# Absolutely ground zero beekeeping costs



## DisasterCupcake (Jan 3, 2015)

Hello,

So I have decided to start keeping bees. Well, I decided a while ago, but I think the time is ripe! 

My first question is, how much should I be expecting to put into it in the first year? 

I have resources but I don't have money coming out of my ears. I want to know if beekeeping is going to break the bank, or if I can wing it with a little bit of savings that I have. 

Anyways, there is a local beekeeper who sells beginner kits for about 600$ This includes the hive (a large one), bees installed, tools and a couple do-it-yourself books. Plus a warranty on the bees, since they installed them. Does that sound about right? I went in thinking to spend only 200-300$ =/


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## BohemianWaxwing (Sep 13, 2014)

You should look into building your own top bar hive. I started keeping bees with less than $70 into it. That was just for materials with the hive, no veil, no smoker and catching my own swarm with a local bee keeper.

It was a great way to get comfortable with the bees. I do use a smoker and a veil now that I have a couple hives. But that allowed me to ease into things.

Also, the topbar hives are harvested whole comb so you have none of the frame and extraction expenses, stuff to store.

The only drawback I'd offer about the TBH is that it's a little more time consuming to manage if you're planning to do more than 2 or 3 eventually they might not be your best option. Still a low-cost way to find out if bees are right for you, though!


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## the kid (Jul 9, 2006)

600????????? If I was you i would look at a few bee supply stores on line, to start all i got was hive ,, smoker ,,, and a scraper used to scrap gaskit on a car ,, so lets just say a hive tool ,,, it was not til i run in to a great deal on a suit did i have one 2 years later i got 2 more suits from a auction a few years ago ,, but only had any on 3 times in 9 years .. the bees will coast $115 to$130 depends on if 3 pounds or a nuc ,, they are easy to put in the hive if I knew what i know now ,, the smoker may have had to wait to as I would have just sprayed sugar water on them to start with ... and no I have never had a fear of bees ,,, when i was 5 i would catch them in my hands ,, it was a game we played and as BohemianWaxwing says look in to building your own


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## DisasterCupcake (Jan 3, 2015)

Okay, I think I will be shopping around a bit more!

The sellers are a local family and they seem very trustworthy, have lots of workshops and things to get beginners going. They've been keeping bees for over 20 years and I guess that I would be paying mostly for their expertise, rather than the actual supplies. 

Thanks for your replies! Always nice to get perspective on things I'm new to. 

Now I have looked at making my own hives. I downloaded plans and honestly, the cost of making a hive would almost be the same as buying pre-made. (the pre-made is only about a hundred dollars). Also, I live in Michigan and the top-bar hives aren't recommended for very cold climates like this bc the heat distribution doesn't allow them to winter well. Too much surface area on the top. 

At the workshop I went to, the instructor mentioned that about 80% of the time, if there are bees in the area an empty hive will attract a swarm anyways, so there might not be need to buy bees- just buy the hive! Thought that was interesting. 

Anyways, thanks again!


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## alleyyooper (Apr 22, 2005)

Shipping cost is what kills ya on wooden wear. Don't hold your breath expecting a swarm to move into your new hive set up.
there has to be honey bees in the area to start with. 

 Al


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## indypartridge (Oct 26, 2004)

DisasterCupcake said:


> At the workshop I went to, the instructor mentioned that about 80% of the time, if there are bees in the area an empty hive will attract a swarm anyways...


80% seems like gross exaggeration. For a hive made of new equipment, I'd say the chances of attacting bees are only slightly better than 0%. If the hive has some old comb it may be somewhat more attractive. I've heard of it happening, but in my 10+ years, I've had it happen exactly 0 times.


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## johng (Feb 14, 2009)

I try to tell new folks not to be surprised to spend around $500 the first year on two hives. You can skimp on some things. You can buy just a veil and use jeans and an old longsleeved shirt for a while. You can also make all your own boxes if you have a good place to buy cheap wood. If you have to buy your wood from Home Depot you can almost buy them at the bee supply store as cheap as you can make them. 

Extracting honey for the first year or two can often times be done at a friends house or some bee clubs rent them cheap.


