Helpful Guide in Bee Farming: Here's What You Need to Know

Bees are significant pollinators in the environment that help pollinate plants to produce fruits and other crops. However, there has been a significant decrease in the bee population in recent years, mainly due to human interference. 

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If you plan to start bee farming for your goals, starting a bee farm is equally important to the environment. If you're wondering how to even start, here are a few things you need to know.

Not Every State Allows Bee Farming

Before anything else, to start a bee farm, you must first decide the location. However, you should know that not every state allows this. Thus, you should first research whether your location can let you operate your bee farm. Then, you can prepare the place, buy your honey extractor equipment, and purchase your bees. You can look into this list prepared by the American Bee Project to guide you.

Prepare the Location

After checking whether your state allows any operation related to bee farming, you can prepare your farm's location. Prepare a place where the sun shines the most so that the hive can receive a considerable amount of sun in the morning, but also has a good afternoon shade when it gets too hot. Also, fresh water should be accessible to the busy hive. 

Near this water should be a set of stones where they can land, and feel refreshed as they rest. Additionally, the location should also be able to protect the bees from strong winds, rain, and snow. As much as possible, beehives would appreciate a hive facing south. Keep it above the ground and always protect it from dampness.

You Should Check What Bee You Can Farm

It's recommended that once you have decided to start a bee farm, you should start reading lots of books about beekeeping to learn about the types of hives you can have. 

Aside from that, you can enter an online community to ask for advice from experienced farmers to learn how they decided on the right bee for them. In connection with this, the western honeybee has been bred several times for its various and distinct attributes. This type of bee is followed by Buckfast, famous for its excellent honey and the type that does well in cold winters. 

Constantly Check for Pests and Diseases

As a responsible bee farmer, you should constantly check on pests and diseases. Moreover, doing this can also help you prevent a particular problem from worsening by offering an immediate solution.

One of the common and frightening pests you should look out for is the varroa destructor. It's a type of mite that is an external parasite that feeds on honey bees, which can slowly kill your hive if left unattended. They can also cause a disease called varroosis. Aside from the varroa destructor, it would help if you also watch out for small hive beetles, lesser wax moths, ants, and mites.

For a quick and immediate solution, you can do the following to help you:

● Monitoring. If you suspect that your hive is infested with pests, you can first monitor the first hours to discover what has caused the infestation. To do this, you can coat the bottom of your board with something that you can trap them in, like petroleum jelly. After 24 hours, pull it out and count the mites.

● Sugar Coating. Sifting powdered sugar on top frames of the frames will lose the grip of the mites on anything in the hives. Ensure to trap them at the bottom of your box and continue sifting. Your bees can groom the sugars of their bodies, removing more mites.

These are just easy and quick first aid that you can do to help your hive. After looking into it and the problem persists, it's best to contact pest control to protect your hive from further infestation.

Consider Expanding the Hive

As a first-time bee farmer, it's best to start on a single hive brood box and slowly expand the community when necessary. You can add your second box when the bees fill the box or at least eight frames. Then, if you decide to add a queen excluder, you can also decide to use one. It's the same for honey. 

Although having a big community of bees would be beneficial in some ways, remember that it's best to start a community you can easily look out for, especially if you're just starting. Carelessly expanding them would only harm these bees, you, and the environment. 

Final Thoughts

Bees are hardworking pollinators that help the environment pollinate and provide us with bees. However, despite these helpful actions, their population is also gradually decreasing due to pesticides and other reasons. That's why bee farming has become popular in recent years. If you also want to start, look into this simple and easy-to-understand guide to help you where to start.