# Cost of getting started



## Brad W Wi (Feb 18, 2007)

I'm wondering if anyone can give me an idea of how much it cost to get started in keeping bees? I'd like to get into it but I see so much equipment in the catalogs. I'm not looking to make money on it just some for me and friends. I'm thinking a hive or two. I do have to watch out though as thats how I got started in maple syrup. I now tap 350 trees and have a 2x8 evaporator. can I use any of the syrup equipment for honey. Canners, or filter press?


----------



## turtlehead (Jul 22, 2005)

To get started, I'd recommend having two or three hives. It is VERY helpful being able to compare one to the other.

You'll need:
smoker
hat and veil
hive tool
gloves

For each hive, you'll need:
bottom board
two deeps
one shallow super
inner cover
top cover
frames
foundation
package of bees 

That will be enough to get you through your first year. You can even wait a few months before getting the second deeps, frames, and foundation if you want to spread out the expense a bit.


----------



## sugarbush (Jul 15, 2007)

You can use your syrup filters for the honey. Cost wise your best bet would be to buy a couple of hives already started in the spring; they will run about 90- 150 each for the hivebody bottom board and the cover plus frames and bees. You will need to get a few honey supers and some more frames. If you are skilled at wood working you can build everything you need for less than 100.00. You might look up Top Bar Hive if you want to go really cheap.....than just buy a couple of package bees in the spring. as far as bee PPE goes all you need is heavy gloves, a smoker and a veil......probably 75.00 together


----------



## the kid (Jul 9, 2006)

It does cost a lot to get into .. 
for and idea of what it would run type in bee supply , and look at what it would cost .. this way you get a better Idea .. if you want to make some 
of it , it will bee a little less .. its not a cheap hobby to start out but you get honey in the end .. now if you use it your self , you can say it saved you that much each year or sell it you can get back some of your out of pocket .. but remember most of the beekeepers start with 1 or 2 hives
and add more in the years following .. they are a lot of fun and interesting ..
I have found that beekeepers will share what they know more then any other hobby .. most have no scerates about what they do with the hives and are very open about it ..
contact a bee club around you maybe they can get you one or more deals on getting a start .. and you might get to help work a hive so you know if you enjoy bees or not .. and if they are not your thing your only out some time , not cash ... 
good luck ,,, let us know how it goes....

the kid


----------



## sugarbush (Jul 15, 2007)

350 taps = about 20-40 gallons of syrup per year......who needs honey the bees are fun though.


----------



## sellis (Apr 7, 2006)

go to www.betterbee.com, they have lists of of hives in kits or buy small amounts at a time .sellis


----------



## Ernie (Jul 22, 2007)

I got started this year ...

2 hives (used and full of bees) = $100 each = $200
Hive tool, bee suit (worthless), gloves, smoker = $90 (from Walter Kelley but I switched recently to Dadant ... they're cheaper)
2 frame extractor = $250
5 supers and 100 frames with foundation = $200

So we're looking at a total of about $740 for me this year. Had I been in less of a hurry I could have watched the papers and internet and picked up most of my equipment used for about half that price. I pulled around 10 quarts out of the one super that I ended up getting filled. It was a growing year, but next year I hope to recover my startup costs, even if I just use the honey for my own family. We go through about a quart a week, so it doesn't last very long at all.

If you can't afford the initial costs, you could buy some of the equipment over a period of months and then assemble it as you go. I bought the five supers and only ever got around to setting up two of them. By the time my schedule cleared up I could have used all five on one hive, most likely.

Also, the extractor I bought was really too small for my purposes. I went cheap and ended up wasting money. I'll be watching the want ads now for one that holds a lot more frames.


----------



## TheBiscuitQueen (Aug 31, 2007)

I started when we pulled a hive out of my stairwell wall. I went to Dadant and got the bee starter kit. It came with the smoker, hive tool, bee hood, gloves, and a standard hive, sans bees. 

https://www.dadant.com/catalog/product_info.php?cPath=22_27&products_id=29

I upped the bee hood for the jacket. 

https://www.dadant.com/catalog/product_info.php?products_id=723

I love the jacket, I have not been stung through it yet, and that included the demolition and transporting in my house. I am a wuss and would prefer not to be stung at all. The jacket is easy to put on and not too hot. 

