# startup cost???



## Rader Sidetrack (Nov 30, 2011)

Welcome to Beesource!

Depends ..... :lookout: How many hives did you have in mind? Are you in a position to build some/all woodenware? How do you plan to acquire bees? TBH or Lang style hives?

If you can catch a swarm, and build your own hives, you might need to buy as little as a smoker and a veil. That can be done for about $50 or less. But, that is _not _typical. If you are buying bees and Lang equipment, the minimum I would expect is about $300. Note that your chances of success are much improved if you start with at least two hives.


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## Dave Burrup (Jul 22, 2008)

We have 5 seasons behind us now. Last year we added 5 more hives. We bought everything new for those hives, including 4 pound packages of bees. We had over $3,000 into those 5 hives. The cost of woodenware, and frames has doubled in 5 years. When we sold out of honey last fall we had recovered one dollar for every 3 dollars spent. Startup is very expensive.
Dave


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## Joel (Mar 3, 2005)

Much depends on how your start. We always encourage new beekeepers to start with 2 or more hives but not much more. Having hives to compare and for resources if one hive has an issue, and it will, is a great help. One of the big investments I think new beekeepers fail to make is in education. A good beginners beekeeping course will be money well spent if it is a good course. Are you going to extract honey or maybe run your hives for comb. Richard Taylor, author/beekeeper running comb honey always said the only harvesting equipment he needed was a pocket knife. Extracting equipment is expensive but necessary if you plan to harvest liquid honey. We figure with the cost of deeps, frames, supers (3 per hive is a good start), bees, protective wear, and smoker if you set aside around $400 per hive as an estimate for the 1st and a little less for the 2nd and additional (you'll only need one smoker, one suit, one hive tool) you'd be pretty close. You can set up a small extracting operation for another $500 - $600.00. Keep in mind you should think about the initial cost as an investment over a period of years, kind of like amortization, because well painted and well maintained equipment will last for years and the honey and enjoyment factor will be will be peace of mind now and memories for generations to come.
Good Luck and welcome to the experiance!


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## Dave Burrup (Jul 22, 2008)

My thread on costs includes everything we spent on those 5 hives over the year. If you just consider the basic equipement plus bees you are looking at about 2/3 of the actual cost. We have to put fence around our hives, and it takes a 2"X4" wire to stop the skunks. Even blocks to put the hives on are expensive. Too often people starting a new hobby look at the basic costs, plan for that cost, and then get in over their heads because the actual costs are much higher. I am not trying to discourage you, beekeeping is fun, but it does take a commitment of time and money.


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## Eddie Honey (May 30, 2011)

Welcome! 

When applying for a beekeeping mortgage, remember to include everything you might need this year and next......lol j/k

I started last year with 2 nucleus colonies: $250.00
Two 8 or 10 frame complete hives (2 deeps, 2 mediums, SBB, inner cover, telescoping outer cover, frames and foundation -$300.00
Full bee suit $150.00
Smoker $40.00
Bee brush and hive tool $20.00

You'll still want some odds and ends like a tool box, benedryl, etc......but that is up to you.


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## sqkcrk (Dec 10, 2005)

olivia03 said:


> I am new to beekeeping. how much will it cost to begin beekeeping?


How much do you have?
Where is brooksville?


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## Eddie Honey (May 30, 2011)

sqkcrk said:


> How much do you have?
> Where is brooksville?


Using my beekeeping surveilance abilites he/she is from hernando county FL


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## sqkcrk (Dec 10, 2005)

I wonder how she/he got registered w/out a state listed under Location?


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## BeeGhost (May 7, 2011)

If you ask my wife, its not expensive at all! If you ask me, it can get pretty costly!!

When UPS shows up im like a kid waiting to intercept a bad report card from the mail man!!

You can learn to make some things, and learn that its cheaper/easier to buy some things. I buy frames by the hundred. I buy the boxes (except for nucs, I buy the plywood and make them myself) and I make my hive pallets and tops. 

Be keeping can be as cheap as you want it, or as extravagant as you want, the choice is yours!!


