# Real newbie question?



## GREEN_ALIEN (Oct 17, 2004)

Hello all,

I am super new to beekeeping to the point I don't own a thing .... yet. So if a guy wants to get into it and for sure has no one local to show him the ropes is there a book good enough to teach the steps without making a mess out of the whole setup?

Thanks
Ted


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## Terri (May 10, 2002)

I was able to take a beekeeping course through the local college. They didn't really advertize that it existed, but if you looked under entomology, there it was!


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## indypartridge (Oct 26, 2004)

Here's a link to the Washinton State Beekeeping Assn. There's more links to local beekeeping groups. Find a local group, make a few phone calls, go to a few meetings and meet beekeepers who are near you. As a newbee myself, I've found that beekeepers are usually very willing to help out beginners.

http://www.wasba.org/


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## alleyyooper (Apr 22, 2005)

I also thought there were no beekeepers near me. I joined a club and found out one lived a half mile down the road. It was probably one of his run away swarms that got me into beekeeping LOL.
 Al


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## HilltopDaisy (Feb 26, 2003)

I bought the book "Beekeeping for Dummies". I highly recommend it. I bought everything over a two year period, I assembled and painted the woodenware, kept reading the book, read some stuff from the library, etc. The first time I was ever really around bees was the day I picked my two packages up from Dadant. So, you can do it all by yourself, but I wouldn't rush into it.


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## moonwolf (Sep 20, 2004)

When I was interested in setting up a hive, the first thing I did was contact the local bee inspector. There has to be someone around in your county or district that does this. From them, you can get resources and critical information that can help you a lot. I got my first start up colony from the guy that was a beekeeper as well as the inspector. He helped me also to register the hives which later was beneficial when a bear destroyed them and I was able to collect compensation for the loss. 
Your local agricultural extension service should also be able to provide you with information and resources about beekeeping. 
I set up the hive myself, and learned by the seat of my pants by just keeping and watching the bees, reading the material, and asking questions of the beekeeper/inspector who was more than helpful. Even though he lived an hour's drive, the phone is handy. He never had to come out to see 'hand's on', and when the time came, I extracted honey, kept the hives over winter and asked more questions in between. There is always a beekeeper locally somewhere that I bet can help.


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