# questions about getting into beekeeping.



## Tyler520 (Aug 12, 2011)

I am interested in the idea of keeping bees primarily for the purpose of providing a regular source of honey for a family of 4...or as much as i can - city code only allows 1 colony per residence within city limits ( I assume 1 colony = 1 hive?)

I'd also like to maybe use the wax from time to time for crafts.

but before i get too excited, i was hoping someone could give a ballpark estimate on what this venture will cost.

what would be the essential equipment i need to get going, and how much do these pieces of equipment cost, on average?

one concern i have is that summers here destroy wood that is outside: the uv is intense, and there is a massive humidity spike during monsoon season that often causes wood to warp, and swell. how do people protect hives from getting destroyed by the weather?


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## Ben10 (Feb 20, 2017)

For reference where do you live? And I'd guess a normal price would be about 500-700 depending on how you went about it. I'd order the parts on Amazon for about 100 for the hive body and another 100-200 for cheaper beekeeping tools. And order a nuclear or package for the rest of the price.


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## RonTgottagoat (Feb 27, 2014)

Well a nuc(small starter colony) here in Louisiana is somewhere around $150. Then you need the box frames etc avstarter set up from Mann lake is about $125 bucks or so. You need a veil, smoker. Maybe another $100. I wear long sleeves and jeans. As time goes on you’ll buy more boxes for expansion. You can build em and save $$$s but I’d buy the first couple to get the specs etc. sizes are important. Once you get going you can catch swarm bees that are free. Another tip is to have more than one hive. They can be used to help manage the bees more effectively. Ie if one hive wanes it can be strengthened from other hive


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## alleyyooper (Apr 22, 2005)

They are in the City and the city has a code only one colony of bees per address, so having more is out unless the hive could be disguised as a garabage can or some thing.

Yup figure $500 to $700 to get set up for one colony of bees. Shipping cost is a killer too.

There is a sticky above where there are links to bee keeping suppliers. there is another one that list some of the needed equipment.

Personally were it me and being in the city with dumb rules *I would just go buy my honey at the farmers market.* Keeping bees one colony at a time is just asking for heart break and spending money.

 Al


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## Tyler520 (Aug 12, 2011)

alleyyooper said:


> They are in the City and the city has a code only one colony of bees per address, so having more is out unless the hive could be disguised as a garabage can or some thing.
> 
> Yup figure $500 to $700 to get set up for one colony of bees. Shipping cost is a killer too.
> 
> ...


I'm in Tucson, AZ. i believe there are some near by suppliers, so shipping might not be a big issue. i also know there's a big beekeeping group here locally i learned about after writing this post, so I'll try to give the ma visit during one of their meetings.

another big issue here is africanized bees. 

i am definitely debating if the price is worth it. some local producers charge upwards of $40 per pint for their product which is outrageous, but I've heard a local brewing supply store sells it dirt cheap for mead making. to the contrary, part of me wants to do it simply for the sake of doing it as a hobby to keep me busy, but maybe not if a single colony will be too limited in what i can get from it.

any rough estimates on how much honey 1 colony can provide throughout the year?


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## RonTgottagoat (Feb 27, 2014)

Tyler. I’m a fairly new bee keeper but I love it. I haven’t gotten honey yet from my hives. Hopefully they will make a lot this year and I can take some But it’s a fun hobby. It started about “free honey’ but I really enjoy the bees.


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## ed/La (Feb 26, 2009)

If you are moderately handy at wood working you can build most of the wood ware for about $10 a box. I would find an out yard where I could legally keep several hives. One hive is not worth the trouble. Learning beekeeping is like a college degree that takes years to know what you are doing. Join local club and find someone to take you under their wing and learn for free. If you can't go into hive and know what you are seeing you will fail. I tried teaching a few people and if they can't do inspection in first year I give up on them. Having never kept bees in your climate it is impossible to know how much honey to expect or the challenges you will face. That being said spend $300 or so and set up hive in your yard an start your learning experience. If you fail it is not that big of a deal.


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## Tnff319 (May 28, 2012)

Al is right. He runs a lot of bees so I’d listen to him. The problem with one hive is keeping bees alive is harder than you would think. Having 2 allows you to “steal” bees from one and aid the other. Only having one hive prevents this. You may be able to identify a problem with no extra bees you would be helpless to correct it. A package off bees is around $150. So that is an expensive cost every year. Could you see if a neighbor might be interested in the hobby? You could even offer to manage the bees for them if they agreed to share some start up cost and keep them on their property. I would try that route before I jumped in with only one hive. A hive in the corner of the yard is rarely noticed. I would only have trouble when I mowed the yard near them. That is the only inconvenience. I had a friend that had 6 hives in a 1/4 acre lot. Could easily sit on his deck and never know he had bees


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## TroyT (Jun 24, 2008)

We have 2 hive right now. It looks like we will be splitting our hives this spring some time. Having at least 2 hive or access to at least 2 hives is helpful in assessing how your hives are doing. We stated with 2 hives. After a few months we determined that one have was doing much better than the other. So we re-queened the under performing hive. By the time the winter weather came along the weaker hive was in good enough condition to survive the winter. Had we only had the weaker hive, we wouldn't have known that the hive was week. You should also try to find a local club, that can help you with your questions.


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