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## Michael W. Smith (Jun 2, 2002)

DisasterCupcake said:


> Now I have looked at making my own hives. I downloaded plans and honestly, the cost of making a hive would almost be the same as buying pre-made. (the pre-made is only about a hundred dollars). Also, I live in Michigan and the top-bar hives aren't recommended for very cold climates like this bc the heat distribution doesn't allow them to winter well. Too much surface area on the top.
> 
> At the workshop I went to, the instructor mentioned that about 80% of the time, if there are bees in the area an empty hive will attract a swarm anyways, so there might not be need to buy bees- just buy the hive!


You need to check out some beekeeping equipment sites. Some have free shipping for orders of $200.00 or more. I deal with Mann Lake and have been happy with them.

If you know of a local woodworker - an older guy who just wood works for something to do, give him some plans for a beehive.

I lucked into picking up a swarm at a woodworker's home and we got to talking. He has been making bee hives, inner covers, lids, and bottom boards for me since then.

He charges me for the cost of the wood plus a little bit extra for labor.

But beekeeping is not a cheap hobby to get into.


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## thekibblegoddes (Jun 24, 2014)

I spent about $700 my first year. Intro kit of 1 hive, frames, smoker, veil, & gloves was about $200. Bees were an additional $80. Then i needed a jacket. More supers to expand the hive. Then the bees swarmed and i lost the queen. Bought another queen. Lost the next hive to a leaky top. Bought a new top and more bees. Lost the third set of bees to bad weather. Bought more bees. I am the poster child of how to lose bees! But my advice for what it's worth is to start with a medium nuc with bees. If you can grow it out to 2 medium nuc brood boxes and 2 medium nuc honey supers, THEN move those to 2 medium full-sized brood boxes and grow them out to 2 broods and 2 or more supers. By that time you will know if bee keeping is for you or not. And nucs are cheaper to start with and good to always have around in case you lose a queen or a hive needs strengthening. READ! READ MORE! Find a bee club and attend the meetings.


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## DisasterCupcake (Jan 3, 2015)

Thanks for the advice everyone!

Unfortunately the price of wood here is pretty high. There are not a lot of free-lance carpenters around, either. My dad happens to be one, and he told me the time it would take to make the hives, frames, and everything, I might as well buy one pre-made. I do however have access to undried pine boards pretty cheap. Untreated pine lasts about 2 years around here, even painted. 

I've contacted some other people about their packages and they also highly recommend the nucs over packaged bees. 

I'm pretty much flying by the seat of my pants right now. I've decided to get a small hive and some bees and see how they do. I don't have the time or resources to join a club or even read extensively about beekeeping. I do have one beginner's book. I probably won't even harvest honey this year, maybe not next year either. Too much going on. Just kind of hoping I end up with a maintenance free hive haha


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## Terri (May 10, 2002)

For my first bee keeping outfit, I pulled my socks over my pants legs to keep bees from crawling up my legs because they were lost. My first gloves were $2 dishwashing gloves with rubber bands around the wrists. It worked pretty darned well!

You MUST! have something across your face, get a veil. I got stung once a year on average, and I did not want to be stung in my eye. I bought the veil.

I made the 2 boxes but I bought the base and the top and the frames and a smoker.

I eventually bought everything new, a bit at a time, because I liked the bees, and because I am not very good at building. 

Lastly, bees have a killer sense of smell and it is IMPORTANT! Bees react strongly to what they smell. If you can get some USED bee comb, then I suspect you have a 1 in 3 chance of getting a swarm because the hive will smell like a good home. I have caught swarms in the past, but last year I did not get any even though I set up my boxes. I lost my hive a few years ago to an illness, and I was wanting to get back into bees without putting ay time or effort into it. The results were not good: I can catch a swarm when I am not trying to but not when I M trying to, LOL!


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## Batt (Sep 8, 2006)

DisasterCupcake said:


> I'm pretty much flying by the seat of my pants right now. I've decided to get a small hive and some bees and see how they do.


No such thing as a small hive, a small hive will get bigger or die.


DisasterCupcake said:


> I don't have the time or resources to join a club or even read extensively about beekeeping.


Then you need to let it go until you do have the time to do it right.


DisasterCupcake said:


> I probably won't even harvest honey this year, *NOPE* maybe not next year either.*Probably not* Too much going on. Just kind of hoping I end up with a maintenance free hive


40 years ago you could have a pretty maintenance free hive. But thanks to all the imports and "improvements" now not so much.


