# Do I really want to keep bees?



## fish_stix (May 17, 2009)

Don't you know about the oodles of money you can make at this business?


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## RiodeLobo (Oct 11, 2010)

I started 2 years ago when I got a hive from a family member who was getting out of Beekeeping.

I got hooked fast, and expanded to 5 hives this year. I find it fascinating, want the pollination on my property and like to have my personal supply of honey (not that I have gotten much as I am concentrating on getting my hives built up). The up shot is as hobbies go it doesn't have to dominate your time. Bees are basically self sufficient but you will spend more time in your hives when you are learning. I spend more time in my hives than I need but I enjoy the process of learning and there is so much I do not know.

I would say study, study and study some more. Than if you decide you want in get at least 2 hives, for a multitude of reason. Than enjoy.


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## buhbee (Oct 17, 2010)

fish_stix said:


> Don't you know about the oodles of money you can make at this business?


:lpf:


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## Mbeck (Apr 27, 2011)

fish_stix said:


> Don't you know about the oodles of money you can make at this business?


Making the big cash beekeeping is a Florida thing.... Can you keep quite about it!

Nothing to see here folks just hurricanes,sand and SHB. Move along!


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## D Semple (Jun 18, 2010)

>>>May I ask what got you started 

Got bored of traveling the world chasing hot women and being a double agent for the KGB and the CIA, figured I’d give beekeeping a try.

>>>and what is keeping you in it? - Mike

:scratch: :scratch: :scratch: Good question


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## pascopol (Apr 23, 2009)

Most experienced beeks would agree that Lang hive is easier for beginner to manage and learn, TBH is not recommended to start with.

I was thinking TBH also prompted by all TBH hoopla but I started with Langs, TBH is on back burner, perhaps I will get to it next spring.

Only you can answer your original question, first I'd suggest join a local club, then go with a beek to work the hives and get stung.

Then you will have clearer answer of "Do I really want to keep bees" question.


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## KQ6AR (May 13, 2008)

If time is you're main concern, You would only need about an hour every 3 weeks with a lang hive. A topbar might need a little more intervention to make sure comb is being built in the right direction.


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## MichaBees (Sep 26, 2010)

With so many fears of failure, the only way is not to do it. 
The way to honey is paved with bad neighbors, wrong decisions, disease, parasites and more. If you want to get there, you must be able to afford disappointment.


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## Steven Ogborn (Jun 3, 2011)

My top bar hives were a literal pain to get going right. I just used the wax filled kerf as a guide. The bees didn't see the videos
that they were supposed to follow them. Did my first cut-out on my own hive. Used hair clips and zip ties to get them in line.
I don't have Langs yet. I was working on a really tight budget to get started. Would do it for a living if I could. 
I wait 167 hours a week to get back into my hives. That one hour a week is what I live for. (I really need more hives.)
DO IT! Buy some bees. Dump them in, and have a blast.


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## gjd (Jan 26, 2011)

I wanted some honey to brew mead, and was too cheap to buy it. So far I've spent well over $500, countless hours over 2 years, gotten 18 lbs. of honey, and feel really guilty about it-- I'm saving at least half to maybe give back late winter. I don't care about the harvest any more-- I came for the honey, stayed for the bees. I've got one Langstroth and one Kenya TBH, which I expect will be dead by January. The TBH is very interesting, but I now think of it as a large observation hive. I understand others can pull it off, but I think the design creates a delicate and unstable environment.


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## Me Beeing Me (May 27, 2011)

I just like to see nature at work - it truly is amazing.

What was first was a hobby is now an obsession....beware!


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## Barbee (Jul 26, 2005)

My friend insisted I get a hive when she started. I didn't want to, but she said she'd do the work if we could set them on my property. Long story short, she is no longer keeping bees and I'm up to four hives. I love it. I have them set up at the end of my garden and nothing brings me joy like leaning against the fence at the end of the day and watching the girls come and go. I'll never get rich money-wise, but I am otherwise.


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## gunter62 (Feb 13, 2011)

Curiosity got me going, and joy keeps me going. Great hobby!


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## Bee-Sarge (Apr 17, 2011)

How about this reason???!!!


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## dmpower (Nov 7, 2010)

Take a look at all the happy bears, then read this:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/11/07/smuggled-honey-ultra-filtered_n_1079948.html,

The articles alone are enough to make you want to raise a few bees.


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## Ted Kretschmann (Feb 2, 2011)

The following question was asked me many years ago--"Son, do you have a "weak mind and a strong back", then you will make an excellent beekeeper....Good Luck and follow your dream. TED


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## Solomon Parker (Dec 21, 2002)

Steven Ogborn said:


> Did my first cut-out on my own hive.


Preach it brother!!!

