# Hello from Juneau Alaska



## cedarecho (Dec 31, 2013)

I am new to beekeeping, this will be my first season. My family and I have been looking forward to this for a while.


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## Stanisr (Aug 25, 2010)

Hello, and welcome. So what kind of flow can you expect in Juneau.


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## WWW (Feb 6, 2011)

Welcome cedar


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## Beeman95 (Dec 29, 2013)

Welcome to the forum!


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## cedarecho (Dec 31, 2013)

Stanisr said:


> Hello, and welcome. So what kind of flow can you expect in Juneau.


I am not sure, I have not been able to find anyone in Juneau or Southeast Alaska that is currently keeping bees. SABA (Southcentral Alaska Beekeepers Association) did not have very much information for me either because they are 800 miles away and a completely different climate.

We have a late spring here but there should be a decent flow until mid August depending on how much moisture we get. If it is a wet year I will be in trouble.

This is truly going to be an experiment because I have not been able to find someone from the area to learn from.


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## Stanisr (Aug 25, 2010)

Keep us updated how your experiment is progressing. And ask questions, there is always someone who will give advise.


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## Kamon A. Reynolds (Apr 15, 2012)

Best of luck there are a couple guys from Alaska on here I have talked to!


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## flhultra (Jun 14, 2013)

if there is no one near you. 
be sure to start with 2 hives that way you will have the resources, to increase the chances of survivability. 
just keep reading on here to learn more, but conditions can come up where you may need to swap frames of honey or brood to maintain or keep a hive alive.
you may have to raise a queen for one of them.
like I said just keep reading and good luck.


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## Mbeck (Apr 27, 2011)

Welcome
These guys keep bees in AK

http://www.ekobeekeeping.com


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## Rader Sidetrack (Nov 30, 2011)

Welcome to Beesource!

There is only one other Beesource member with "Juneau" in their location field. You can do member location searches under the "_Community_" tab above. You need to click thru to the "Advanced" search to be able to do Location searches, or click here:

http://www.beesource.com/forums/memberlist.php?do=search


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## Bee Whisperer (Mar 24, 2013)

Wow, this is great. Welcome to the forum cedarecho. 

Your post is extremely awesome to me, as my family and I moved from Juneau, Alaska to Missouri 17 years ago. I have wondered how bees would do up there. I don't recall ever seeing one in Juneau; or in the SE area for that matter. They would certainly need to be a hardy bunch. 


> If it is a wet year I will be in trouble.


 I recall one year in the early 90's when we only had like 2 days of sunshine for the whole year. 
Do you live in the valley, Lemon Creek, Douglass Island, Auke Bay areas, or maybe out the road? Where ever you are, you will want to install a bear fence around your hives. MO Dept. of Conservation uses one that they claim has "Never failed" when installed right. It runs on batteries, so you can put it anywhere. Bears are very sensitive to electric shock, so these work well. I will find the link and post it for you. You'll need something, as I remember we had bears everywhere up there. 
I am so interested in this venture of yours. What do you need to get set up, or do you have everything already?


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## Bee Whisperer (Mar 24, 2013)

Here is the fence charger that I was telling you about. Copy the address below, and it should get you right to it. 

http://www.fleetfarm.com/detail/zar...search&gslfah&gclid=COLfudG3hbgCFVNo7Aod0moA6


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## BGhoney (Sep 26, 2007)

Welcome, I've have heard you can get great flows with the long daylight hours. good luck


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## EastSideBuzz (Apr 12, 2009)

Bee Whisperer said:


> Here is the fence charger that I was telling you about. Copy the address below, and it should get you right to it.
> 
> http://www.fleetfarm.com/detail/zar...search&gslfah&gclid=COLfudG3hbgCFVNo7Aod0moA6



I use alot of these. http://www.amazon.com/Fi-Shock-SS-4...nce-Medium-Duty/dp/B0002YX8QC/ref=pd_sbs_lg_6

Welcome to our new Alaska members. I love your state and if my wife ever divorces me I will move up there. She hates the cold.


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## AmericasBeekeeper (Jan 24, 2010)

Welcome CE!


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## Bee Whisperer (Mar 24, 2013)

Eastside;

How does that one do on extended cloudy days? It looks very interesting.


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## lorcoalaska (Mar 9, 2014)

Hey from juneau as well! I ordered some bees from ak bee wrangler and built a top bar hive setup. It would be great to hear from you as I think there are a few folks who have kept bees here currently and in the past. I live out the road near tee harbor area.


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## warmbees (Mar 4, 2014)

Welcome! It sounds like a real challenge up there. A post on my welcome thread indicated that they often order package bees, grow them and use them for the summer and then kill them off and take all the honey, because it is nearly impossible to overwinter there with extended temps in the -40 -50 deg range. There will be alot of eyes on your experiment. Welcome!


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## chris_nelson123 (Feb 26, 2014)

Welcome


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## McBee7 (Dec 25, 2013)

howdy cederecho,
from south of the boarder...lol...springs almost here...

==McBee7==


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## cedarecho (Dec 31, 2013)

My bees arrived last thursday and I installed them on Friday. All went well and we have been blessed with a warm (65 during the day and right at freezing at night) and dry 7 days with 5 more on the way. 

My inspection yesterday showed comb being drawn, pollen stored, and sryup as well. My queens in all three hives have not started laying yet so I am a bit nervous.


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## Bee Whisperer (Mar 24, 2013)

Hey Cedarecho;
Excited to hear about your bees, since we moved here _from Juneau _18 years ago. I think you mentioned you was out near Auk Bay. Where at? Do you have the hives set with good sun exposure? You probably do, but I was just thinking about what I would do if I were still there. We lived out at the Auk Nu Condos back then; the ones built on the pilings. 

I ordered four more boxes this year, but they don't arrive until next week due to it being so cold here. Wish I was up there where it is warm. :lookout: Sounds like an awesome spring. Praying all works well for you. Keep me informed.


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## cedarecho (Dec 31, 2013)

I live at ABG bus lines. The hives are in full sun or as full as i can get on my property.


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