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## Terri (May 10, 2002)

DisasterCupcake said:


> I'm pretty much flying by the seat of my pants right now. I've decided to get a small hive and some bees and see how they do. I don't have the time or resources to join a club or even read extensively about beekeeping. I do have one beginner's book. I probably won't even harvest honey this year, maybe not next year either. Too much going on. Just kind of hoping I end up with a maintenance free hive haha


Lie all domestic animals, when a hive needs help they will either get the help or they will die. (or leave).

If you cnnot spare the time to hover over them a bit, it would be better if you wait a year before getting into them. I have found that a newbie can only find those problems by opening the hive and that takes time! While an experienced beekeeper cn say "The bees are acting funny and there is a problem", when I was a newbie I could not TELL that the bees were acting funny so I had to get out my smoker, cover my face, light the smoker, smoke the hive and wait for the bees to gorge themselves, open the hive, take out a frame, and either say "lookin' good" or say "OOPS, they need tending to"!

Expect to do this monthly: it takes about an hour. Also expect to make syrup to feed a new hive, and fill the feeders every couple of days until the hive looses interest because they are ready to gather nectar. 

A wild hive in tree can take care of itself, but when you buy bees you are taking them away from their home, and until they build a home in their new hive they are weak and they will need you. If nothing else, when you buy bees you get the young adults, and young adults do not forage for nectar or defend the hive. Humans do that until the hive is ready to do so. (To help the bees defend the hive, a stick is often placed in the entry way to reduce the entrance to allow only a couple of bees in at a time. That reduces the risk of strange bees robbing the hive before the young bees are old enough to defend it in a few weeks time. The bees you get in a package are the equivalent of teenagers. They will work but they cannot do everything)


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## DisasterCupcake (Jan 3, 2015)

Thanks Terri,

I should have specified that I do not have time to collect honey. 

I fully intend to spend the 1-3 hours per week in the spring to get the hive going; still debating on whether to get a Nuc or a package. I love spending time outside and they are right next to my garden so I'm sure I will be seeing them quite often all spring/summer. 

You raise some very good points about being a novice beekeeper; I don't know what a 'normal' hive is, so unless they're acting very strange indeed I wouldn't know if anything was wrong.


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## Redtractor (Jan 16, 2012)

Keep in mind a Nuc with a you and good laying queen will lay around 2,000 eggs a day. In 20 days you can have a good amount of bees. 

A Nuc is a good way to start, but I started with a 3 lb package. It sounds like you are leaning towards a Nuc, but if you buy a package I suggest installing it yourself. It really gets you involved and the process isn't that difficult. Youtube has plenty of videos on the topic.


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## Terri (May 10, 2002)

In my opinion, one to three hours a week would be excellent.

A new hive is like a 16 year old babysitter. The teenager can do the job providing there is food in the cupboards and a lock on the door: they will eat a lot of syrup at first, both for the young bees and for the baby bees!


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## Sunmo (Dec 29, 2004)

Research "Ware Hives". It's a top bar that keeps the bee heat vertical. Ware Hives are cheap and easy to make. Find a local bee club and order bees through them, probably about $100 a 3 lb box. Get two and make two hives. You almost have to buy your first bees. Swarms are not reliable. You may get an old queen, at the wrong time of the year, in a year or two.


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## DisasterCupcake (Jan 3, 2015)

Thanks! I will look into the "ware hive". 

As for bees, I just put a deposit on a package of bees from a local supplier. They are really nice people, I was glad to buy from them. They are also setting me up with a hat/veil, hive tool, smoker, and a bee-feeder to get me started. 

They also suggested that I use only Cane Sugar to feed my bees with, and use a 1:1 ratio of sugar to water to start, gradually reducing it as the season wears on and they eat less, to about 1:2. Any truth to that? He said that beet and corn sugar is mildly toxic to bees =o


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## Iddee (Sep 25, 2005)

Cane sugar is fine, but so is beet sugar or corn syrup. "mildly toxic" means if you fed one hive 3 tons of it, it may make them sick. A few hundred pounds won't hurt them.

I would feed 1:1 until the flowers bloom and the hive is producing foragers. At that time, they will stop taking sugar water and you can quit feeding.


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## rwjedi (Jun 18, 2004)

[ame]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EryxCbNNoCk[/ame]

Here's a video I made on getting started in beekeeping. 

On the sugar issue, chemically cane and beet sugar are the same, don't think it really matters. Some worry about GMO, but that's not something I worry about. I would feed them till they stop taking it or they have 2 boxes filled out in comb. Nice thing about internal feeding is that even on yucky days they can't get out and forage, they still have the feed inside hive to keep building on.


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