I didn't learn the ins and outs of putting foundation in frames until after the first 200!!! I started with 20 hives, most needing a cutout within the first month. Oh I had a lot of free time in those days.


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## Joseph Clemens (Feb 12, 2005)

Honey bees got my attention when I was less than five years old. I had stepped on one barefoot while playing in my grandfathers yard full of clover and was stung on my left foot. As he soothed my pain, he explained to me what creature had caused my pain. He further explained that bees made honey and he gave me a taste. Ever since then I've been fascinated by bees and the many amazing details of the world of honey bees.

I received my first set of equipment and colony of honey bees from my father, through Sears, by package of bees with Starline queen when I was ten years old. If my interest were ever inclined to wane, another of the innumerable aspects of bees and beekeeping would catch my attention. I now raise queens and nucleus colonies to help other beekeepers get started. It is one of the joys of my life.


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## indypartridge (Nov 18, 2004)

mhorowit said:


> May I ask what got you started and what is keeping you in it? - Mike


I had never thought about beekeeping until I went with my daughters on a field trip to a beekeeper/honey farm. It sparked an interest that I followed up on. As for what's keeping me in it, I enjoy learning and with bees, there's no end. I also enjoy going to meetings and hanging out with other beekeepers. For some folks it's Kiwanas, Rotary or Lions Club, with me it's bee club.


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## Andrew Dewey (Aug 23, 2005)

mhorowit said:


> May I ask what got you started and what is keeping you in it? - Mike


I had always wanted to do something agriculturally oriented and I had an opportunity to co-locate a new hive with a friend's. That was just about 10 years ago and I now have somewhere around 30 hives and the equipment to go to 50. I'll expand next summer if the winter doesn't decimate my hive count the way it did last year. My friend no longer keeps bees (life got in the way) but she is thinking about getting back into it this year.


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## hemichuck (Oct 27, 2009)

My wife got interested when a beetree at our house broke during an ice storm and she talked me into going to a beekeepers meeting to see what it was all about. We got 2 hives and ended up splitting into 5 by the end of the first year.The next year my wife got busy and dropped out and I kept splitting and picking up swarms till I ended up with 50 hives(dont ask) Now a couple of years later I'm down to 30 or so and still have the sickness as bad as ever. I think what keeps me going is my admiration of the bees, interest in the natural world, love of woodworking,gardening, and the outdoors, need of a hobby to keep my mind occupied, and interaction with all of the good people I meet beekeeping whether it be other beeks or just people who are interested and want to know more about it.


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## dragonfly (Jun 18, 2002)

If you're not really sure, then I advise that you don't.


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## VolunteerK9 (Aug 19, 2011)

Like mentioned above, only you can answer the question of whether or not you really want bees. But as for me, its a hobby (hoping to make sideliner status soon) that I wished I had got involved in a long time ago.


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## Michael Bush (Aug 2, 2002)

It's too late for us, but you can still escape...


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## spunky (Nov 14, 2006)

6yrs ago a good friend of mine and I ,decided to take the plunge and start keeping bees. He had a large stand of blackberries and 40 acres , and I lived in a rural area , and we figured we would have honey and make mead to compliment our beer brewing and wine making. We'll before he got started; he got transfered to a small city in Iowa and landed in a suburb, and I was stuck holding the proverbial hive body all by my lonesome. Well it was very informative ,a challenge , and I almost quit and packed it up and 4 yrs in. I have since, given up my hunting dogs .and bees and my flowers and veggies are all I really have left. So when I get down , and frustrated, I just remember this is a type of farming( cant control the weather) and beekeeping like life, is constant learning process. 

Good luck


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## Moon (May 7, 2011)

My dad had them when I was a baby and when my older brother at the age of two in his infinite infant wisdom was outback trying to stomp on one he got stung. That was all it took for mom to say no more and made my dad get rid of them. Growing up he would often lament from time to time about the couple of hives he had when we were younger and how he always wanted to get back into it. I was always fascinated by the idea of keeping bees but was never much of an insect lover. This past year I decided to get into beekeeping for a couple of reasons. One was to give me a hobby to get me out of the house and give the wife some much needed time to herself, another was to give me something to do that both my dad and I were interested in to give us the opportunity to bond, and the final reason was probably just to satiate the long growing splinter of curiosity playing at my brain. We bought five hives and placed them out on my aunt's property and have been working them all year long.

Through beekeeping I have gained an immense appreciation for nature and insects in general. I have been mentally stimulated and challenged to research everything from local plants and wildlife, to weather patterns and local farming practices. I've learned where all the major and minor water ways are within a two hundred mile radius of my house and what to look for in potential bee yards. The hobby itself has sparked an interest that is turning into an all consuming way of life for me. This simplistic hobby that was going to be an every other weekend recluse for me and my dad has quite literaly turned me into a completely different person. 

