Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
OBTAINING NEW HIVES OR MAKING YOUR OWN
If you buy new equipment from a beekeeping supplier, you can usually choose between
pine and red cedar in the UK but, often, just pine in continental Europe. There are
also various grades of wood. I once bought some cheap pine boxes full of knots. After
a few months in the sun, these knots became knot holes, and my hives suddenly had
entrances all over the place.
Buy the best you can afford or, if you are brave and have a basic woodworking skill,
make your own. Free plans for all the hives mentioned above (even the WBC) are
available on the website www.beesource.com, and I reckon that, if you want new kit,
this is just about the cheapest way of doing it if you are in the UK or USA. I also found
that, in Spain, you could purchase beehives so cheaply that it made little sense to make
your own.
Many beekeeping supply companies (listed at the end of this topic) sell beginner's kits
that include everything you need to set up as a beekeeper, plus the bees if required.
These kits are well worthwhile in that they are comprehensive and free of disease, but
they are expensive.
ACQUIRING OTHER BEEKEEPING EQUIPMENT
Over time you will acquire a whole host of bits of equipment, some useful and some not
but, initially, you will need two tools: a hive tool and a smoker.
The hive tool
This is a simple metal bar with two basic designs (see Figure 14). This is a vital piece
of kit. You need hive tools to prise apart those areas of the hive that the bees have stuck
together with propolis - their all-purpose glue and antibiotic. These tools need to be
tough, and those sold at bee-appliance stores are fine for the purpose. You will need
dozens of them because you will lose them frequently. This is the tool you put down
'somewhere' in the grass when looking at a queen or some other interesting sight. Then
you walk off without it. You will eventually be reduced to using chisels, pen knives,
 
 
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