Beekeeping Supplies



Beekeeping can be a dangerous hobby, so using the right supplies is critical to reduce your chances of being stung. Collecting the honey and maintaining the colony calls for different types of supplies.

The suit is the first line of safety equipment when tending to the bees. The gear used is a bee suit, hat with a veil and gloves. Its important to protect you head, face and neck from bee stings with a hat and a veil. The suit will protect your body, it is made so that the stinger of the bees cant penetrate the suit saving your body from the venom of the bee stings. Although some beekeepers want wear gloves due to some of the delicate work involved, its important to protect your hands while working with the bees.

A smoker is used to calm the bees, so that the beekeeper can work with the colony. A smoker uses different types of fuels and emits smoke. Some of the fuels used is wood, pine needles, burlap, twine, paper,and cotton. Some beekeepers use an aerosol can of smoke that can be purchased. The smoke confuses the bees. They seem to they need to leave the hide for food due to a fire and also masks the pheromones produced by the guard bees in the event of an intruder.

Some beekeepers feed there bees a sugar syrup when times are rough to prevent starvation, although the bees are more than capable of finding food on there on. There are different kinds of feeders used and in the winter the best is the hive top or pail division boards used inside the feeders. In the summertime bees are more active so an entrance feeder can be used.

The main part of beekeeping is the house in which you put them in. A wax foundation is used to encourage the bees to build a comb. The wax foundation is a thin sheet of wax with a hexagonal pattern on both sides of it and it assists the bees with the construction of the comb.