How to Use Bee Equipment

Acquire a a honeybee hive. You can purchase them from local dealers or order them online. The hive is obviously the most essential tool of beekeeping. Starter kits with all of the parts and tools required for assembly (such as boards, boxes, nails and foundation pins) are often available for purchase and are easier to assemble than homemade kits. Become familiar with the different parts of your hive (deep brood chamber, inner cover, outer cover, entrance hole, top and bottom bars, etc.) during this step. Since you will be required to check your hives from time to time, practice assembling and disassembling the hive before you introduce your bees.

Install a honeybee feeder in your hive to maintain the bees for the first few weeks of beekeeping, as well as for when nectar is not available. The feeder is an essential part of the hive during the first few weeks of beekeeping. Place one feeder on the top of the direct brood chamber and another at the entrance of the hive. Place a third pail feeder on the inner cover hole and a fourth baggy feeder on the slats along the top bars. Place a fifth frame feeder along with frames in the upper deep hive.

Wear a beekeeping suit and beekeeping veil to protect your body and face from stings. This protective gear is essential for beekeeping, especially for beginners. Beekeeping suits are one-pieces that cover the trunk and limbs made of a light-colored material. Beekeeping tops and bottoms, when purchased separately, should have drawstrings to prevent bees from getting close to your body. Gloves and close-toed shoes should also be worn. Keep in mind that bees like to crawl up once they are allowed inside your clothing. If drawstrings are not available, consider using masking tape or string to close off any openings. Although beekeeping suits can be substituted with normal clothing, beginners should always wear a professional-grade beekeeping veil to protect their eyes, face and neck from bee stings.

Use a cedar chip smoker to calm honeybees before opening up the hive for inspection or honey harvest. Place some kindling and cedar chips inside the smoker, and light the kindling with a match until it catches fire. Stoke with air to generate smoke. Smoke the entrance lightly before opening the hive, and smoke the bees lightly again once it is open. Honeybees will gorge themselves on honey because they believe fire will soon engulf their hive, which in turns makes them slower, more docile and generally easier to be around. Different kinds of smokers are available for different kinds of hives: professional-grade smokers will work on a dozen hives, while smaller grade ones will work on five or six. No matter what the size, the smoker should have a protective heat shield and leather billows.

Use a hive tool for scraping wax, loosening hive parts and manipulating frames. Hive tools are long, flat, metal tools that have a rounded hook on one end (think crowbar) and a flat scraper on the other. Use the hook end when lifting frames out of the hive and the scraper to keep your hives clean.