Obviously this experience isn't typical for everyone but for me personally I started beekeeping for something to cure the weekend boredom but I continue to keep bees because the art and science of it continue to plague my mind. You cannot know enough, you simply cannot. Every time you learn or read something else you are constantly reminded of just how little you actually know.


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## EastSideBuzz (Apr 12, 2009)

Michael Bush said:


> It's too late for us, but you can still escape...


I am with Michael run and run fast!!!. Started with a couple and now have close to 100. Think by the end of next year I will have 300. Kind of an obsession for the lack of a better term. They keep growing and I keep making boxes. I am sure I am keeping someone employed. We spend 500-1000 a month on growing the population if you average it over a year.

It is definitely a conversation starter and everyone wants to talk about them. Not sure it is a good idea yet. We will see if I can make it to 500 and make a retirement living out of it. For now it is like a boat. "hole in the water you throw money into". And also a tax write off. Would be nice if the fed would give us a tax credit for it. Then it would make more sense.


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## Adam Foster Collins (Nov 4, 2009)

dragonfly said:


> If you're not really sure, then I advise that you don't.


That's my reaction. On the fence means out as far as I'm concerned. Especially if you already have a lot going on.

Adam


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## Mike Gillmore (Feb 25, 2006)

I would suggest hooking up with a local beekeepers association and try to find someone who would be willing take you under their wing. See if someone has an extra beesuit you could borrow and spend a few days with a beekeeper inspecting their colonies. That should give you the answer to your question. You will either be completely hooked, or decide that this is really not for you. 

We've seen a lot of beginner beekeepers come and go over the years. The "idea" of keeping bees is very alluring but once they experience it firsthand they figure out it's really not their cup of tea. Try it out first before you make the investment in equipment and gear. Beekeeping is a true pleasure but is also very demanding and takes a commitment to be successful. After a few outings you will find you'll either have the "passion", or you won't. Your question will be answered.


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## Seymore (May 1, 2009)

Bee-Sarge said:


> How about this reason???!!!


Well NOW you're just showing off!


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## Seymore (May 1, 2009)

mhorowit said:


> May I ask what got you started and what is keeping you in it? - Mike


I have been interested in the purity of my food for a couple of decades now. Am an organic gardener from back when being "organic" was simpler - AND purer. The jump from organic gardener to beekeeper is a small hop. I love nature. Heard the bees were in trouble. Took the leap 2 years ago. 

What keeps me in it is everything everyone else has said. It is fascinating beyond belief. I am challenged to learn more every day. I have an insatiable curiosity (per spouse) and beekeeping goes a long way to quell it. It is a downright spiritual experience for me to be surrounded by the whirr n hum and to better and better understand and respect the miracle and marvel of this tiny creature. It is awe-inspiring and humbling. 

Enter beekeeping with the consideration you would give to taking on any other breathing entity - it needs tended when it needs tended. Fed when it needs fed. The suggestions to visit a bee yard are right on. Get stung. Get hot n sweaty. Taste some REAL honey. Those kinds of things should help you to throw that leg onto one side of the fence or the other.


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## the kid (Nov 26, 2006)

if its only honey your after ,, look on the store shelf ,, its a lot cheaper .....

''' Honey bees got my attention when I was less than five years old. I had stepped on one barefoot while playing in my grandfathers yard full of clover and was stung on my left foot. As he soothed my pain, he explained to me what creature had caused my pain. He further explained that bees made honey and he gave me a taste. Ever since then I've been fascinated by bees and the many amazing details of the world of honey bees '''
sounds a lot like me ,,, at 5 years old , the game I all ways like and played was " catch the honey bee or bumble bee "" in your hands , after a few stings you learned how to catch them with out getting stung ,, wanted them from then on


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## daddydon5 (Mar 21, 2011)

I got interested strictly by accident, but the more I said "no", the more beekeeping kept presenting itself as something I was just supposed to do. I have kept bees since May and cannot imagine not keeping them now. I am a gardener and beekeeping is a perfect complement to helping plants to grow and thrive. I enjoy the bees for their own sake and like the fact that I now see honeybees nearly every day in the Spring and Summer. I enjoy the shear pleasure of watching my bees from our patio about 20 feet away from the hives as they are fun and relaxing to watch after a busy day or week at work. If I am able to harvest honey next year, so much the better. However, If you are not sure, I recommend you continue with your education in beekeeping until the answer is clear. While beekeeping does not take a tremendous time commitment after you get somewhat established as a hobbyist, it can take a significant financial investment to get started and before you take on the responsbility of caring for these wonderful creatures, you should be sure it is really something you feel called to do.


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