so what's your secret to successful beekeeping

[lukestew]

just thought i would go out on a limb and see what comes back.
Ive had bees a good while now and got really into it before the wife, kids, and full time job reduced my focus on the bees. So i will be the first to say that i dont really give the bees the time they need.
Now im having a hard time keeping bees alive and have lost alot of bees over the last few winters. Had twelve hives at 3 different sites, breed my own queens got plenty of honey etc...now have three hives and only one is doing well. Some losses are due to poor management... My bees do have some varroa. Sometimes swarm. Get well fed in the winter. Dont get mucked around with too much and dont seem to do very well .....
So how do you busy working folk keep your bees 'well'

Is the secret to it swarm control
varroa control?
Nosema treatment?
Plenty of food stores for the winter?
Not taking much honey?
Not messing with them too much?
Top bar hives ... ?
Clean wax combs ?
Black bees?
Carnolians ?
Micro management ?
leave alone amnagement?
magic wonder something whatever...?
Just wondered whats your secret for well kept bees.?
in advance

 

[oliver90owner]

Thinking.

 

[Oscarmonster]

He's obviously done some of that already.

 

[Galaxy55]

Probably a bit of all of those things at the right time.

 

[mbc]

Is the secret to it swarm control Helps
varroa control? Helps
Nosema treatment?
Plenty of food stores for the winter?Helps
Not taking much honey?
Not messing with them too much?Helps
Top bar hives ... ?
Clean wax combs ?
Black bees? Helps, if they're the right kind of black bees
Carnolians ? could help, if you keep bees in Carniola
Micro management ?
leave alone amnagement?
magic wonder something whatever...?
Just wondered whats your secret for well kept bees.?Helps to let the bees do the work for you
in advance

..

 

[masterBK]

Years of experience has taught me to be proactive as much as possible rather than reactive ie trying to keep one step ahead by reading the colony and responding accordingly. Being flexible in my management as no system suits all colonies.

 

[poshpikey]

Lots and lots of reading so that hopefully I can tell what is going on and know what to do!

 

[lukestew]

He's obviously done some of that already.

yep ...thanks

 

[Apple]

Listen to your bees, they will tell you what they want.

Do not deceive them.
If you do they will fly away.

James

 

[richardbees]

inter alia ....learn to keep your Smoker going on standby for as long as you're opening hives.

 

[Somerford]

Experience
A mentor at the start
Reading lots of bee books and having them to hand if I forget
An apiary that ticks all the boxes
Having a plan, then changing it if the bees do their usual thing by not sticking to the first plan.....

Regards

S

 

[REDWOOD]

You need a better gene pool obviously your own queens are not the best by the sound of things. When a colony dies do you investigate the root of the cause

 

[Jeff Buzz]

Give your bees plenty of room to expand dont think that just because your bee hive kit came with a queen excluder that it always needs to be on the hive only use it when you actually have a job for it to do.

In my book number one in beekeeping getting lots of bees and I dont care where they lay just let them go.

and this....

Years of experience has taught me to be proactive as much as possible rather than reactive ie trying to keep one step ahead by reading the colony and responding accordingly. Being flexible in my management as no system suits all colonies.

 

[Jeff Buzz]

Give your bees plenty of room to expand dont think that just because your bee hive kit came with a queen excluder that it always needs to be on the hive only use it when you actually have a job for it to do.

In my book number one in beekeeping getting lots of bees and I dont care where they lay just let them go.

and this....

Years of experience has taught me to be proactive as much as possible rather than reactive ie trying to keep one step ahead by reading the colony and responding accordingly. Being flexible in my management as no system suits all colonies.

 

[beeno]

Timing - as in most businesses. If you don't make a decision in time, someone else will make it for you! No good being reactive in beekeeping as if will often be too late.

 

[madasafish]

Observing and planning.

I found "At the hive entrance " by H Storch told me more about beekeeping and what is happening than any other single book or lesson..

http://tinyurl.com/la4yrmd

 

[user 6228]

I'm not a successful beekeeper, but I would add, think "how would bees react to this change, if they were in a tree nest".

 

[Chris B]

Find good productive apiaries.

Breed good productive bees.

If you achieve that then you'll do well.

 

[Ely]

Hmm 'leave alone beekeeping'. That's an ironic sentence. It would be like calling yourself a hobbyist in falconry because you have birds of prey nesting in your garden bird box.

 

[richardbees]

Hmm 'leave alone beekeeping'. That's an ironic sentence. It would be like calling yourself a hobbyist in falconry because you have birds of prey nesting in your garden bird box.