Should I Keep Bees - What Do I Need To Start Beekeeping - Starting to Keep Bees

Should I Keep Bees - What Do I Need To Start Beekeeping - Starting to Keep Bees

If you are wondering, should I keep bees or what do I need to start beekeeping then this video will help you on your journey of starting to keep bees.

What do I need to keep bees successfully? This video gives you a checklist of all of the things you need to buy when starting out.

I provide a bees equipment checklist to ensure you have everything to start beekeeping the UK or start beekeeping in the USA.

When you are starting out beekeeping its best to have everything ready and prepared so you can react to any beekeeping situation that arises.

I am often asked how to start beekeeping or what do I need to keep beehives and the first thing you need is somewhere to locate your apiary. I always recommend an out apiary as opposed to keeping them in a small garden. I have another video that shows you how to build an apiary.

When is best to start beekeeping? Probably in the early spring with an overwintered nuc so you have time to learn how to manage bees before you have to prepare them to overwinter.

In this video I run through a checklist of what you need to prepare for your first colony of bees.

I discuss the following topics:

Types of Nuc
Equipment
PPE
Location
Installing the Nuc
First Inspections
Weekly Inspections
Swarm Management

Black Mountain Honey is a No Nonsense Beekeeping Channel.

We are based in North Wales and manage around 150 colonies of bees, plus nucleus colonies.

We produce Great Taste Award winning honey and sell nucleus colonies to members of the public.

Our 6 frame overwintered nucleus colonies sell out very fast every year so early ordering is advisable.

We supply F1 Mated Buckfast Queens throughout the season. These are genetics used by the UK's biggest bee farmer - Murray McGregor - and are not available to general public, except through resellers like us! Check out our queens page on our website.

We are passionate about beekeeping and really enjoy helping beekeepers through our YouTube channel.

On our channel you can find information on making splits with swarm cells, making increase with queen cells, grafting larvae, foulbrood and disease inspection, honey extraction and machinery, top tips for beginners, products reviews, instructions and guidance plus much more.

#NO NONSENSE BEEKEEPING is a UK based beekeeping channel, designed to keep beekeeping as simple and enjoyable as possible. There are no overly complicated techniques or intricate pieces of equipment.

We cover all beekeeping topics ranging from queen rearing, disease recognition/control, honey extraction, swarm management/collection, how to make splits and much more!

My personal favourite aspects of beekeeping are selecting queens for rearing, rearing queens for mating, making up nucs for overwintering and collecting swarms.

We aim to bridge the gap between commercial and hobbyist beekeepers and cater for beekeepers of all experience levels.

No matter what your level of experience, please hit the subscribe button and join us on our journey!

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If you are interested in learning more about our beekeeping activities, then why not follow us on social media or visit our website:

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[greghamilton]

Loved the vid, very clear for beginners. The recommendation about out apiaries is a big point. Farmers and land owners LOVE bees on their land, I had my pick when I put out a post on Facebook for my second apiary site. Ended up choosing a nature reserve because it has acres of wildflower meadow land (and they aren't charging me a penny to lease the land). I'd still recommend offering some jars of honey to say thanks.

[bluelab]

Perfect video for me who's starting this spring. Thanks for making it, I've put this video in my saved vids.

[brianbennett]

Thanks 4 the free class on Thursday 😊 I watched them All . Also Thanks for making more room 4 Beeteam6 😊

[robtalliss]

Wow, thanks Laurence for such a comprehensive video - surely a must watch for all thinking about taking up beekeeping. Great advice about making sure it’s for you. Going to an afternoon at the local BKA training apiary gave me the confidence that I would be ok with bees and after that I placed my order for a nuc!

[kevinperree]

Really useful vid Laurence, and tagging in all the other relevant tutorials makes this one a real nugget of gold. I ordered two over wintered nucs from you probably the first day or two after you put them up on your website and cannot wait to come over in spring to collect them. I’m three hours away and know I could have bought (probably great) nucs locally, but your passion, dedication, and integrity shine through. I’ve soaked up more info from your vids than probably any other so it’s a no brainer for me to try and give a little support back. I wish I could do the same for Richard or Ian, but driving to Brittany or Manitoba would probably stress the bee’s!

[reubenwest]

My first swarm moved in ab 2 months ago did my first inspection today it looks good sofar!!! And its almost march im going to feed them in June bc for them to survive the winter but im only gonna give 2 small jars

[mruppity]

7:45 I may be wrong, but I’m not sure that Abelo Poly Hive sets come with a Queen excluder, you have to order it separately. Though i concur about Abelo, i really like them

Definitely second the bit about extra kit, when you need it, you need it

[bkan]

Really good video, i do think you have a large audience of very new beekeepers or people who are just trying to learn so they can eventually get their first hive (like myself) i personally would really like to see more videos like you touched upon about the other methods of harvesting honey more toward people with just a couple of hives, anyway thanks iv learned tonnes!

[BlanchardsBees]

🐝I kinda have a similar video I'll be posting soon. Not as thorough as yours though. Thanks for sharing.

[richardwatchingfromhalifax]

Need help thanks.
Going to be a first-time beekeeper.
The type of hive I have is a Polystyrene Hive. Suppose to be mold resistant.

Would my bees survive without a screen bottom board or top ventilation during the summer and winter?

My poly hives have neither screen bottom nor top vents.
Nova Scotia has some very humid months and above-average humidity throughout the year. The least humid month is April (64.6% relative humidity), and the most humid month is September (75.9%). Wind in Nova Scotia is usually moderate.



The annual temperatures are: Spring from 1 °C (34 °F) to 17 °C (63 °F) Summer from 14 °C (57 °F) to 25 °C (77 °F) ... Winter about −9 °C (16 °F) to 0 °C (32 °F)



Winter: Cold temperatures and snow occur in this season, which runs from December to March. This is a time for ice skating, cross-country or downhill skiing, sledding, snowboarding, snowshoeing, or cheering on a favorite hockey team. Spring: In April and May, the temperature starts to become milder.



Snowfall is abundant: generally, 1 and a half meters (59 in) of snowfall per year on the southern coast, 2 and a half meters (98 in) on the northern one, and up to 4 meters (157 in) in the north of Cape Breton Island (see Ingonish). Usually, it snows from late November to early April.



Toronto gets way far colder than Halifax in winter. In Halifax, it usually rains after snow, and that clears the snow away. ... If you look at average daytime high temperatures in the downtown area, Toronto is a touch colder.



Summer. Mid-June to mid-September: 20 to 25 °C (70 to 80 °F) though temperatures can reach 30 to 32 °C (86 to 90F) with humidity.

[WilsonTutorials]

Great video as always. I've seen you mention Ashforth Poly Feeders (along with others) in a few videos now but I havent seen any videos about it from you or on youtube. Do you plan on reviewing one? Cheers :D

[CB-yhov]

How do you manage inspections and vacation?

[ted]

Great video once again...for the wellies try the MUCKBOOT ARTIC SPORT unbelievable Wellington..

[winstonbrown]

Should read how can I get some bees from you