colony. Don't get your bees until you know something of beekeeping as there are many a trap out there and not every bee seller can be trusted, as in life in general, buyer beware. Buy locally if you can. Good luck with your future beekeeping.
regards
Steven

 

[Beanwood]

Hello,Im a total newcomer to beekeeping,
living in Isleworth/Hounslow area of West
London.
Have bought a hive and in the process of
getting the other stuff. How do the rest of you
go about getting bees?,I've looked at buying
them by mail order but working within a budget,
or trying to! So wondered if there was a more
obvious/inexpensive/local solution.
Any advice would be welcome. Thanks
Tony

Hi Carpinus
I'm a complete novice too. I did a one day course back in September and decided I really wanted to know more. I'm now on my local Bee Keeping Association (BKA) course, and learning LOADS. I'd really recommend you do one if possible - there's an awful lot to learn - like how to avoid the bees you're going to buy from disappearing in a swarm (Last Mondays lesson ).
My association also provide a 'free bees' scheme - perhaps your local one does also? Spend the money joining a course, get the bees for free, and a mentor to assist when things don't go according to the book (Apparently bees don't always read the books)
Best of luck whichever way you go.

 

[nelletap]

Welcome. I am just a few years ahead of you, just starting my third year but didn't get bees until quite late in the first year. Joining a local BKA or finding a mentor is likely to save you money in the long run. Beekeepers seem to be a helpful crowd. Having a bait hive might be worth a try - especially if you can find some equipment that has been amongst bees which seems to be a clincher - again the BKA or a mentor is most likely to be able to help you. Most BKA's have newsletters and the small ads in these tend to offer some comfort as far as buying bees and not buying problems is concerned. You could try searching on Google for 'BKA newsletter bees sale' - one of the great things about the initials BKA is that you rarely get non bee links. There are several blogs from beekeepers which can give you other ideas - search on google using words like 'beginner bee keeper apiary hive' and I'm sure you'll find more tips. Local to me there is a volunteer project putting an apiary and bees at hughenden Manor NT property. It arose from a bequest. As well as some more experienced beekeepers several new ones are learning from the practical experience and it is nice for them if they have not yet got their own bees. We even have a Peruvian beekeeper adding a more international view to our knowledge. It is a fair exchange - volunteer some time in exchange for some knowledge and experience. Oh and keep reading here. Good luck.
Tricia