Preparing for the Bees - Beekeeping Supplies Protective Clothing Beekeeping Equipment

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Preparing for the Bees
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Preparing to install a package of honeybees involves ensuring you have obtained and prepared the proper supplies and materials. You also need to prepare the apiary and hive hardware. This checklist helps you get organized and keeps you from forgetting important items you're going to need. The order in which the items are listed in this checklist is suggested for your convenience; you may mix up the order however you require, but follow the guidelines here to avoid headaches. You need to check off every item in this list before you are ready to install your new package of honeybees.

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Preparation Item

Choose your apiary site
The location of your apiary is vital to the success of your honeybee colonies, as it affects all aspects of their health and productivity. Whether you are installing an apiary in a field, in a clearing or in your back yard, your site selection is an all-important factor in your hives' production of honey and the amount of work you will do to keep the colonies healthy. You should select a site that fits these criteria as closely as possible:

Partial shade
The area where you will place the hives should have partial (dappled) shade. The space between the hives should be at least 3 feet, and the hives should face southeast.
Adequate air flow
Completely stagnant air will have poor ventilation for the hives, increasing the bees' tendency to swarm in hot weather and keeping your colony damp and sick in cold weather.
Accessibility
The apiary should be relatively easy to get to when you need to visit.
Proximity to food and water sources
A honeybee's typical foraging distance is about 2 miles from the apiary, with a maximum distance of 5 to 8 miles. You should locate your apiary within 1 or 2 miles of flowering plants or crops, and avoid areas that are regularly sprayed with pesticides.
Good water drainage
The hives need firm ground outside a flood plane or heavy runoff area to protect them from damage and destruction. A mushy swamp, a dry riverbed or a grove immediately beside a creek are locations guaranteed to kill your bees at some point.

See also: Apiary, Watering

Prepare the apiary
You should perform all of the following steps that are applicable to your apiary site:

Fence off the hive area if needed
If your apiary will be in a location where it may be occupied by wild animals, livestock, or especially children, fence it off properly to isolate the hives. If your apiary is in the corner of your back yard, you may already have a fence that serves this purpose. Another important purpose of a fence may be to hide the apiary from those you don't want to notice. If you install a fence, place the gate on the side opposite the hives (if the hives are facing southeast, install the fence on the northwest side).
Clean the area inside the apiary
It is important to have a clean, well-groomed apiary, both for you and for your honeybees.
Treat for pests
If you have a bad ant problem, or if you suspect you have small hive beetles in your area, treat the ground first to eliminate the pests before you place the hives.

Obtain and prepare the hive hardware
Hive "hardware" is the collection of physical components that make up a beehive. These components include (from the ground up):

Obtain beekeeping equipment

You will need some basic equipment to get started with beekeeping, including:

See also: Basic Beekeeping Equipment

Obtain food supplements
You will need to supplement the diet of your new hive once you install your honeybee package, so purchase the following items:

Pollen supplement or substitute
White granulated sugar (5 lbs per hive), to make sugar syrup
Unsweetened apple cider (for the syrup mix)
Honey-B-Healthy

See also: Feeding and Watering

Obtain medications and treatments
Various medications and treatments are required for effective beekeeping. Critical to having strong, healthy, productive colonies, medication and treatment materials are used both as preventive and as ongoing treatment measures in your beehives. The medications and treatment materials needed by every beekeeper include:

Apistan Strips (Tau-fluvinate)
CheckMite+ Strips (coumaphos)
Fumidil B (fumagillin)
GardStar (permethrin)
Grease patties
Mite-A-Thol (menthol)
PDB (paradichlorobenzene crystals)
Terramycin extender patties

See also: Honeybee Medications

Order your honeybee package
A package of honeybees contains all the bees you will need to start your new hive, including the queen. Don't order your package until you have completed all the other items in this checklist.

You should install a package of bees in the southern states in early April, and toward the end of April in northern states, so plan your order to coincide with these dates. You should order at least a three-pound package if you are starting out the colony on bare foundation. If you already have honeycomb drawn out from the foundation, you can safely start with a two-pound package.

See also: Package Honeybee & Queen Suppliers

Install the hive hardware in the apiary
Install your new hive in the apiary in its permanent spot, ensuring that the hive will have dappled sunlight, will face approximately southeast, and will have a slight (5-10°) downward tilt towards the hive entrance, so any rain water blown into the entrance during a storm will run out of the hive. Set up the hive using the following steps:

Install the hive stand on the hive stand footing in the spot where you will place the hive. The footing may be rocks, bricks, cinder blocks, prefab stones, or any other thick, hard material that will not decompose.
Position the stand level from side to side, with a 5-10° incline toward the entrance. This incline ensures that any liquid in the hive (rainwater, etc.) will always flow out the entrance.
Place the landing board and bottom board on the hive stand, with the rear of both aligned with the rear of the stand. If you are using the integrated Ramped Bottom Board, align it in the same way.
Set the brood rack on the bottom board, aligning it in the same way, with the large slat toward the hive entrance.
Align the lower brood box on top of the brood rack, ensuring that 10 frames are installed in the box.
Place a hive-top feeder above the lower box, and place the telescoping cover and weights on top.

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