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## WillH (Jun 25, 2010)

Beginner kit is about $300 which will have complete wooden hive with frames, hive tool, smoker and a veil. A package of bees is around $100. So you could start a hive for about $400. It is good to have at least 2 hives. The second hive may cost a little less.


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## Rusty Hills Farm (Mar 24, 2010)

I am restarting after about 7 years away. I have a veil, a smoker, a brush, and a hive tool already. I have a box of 50 frames (new price about $42 + shipping) and a box of 50 foundation (new price also about $40 plus shipping) on hand already from my last hives.

I am making all new woodenware. One deep box will cost me $10 for lumber (one 1 x 12 x 6 from the local lumber mill). I need about 15 boxes for my first year. I also need tops (est. cost $14 a piece), inner covers (est. cost $4 a piece) and screened bottom boards. Finding the screening for this was fun, since I have to buy it online--10 ft (shipped) will cost $26, plus 1 x 4 and 2 pcs. of 2 x 2 plywood, which should come to another $16. I like double hive stands and it takes 3 pcs. of 2 x 4 x 8's to make one of those, but I happen to have a bunch of those on hand.

I hate to think what it would cost if I had to buy all this and have it shipped here.

I will need 2 packages of bees @ $95 each (I can pick them up myself and save about $50+ per package on shipping costs). I will likely want to requeen those packages because I want resistant bees and can only find Italian packages, to the tune of $20 a piece for queens + $20 shipping.

Now I haven't added this all up. I'm afraid to. I might get cold feet.  And I can think of a bunch of other stuff that I haven't listed, like Tanglefoot for the stand legs to keep the ants away, Beetle Blasters to trap the SHBs, feeders, and stuff like that.

All of this just to keep a bunch of bugs in a box! No wonder my family is convinced I'm crazy!



Rusty


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## KQ6AR (May 13, 2008)

I'm looking in the mann lake catalog you can get all the woodware for a hive assembled for under $250, Double that for 2 hives.
You will still want a top feeder $20, a smoker $34, a couple hive tools $6, & a jacket or veil $52, === $112
Now you need bees if its not too late to order a package will cost you about $100

one hive $465. Two hives $815 These are the top end prices, there are ways to bring the cost down.


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## Laurence Hope (Aug 24, 2005)

Brooksville? What state? If you so indicate it, the chances are good someone near you can give you local input as to what works best, where to obtain at best prices, mentoring, etc. Best wishes.


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## Slow Modem (Oct 6, 2011)

Look for a local association or club in your area. Experienced beekeepers are priceless and usually willing to help and mentor a starter. You may also find some parts/equipment deals in your area.


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## bevy's honeybees (Apr 21, 2011)

Tampa area has a great bee club. We drove 100+ miles to go to a Saturday program there a couple years ago.

A lot of variables for start up money. My first four hives were established hives, single 10 frame deeps. One was a very good price and awesome bees, got that one for $100. Two were $200 each, my first was a raffle win for the bees themselves. It was ordained that I would become a beekeeper.

I had a great mentor from our bee club--yes, priceless! I figured out after a year or so that mentoring could have gone south. Depends on the mentor, and the fellow that mentored me and another newbee was perfect.
Now my mentors are here at beesource. I love this site.

If you are going to get involved in a club, and if you want to save a bit of money, catch a swarm.
After they build out comb (a very good advantage) then requeen with help from someone in the bee club. My bait boxes this year are going to be with the boxes they are going to live in. One frame drawn comb at the end, the rest foundationless frames. I did that last year with nuk boxes and got some real nice swarm catches that produced enough honey by fall for me to harvest some off with plenty of stores left for them. If you go foundationless, you save money there too. Just be sure boxes are level. All my bait boxes drew beautiful comb. It's the supers I have more trouble with, need to try something different this year with those. I wasn't careful and I didn't have any frames of drawn comb to get them started as a guide. 

Protective clothing--you can save money in the long run if you get what you want right at the start. I bought a used bit too large thin jacket for my first year+. Then I got an ultrabreeze jacket and have a pair of pants they don't sting through and wish I'd done that to begin with. 

