Is beekeeping worth it?

[Guest]

Probably not the best worded title but I was after peeps advice, info and experience. For years I have wanted to keep bees and I am now genuinely looking to do an intro course however I can only do it weekends which is already proving an issue and in effect will cost £150-£200 for a 2 day course. Then reading around that a hive will cost £200-£400, then a swarm on top of that £200, then there is suits on top of that. It is all immensely daunting and pricey and now wondering can I really justify the cost

Are these prices realistic and how do people justify it?

[Madasafish]

I don't have time to reply properly but I would say you can spend less money than the above.
My recommendation is visit your local Beekeeping Association and try to get some practical experience (they usually lend out suits) - ours is free..

Then you will know if you like it. (Bee stings are not for all).

In swarming season it can get quite hectic and if you don't have time /don't know what you are doing, can get quite intimidated.


Lots of beginners go in, spend money and then discover they don't like it/don't have the time.
Borrow some books from your library: Haynes Bee Manual is good.

There is a lot to learn.

[veggiechicken]

We used to keep bees but didn't do any courses. We joined the local BKA and shadowed some of the members to get hands on experience before we took the plunge.
Somebody gave us a hive and, when it was swarming time, we helped to catch a swarm - which became ours.
For suits we bought white boiler suits with zips up the front and a proper bee hood and veil. Also bee gloves. We bought a smoker but most of the other equipment was given to us or homemade.
Eventually, we built up to 4 hives in the garden and the honey was fantastic. Sadly, they picked up European Foul brood and the colonies and hives had to be destroyed. One of the saddest days of my life
Only you can decide whether the outlay is justifiable>

[alldigging]

Find someone who keeps bees. Get a bee suit (or borrow one) and go and find out if you like bees. A nice person might offer to let you try their bees for a while and then mentor you.

Whilst the standard advice is "join a BBKA group' - I will say, go and find out how nice your local group is. If they are nice then go regularly and you will be given help, support, cheap bees and a mentor.
If your local group is rubbish then you will get little benefit.

You can join and not go - and you will need this for your insurance when you have your own bees.

Aiming to do your basic is always a good idea. You do need to have kept bees for at least a year first.

But if you like reading and learning then it is an amazing hobby.

[mothhawk]

Is it worth it, you ask. Is it worth it for what? Do you want to keep bees as a hobby for the pleasure of it, or for the "free" honey, or to make a bit of egg money?

Who ever keeps track of how much their hobby costs them? They do it for the fun and the pleasure.

For free honey, well, you've already worked out it's not going to be "free" after you've bought stuff to keep bees, not for quite some time.

Will it provide egg money? With just a couple of hives, I would say it will be a long time before you recoup your outlay and get into profit, if ever. Hens would be a better bet, that's where the expression "egg money" comes from after all.

As everyone else has said, you need to try before you buy - find out if you don't mind getting stung, if you can face 60 thousand bees rising out of a hive and flying around you, as they may well do.

Find out about your local Beekeeping Association, could you do an evening course? Some associations run evening courses.

If you find you like it, it won't matter how much it costs to get equiped, 'cos you'll be hooked on an amazing hobby

[noviceveggrower]

I would love to keep bees. I love them and are fascinated by them and their social/hive structure.
I think Mothhawk has given good advice about whether you want to keep the bees for 'egg money' or just a hobby.
My wild bees swarmed last year and it was quite unnerving seeing them all piling out of their hive and the noise was unbelievable. It could depend if you could cope with them being around you en masse.
Maybe a way to also think of it is what can the bees can give to you and your garden.

[Aberdeenplotter]

I'd love to keep bees but I'm allergic to the little sod'so stings and it's cumulative

[Guest]

Thank you all. I think I either need to plan or stop thinking and just do it. Not sure which yet.

[Kirk]

I would say go search out a couple of local bee keepers and get information from them. The Norfolk Bee Keepers branch seems fairly quiet, Norfolk Beekeepers' Association, Bee keeping & Norfolk honey

Seems remarkably little information on it, even for swarm collection they point you to a local council, events are not visible I guess unless you are a member. Curious what their Auction Day for Feb 13 may have been for but it was cancelled. Not sort of well suited to getting new members.

Here is an interesting one: If you go to the Beekeepers Association and look for an association there is a Norwich & District Assn under the Suffolk region, not the Norfolk region. Looks more "alive" then the Norfolk one.
Norwich & District Bee Keeping Club

Any good with a saw? Suspect you could build a hive relatively easy, I think that many of the internal items are sort of standard sizes - thinking of the dangly bits for the honey combes. There will be plans on the internet, very likely more plans then you want for every shape, size and material.

Actually do the BKA not have a pdf for construction a hive?

Don't keep bees, friend does and oddly I did some bee keeping at school (many moons ago), we were taught that sort of thing then.

As suggested go search out a local(ish) bee keeper or three and just have a chat if at all possible. Oh yes, the Norwich people appear to meet at The Bee Hive Public House, just in case you are around the Norwich area. Just check how many Beehive pubs there are.

[alldigging]

I think Dave Cushman's site has lots of plans plus

DIY Hive construction and plans and tools. - Beekeeping Forum
is well worth joining and going through.

[Madasafish]

Be aware when building hives that dimensions are critical for framed hives. Like critical. There is a Key dimension called "beespace" Bee Space which is around 9mm. It is the critical disatnce which determines if a bee can get through a space - or not. Get it wrong and a framed hive will not work as the bees fill everything with comb/cannot move around freely.
(Read the link to understand).

Far better to buy one flatpack hive and assemble it yourself and then if you do want to DIY, easy to understand.

If your measuring or woodwork are poor, you can screw things up - expensively..