The Vital Beekeeper Supplies List

Beekeeping is a delicate hobby or activity and you need to get it right. If you are just starting out and have probably not put a lot of thought into the requirements yet, you are headed for a dull show. Your beekeeping experience is going to be a robust and exciting (and stinging) one as you work the bees and wait for that sweet substance at the end of the show. You got to have a perfect blueprint.

An important part of that blueprint is the beekeeper supplies. You need to have the right equipment and also know where to get it for the best deal. It is not uncommon to see folks who are just too excited with their new found hobbies and get into a frenzy of sorts buying all the equipment that is even remotely related to it. You don't have to buy the whole store to get a good output.

Here are the (important) basics:

Get a bee hive. There are several types of beehives each with its advantages and disadvantages. You may also construct one for yourself so that you can have the dimensions customized for instance. You may also want to consider a used bee hive which is actually a favorite for the bees. 

The two most common types are the range of Top Bar hive and the Langstroth hives. These are extremely popular because of their simple designs that ensure easy access to those hard to reach areas during maintenance and harvesting. They are also relatively kind of easy on your wallet.

Next up are the stingers. There are about a dozen species that are considered true honey bees. The European honey bee and the Africanized honey bee are good examples. There are however some 20,000 species of bees known today. All the species of the bees will produce honey but these particular species are the crème de la crème of the stingers. 

These are the kind that you should insist on when purchasing a colony. If you are out in the wild or the countryside, you may be able to attract your own colony but if not, you can make a purchase. They'll pack up about 10, 000 bees for you and a queen. There will only be one queen at any given time in a colony.

Protective gear should be acquired simultaneously with your colony if not before. Before the stingers make themselves home, you will need to work a little bit here and there. Ensure you have your beekeeper jumpsuit on ad you perform all these tasks. This suit is one of the most important beekeeper supplies you will need as beekeeping is a dangerous activity in itself. Bees are extremely protective of their territory and any attempt to access the hive will almost always stir up a fight. Get a proper and full beekeeper suit that is white in color and complete with hand gloves and boots.

All your beekeeper supplies are not complete without the extra hand tools like the hive tools, excluder cleaning tools, bee brush, and frame patches. Finally, a beekeeper guide is absolutely critical for anyone starting out.