I bought another hive body at the same time, and I need to switch next spring to wax foundation, as my bees do not really like the plastic. I am currently using used frames with pre-made comb from a guy who has healthy hives but was updating frames due to equiptment changes. 

I thought the starter kit was a pretty good deal.


----------



## Batt (Sep 8, 2006)

A lot of the cost is all in what and when you want the equipment. 

I joined a local beekeepers association about 3 years ago. Got to use their 4 frame extractor and hot knife for nothing. They showed me how to build a strainer for about $20. One member turned me onto an estate deal where I got a 3/6 frame extractor, hot knife, smokers, veils, honey jars, foundation and a bunch of other stuff for $250. If you can be patient, stuff will come your way, in the meantime you need your personal equipment.

Personal Equipment: 
Veil $14
Straw hat from the Amish store $7
Gloves $16
Hive tool $4
smoker $23
long sleeve white shirt (already had)
Total $64 Might beat that if you ask around at the beekeepers meeting.

They built a new house not far from me. I went down and bummed the 12" scrap lumber. Got a few plans from the internet. Just completed building 4 hive top feeders and 4 screened bottom boards. Cost 1 2x4x8', 1 2x6x8' and a roll of hardware cloth. Say $30.

I originally purchased my hives and supers, and frames but this winter I plan on using the 12" lumber I bummed to make new Hives, supers and tops. A lot of this will be done in a neighbors shop and his excellent woodworking tools. Course I got to take him fishing a couple of times....Darn the luck!

Note the tag line.


----------



## Hovey Hollow (Apr 25, 2005)

I run two top bar hives. We made them with lumber we already had. I have bought some stuff, but was given a smoker. I did buy a veil and some gardening gloves. I may eventually buy a bee jacket. So far, its been an inexpensive hobby. I'll never get as much honey as someone with Langstroth hives, but I just like having the bees around to pollinate and enough honey for the family to eat.


----------



## alleyyooper (Apr 22, 2005)

I put all the small stuff like a smoker, gloves, helmit, veil, and hive tool on a christmas list the winter before I started.
I bought 2 hive bodies, 2 medium honey supers, 1 bottom board, 1 outer cover, 1 inter cover and foundation to get started like the book said I needed for one colony for one year. I did buy another 2 deep hives and 2 medium supers the next winter so I would have 2 colonies. 

Since then I bought this truck load of wooden ware in Sept 2005 for $2.00 at an auction sale. It had 10 deeps of brand new frames and foundation. There were 15 mediums with new frames and foundation.










I spent the winter scorching the boxes and sanding the out sides. I just used the new frames and foundation. All the used frames I soaked in a bleach sulition 4 gallons of water to a gallon of bleach for 2 days. They turn white when rinces and dried.There were inter covers too which I soaked for a day if they showed signs of use.
In Dec 2005 I bought what amounted to one truck load of glass jars, 2 truck loads of deeps and mediums and a trailer load of mixed mediums deeps and shallows at an auction sale for $85.00

I also now make all my wooden ware except frames.

For auctions sales in your area do a google of auctions for your state and sort them for your area.

 Al


----------



## Durandal (Aug 19, 2007)

Hey Brad...

I am getting started myself and was wondering about all of this a month or two back.

Costs are going to range depending on the route you go. Like any hobby or business I have found that the options and opinions are plenty. Depending on what direction you go, and there are lots of them, you will be spending a fair amount of money.

Research as much as you can. You have plenty of time till you have to order bees for next year and even longer till they arrive. Getting into this whole thing is going to cost money and while you MIGHT be able to avoid some of it by building your own boxes or bottom screens, or getting used stuff cheap, you SHOULD buy new stuff. Its simply one less thing you need to worry about starting your colonies.

You have plenty of time though before you need to start buying stuff. Poke around, find a club or chapter of an organization in your area and join 'em and absorb as much as you can.

That's the stage I am at right now, though I _think_ I have pretty much decided which route I am going.


----------

