Keeping Bees

VeNT

VeNT

VeNT

Soldato
Joined
9 Jan 2003
Posts
21,158
Location
Cornwall
I was just wondering if anyone here keeps bees?

I've been looking at getting allotment recently and have been thinking that I'd quite like to keep bees too

from what I've read they are not hard to keep and a beehive can be built quite easily (Top Bar)
would the allotment have space for this kinda setup?
 
My Dad used to keep Bees when I was a child. That was before the Varroa Mite took hold. Because of the Mite Bee keeping nowadays is quite intensive and expensive to keep on top of it, and in the end he gave it up,
 
My dad keeps bees at his allotment, main issue is trying to stop them from swarming.

He had it twice, a new queen breaks away and takes a load of workers with it, first time he managed to collect them up and put them in a broad box so end up with 2 nest.

But the 1st hive did it again and he wasn't there to stop it. Down side to this is it drastically reduces the number of workers.

Also the main thing is security as an established hive it work quiet a bit. My dad sells his honey @ £4 a jar

Oh to add you need to build a walled off area for them to be in just to so them can fly over and in, otherwise they will attack you when you are working in the veggie patch
 
I understand that the Varroa mite only attacks two types of bee?
maybe tempted by WILD BEEs
 
My Mum has 2 bee hives. They're pretty easy to keep - she hasn't touched the hive for several years, though in the past has had hives die off from them swarming and not leaving enough to last through the winter. She helps out the council by collecting swarms sometimes, which solves that problem...
 
An allotment doesn't sound like the best place to keep bee's. I'd probably be extremely annoyed if I had the plot next to yours and frequently got stung as I picked my radishes. Or something.
 
AFAIK they tend not to sting that often?
from what I understand they normally only will sting when aggravated/attacked
 
VeNT said:
I was just wondering if anyone here keeps bees?

I've been looking at getting allotment recently and have been thinking that I'd quite like to keep bees too

from what I've read they are not hard to keep and a beehive can be built quite easily (Top Bar)
would the allotment have space for this kinda setup?
Click to expand...

I have one, I take mine for a walk every morning.
 
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