I also now wish I'd gone with mediums and shallows for my boxes. 

Welcome to beekeeping and to Beesource.
Beverly


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## Ranger Cody (Jan 21, 2012)

It's probably going to cost you between $300 and $400, to start with 1 hive. The price will go down slightly with the number of hives you want to start with. If you are a woodworker that will drop the price further. I don't suggest starting your hobby by attempting to catch a swarm. Hopefully you've done some research, read a couple of books, and found a mentor to help you out during your first year. As is mentioned above, your local bee club is a very valuable resource.


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## Mbeck (Apr 27, 2011)

Brooksville is just west of Weeki Wachee, Florida and near Trilby Florida. It's a magical, amazing land!

Lots of resources here if you look around. Miksha is just down the road and several larger and smaller beekeepers that can provide packages,Nucs and queens. The closest practical equipment is Dadant in Highsprings. I mostly use Mann- Lake.

The best way to determine the cost is to decide what you need and how you are going to obtain it. There are places to skimp but they are personal decisions. I build my own tops and bottoms but I have a veil, gloves and a jacket veil combo. Some people might not want to make equipment but not see a jacket or gloves as needed.


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## olivia03 (Jan 12, 2013)

hernando county. hour south of ocala.


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## Joseph Clemens (Feb 12, 2005)

Hello new BeeSource poster. So, is "Brooksville" in Florida? I am in Tucson, Arizona and have no idea which state Hernando county is in. I have heard of an Ocala, in Florida, but apparently it is in Marion county.

This is a forum with international membership, so it is better to give us more details, than less -- helps to get an idea where posts are coming from.

-----------------
Startup cost can vary a great deal. Depends on where you're at (location), availability of free swarms or cutouts, how adept you are at woodworking (how well your wood shop is equipped and stocked), how experienced you are with honey bees, what size you wish to start at, what size you plan to grow to, etc.

There are a huge variety of variables that all interrelate to both startup and operating costs. So really, there is no simple answer to your question.


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## chevydmax04 (May 11, 2009)

Olivia. The cost to buy wooden is a little more than building your own. By the time you factor time, fuel, and effort I think it is cheaper to buy it all precut and just assemble. There are a few things that I do build because I have customized them to meet my needs and desires. I build the Screened bottom boards, ventilated inner covers and I make the tops. I make some fancy top covers, that have copper shingle roofs and trim. As for me I have 5 hives, gonna add five more this spring, been in it for 8-9 years now I think. I do it just for the fun and enjoyment I get out of it. My 3 y/o grand daughter is hooked on bees and honey and loves to help me work the bee's. That in itself offsets any costs I may incur.

Have fun with your new bee's!


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## Acebird (Mar 17, 2011)

> how much will it cost to begin beekeeping?


Less then a dime.


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## BeeTax (Dec 27, 2011)

I started back beekeeping a year and a half ago, and wanted 1 hive . So far have spent about $45k give or take a few k. And I build a lot of my own equipment and raise my own queens. Glad I didn't want two!


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## hpm08161947 (May 16, 2009)

BeeTax said:


> I started back beekeeping a year and a half ago, and wanted 1 hive . So far have spent about $45k give or take a few k. And I build a lot of my own equipment and raise my own queens. Glad I didn't want two!


You spent $45,000 on one hive? I must be reading something wrong...... there is more to this story - right?


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## RichardsonTX (Jul 3, 2011)

Olivia, I agree with Chevy. 

Another reason to buy your woodenware at first is to actually see how it should be made if you do decide to make it own your own (which eventually you will if you like wood working at all and it just stays a hobby for you). 

