Preparing Continues!

Both my husband and Dad have been busy at work!  Hives have been put together, I painted, the bear fence has been put up...  I'm going to tell you all about it!

Going into this project, we knew there would be great startup cost.  Please feel free to use this as a guide.

Apiary Bear Fence
After some research, we decided we needed to have a bear fence.  We know we have an active bear in our area - it took out my parent's bird feeder and peanut feeder last year.

We decided to do it big; last year we built a garden fence and greenhouse.  So with the apiary only so far away, we decided to have it match.  However, you can build one more simpler.  We followed the guidance from Craig Cella.

I will outline the basic things you need:

• Kencove Parmak Magnum Energizer - 0.5 Joule
• Field Guardian Complete Grounding Kit - 6ft
• Pin-Lock Insulator
• Cattle Panel 16'

In addition, you need something to hold it all.  We chose to build our fence out of wood.  You will see that we also put cedar panels to block some of the wind that would blow across the open field.

 

Christian is just putting the finishing touches in by completing a gate for us to use.  We will also be hanging signs: one for active apiary that bees sting and another for electric fence.

Hive Preparation
We sourced our equipment from our bee mentor, Joe.  These supplies included the following (times two since we are starting with two hives):

• 2 - 10 Frame Hive Body
• 2 - 10 Frames with Foundations
• Medium Honey Super
• 10 - 6 ⅝" Frames with Foundation
• Telescoping Cover with Inner Cover
• Bottom Board with Reducer

You can buy these assembled, unassembled, painted or unpainted.  We chose to put it together and paint it ourselves.  We also chose to use Sherwin Williams Exterior Latex paint in the color of Tint of Honey.  Not only did I like the color, but the name was about right!  Because this one has the primer built in, it only took two coats to paint.

 

 

 

Here's a list of things you should have for yourself:

• Hive Tool
• Bee Brush
• Leather Gloves
• Bee Veil
• Smoker
• Storey's Guide to Keeping Honey Bees

You may think you should have a jacket, full body suit, etc.  However, remember, bees are gentle.  If you are working lightly in your apiary with only a hive or two, you shouldn't need to be fully geared.

If you can, join a local club and go to a bee seminar.  These two things have proved invaluable to our growth.  It's also a great way to get these supplies and look at them before buying.