My hives consist of three "deeps" (2 for the brood box and 1 for my super), a bottom board, migratory lid (best way to go if you decide to haul them around at all), 28 frames with foundation (10 in bottom brood box, 8 in top brood box along with division board feeder (yes you have to feed them sometimes), and 10 frames in my super), division board feeder, queen excluder (called honey excluder by others), nylon ratchet strap, nails, wire for frames, staples for brood box to bottom board, primer paint, white exterior grade paint, a heavy brick, entrance reducer, hive beetle trap, and a 2x4x8' piece of lumber cut up into four pieces to use for a stand. My recommendation is to use all deeps when starting so that your equipment is interchangeable as you grow at first. Deeps for supers aren't hard to handle if you just use a nuc box to pull out your frames and carry them around when harvesting. I mostly carry the full box (about 90 lbs) but I'm not a small person either. You will also want a complete nuc box with frames and division board feeder for nucs you'll make up in late summer before the fall flow. Or, you can use modified deeps that will serve as two nucs. You'll need one of these for each "working" hive. Making up nucs provides replacement hives that die out over the winter, gets rid of your worst performing hives, and provides frames to boost existing hives with. My favorite part is that it serves as a cheap seat, toolbox, and storage box (when bees aren't in it of course). 

You'll need your bees. Don't buy a package. Buy a nuc with durable box instead and buy a queen cell or mated queen. Then, use that to make up your second hive with. This gives you your bees and your nuc box. Its also safer to start with nucs instead of package bees. Don't even mess with swarms unless its early in the spring. If you do mess with swarms just don't rely on them as a way to get your initial bees for your hives. 

You'll also need a dolly with wheels on it that you air up. A dolly with small hard wheels will get stuck in the dirt. 

You'll also want an Oxalic Acid Vaporizer and associated equipment. Trusting your hives to "naturally" evade varroa mites and other pests is asking for trouble or at least asking for yourself to keep buying bees to replace the dead ones. 

For personal equipment you need a veil, bee hard hat that your veil fits on, leather bee gloves, white coveralls (when needed), and leg straps (unless you don't mind bees getting all the way up your pants before you find out they are there). You also need a hive tool, bee brush, and a good smoker. 

You also need a book called, The Hive and The Honey, watch a lot of YouTube, and talk to people in the chat room on Beesource.com. 

Attending the local bee club is a good idea also since you can buy your nucs from someone there who sells bees and you can get really good advice about all sorts of things you are going to have to learn. 

Here's the expensive part..............You'll need an extractor, strainer, uncapping knife, capping scratcher, buckets to put honey and wax into, honey jars, labels, and a way to store your supers safe from wax moths. If you have over 20 hives then get an electric radial extractor. If you have less than that and don't plan on getting larger then use a hand cranked radial extractor. You can also network in a bee club and share costs that way for the extracting part. 

Other costs will be sugar, soy flour, brewers yeast, wax paper, and other such things to feed the bees with. 

Add a bunch of money to the shopping list you create with this info and you should be part of the way to the actual number it will cost you.



chevydmax04 said:


> Olivia. The cost to buy wooden is a little more than building your own. By the time you factor time, fuel, and effort I think it is cheaper to buy it all precut and just assemble. There are a few things that I do build because I have customized them to meet my needs and desires. I build the Screened bottom boards, ventilated inner covers and I make the tops. I make some fancy top covers, that have copper shingle roofs and trim. As for me I have 5 hives, gonna add five more this spring, been in it for 8-9 years now I think. I do it just for the fun and enjoyment I get out of it. My 3 y/o grand daughter is hooked on bees and honey and loves to help me work the bee's. That in itself offsets any costs I may incur.
> 
> Have fun with your new bee's!


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## Slow Modem (Oct 6, 2011)

hpm08161947 said:


> You spent $45,000 on one hive? I must be reading something wrong...... there is more to this story - right?


Maybe they're charging for their time, too.

I remember the first time I extracted, I thought I ought to charge $100/quart. It was hot and sticky work, and I figured that was what my time was worth. Just sayin....


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## bobbarker (May 23, 2012)

As you've seen, ask a group of 100 beekeepers about anything, and you'll get 100 different answers. 

The costs are incredibly variable, and you can do a lot to bring that cost down. I build all of my own boxes, bottom board, and covers (inner and outer) and it costs much less, and it really isn't very difficult if you have basic woodworking skills and tools, and that has brought my cost way down. I built a 4 frame extractor last year for around $100, and that REALLY helped to control my costs. One of the few things you can't skimp on is the cost of the bees themselves, unless you catch and hive a swarm, and as several people have pointed out, that's not the best way to go for most folks with their first hive(s).

Last year was my first year, and I spent $300 on the bees themselves (I ordered later in the spring, so it was much more expensive), and my first bill at Dadant was around $300, and that got me through until it was time to start thinking about honey (when I made the extractor, bought honey bottling supplies, etc.) All told last year, I spent less than $1000. The part that gets the most expensive is maintaining your addiction.

I've got two Nucs and 1 package ordered, and when I pull my lumber out of the kiln in about a month I've got 8 Langstroth Hives to build and 1 Top Bar, after which I'll have to go get frames/foundation, and some spring meds. 

To find out what your cost is going to be, I would sit down with some good resources (Idiots Guide to Beekeeping was my favorite for learning the ropes and getting a good, basic groundwork, and Michael Bush's website http://bushfarms.com/bees.htm is my favorite for an all-around website) and figure out what you think _you'll_ need. Then price those things out online, add in the cost of bees, and add 10-20% on top for things you'll inevitably forget about, and you should have a pretty good idea of what it's going to cost you.


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## GLOCK (Dec 29, 2009)

I started out with 2 hives and had 1000 dollars wraped up in it to start up now 4 years later i have enough hive ware to make 20 hives and 20 nucs/3 bee suits 1 bee jacket every bee book/2 bee yards with fence and wind breaks and the list gos on and on watch out very addicting and it can cost.


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## BeeTax (Dec 27, 2011)

hpm08161947 said:


> You spent $45,000 on one hive? I must be reading something wrong...... there is more to this story - right?


I only wanted one hive, but got the fever. I now have 30 hives plus 100 mating nucs, an extracting and bottling house with central air/heat, a grafting room and a comb room. I started grafting into my eight starter hives this week and have orders for 600 cells in the next two weeks.


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## GLOCK (Dec 29, 2009)

BeeTax said:


> I only wanted one hive, but got the fever. I now have 30 hives plus 100 mating nucs, an extracting and bottling house with central air/heat, a grafting room and a comb room. I started grafting into my eight starter hives this week and have orders for 600 cells in the next two weeks.


Thats great your helping to keep it alive :applause:


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## JRG13 (May 11, 2012)

I'd look for an established hive. That's probably the cheapest way to go, unless you want to chase swarms. A double should cost you $150 if you can find a good deal, typically someone getting out of the business. Honestly though, if you have to consider the costs, just save up about $500-$700 and that will get you into it pretty good. Don't blame us when you're scrounging for free wood to put a few more boxes together and trying to make your own frames while trying to catch free bees every minute of your spare time cuz you gotta stick to that budget


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## Slow Modem (Oct 6, 2011)

Watch out for specials and deals. Many suppliers run free shipping during certain times of the year, and I think most items on Mann Lake are free shipping for orders over $100. I'm sure there are other deals to be had. But some of my favorite words are "Free Shipping".


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## Nature Coast beek (Jun 10, 2012)

Two colonies: EXACTLY $350.


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## TheBuzz (Feb 8, 2012)

Add in SHB Small Hive Beetle traps too and KNOW THIS PEST WELL !!! It will be in your hives at some point and can wreck them too. However with knowledge you'll have the upper hand.


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## EastSideBuzz (Apr 12, 2009)

If you want to have a million dollars in the Bee business start with 2 million.


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## cerezha (Oct 11, 2011)

To all above, add
1) Maintaining cost 
painting every 3? years etc.
sugar for wintering
chemicals for treatment
2) equipment if you plan to make own hardware, saw, dado blade etc.
3) your labor, which is not free!
4) Moving expenses, gas etc.
5) Remodeling (kitchen to accommodate bee-business?, new beehaus?)
6) Construction expenses - new bee-facilities, fences etc.

Sergey


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