# Craigslist Bees - Good Idea?



## Organic Cowgirl

I just found this for sale near me. I've been meaning to delve into bees, but have not done any research yet. This piqued my curiosity, though. 

What might I ask this person? Is it possibly a good deal? And, most importantly, should I just wait until I know more, or can I just bring them home and learn as I go?

Thanks!


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## Iddee

The guy is full of baloney....40 lbs. of honey, after a half day's work straining and bottling it, will sell for 125 to 200, no more.

A 9 5/8 super weighs about 95 lb. full. about 45 after extracting...so, 50 plus lbs. honey.

If you buy it, you must add a super immediately. That is about 40.00. Then you must check for mites, disease, ETC.

NOW, if the hive is as he says it is, they are worth 150.00 as they set. If you can find a local beekeeper to go check it with you, then assist you in what to do for the rest of the summer, then it is a very good buy.

Don't forget to add the cost of your protective gear, smoker, and hive tool. Those you need to buy immediately, also. Plan 350.00 for the initial set up.


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## Organic Cowgirl

Sounds like great advice, thanks!!

I will find a local beekeeper, for sure. Saving $55 from its value sounds good, but not at the cost of being a duped newbie. I'll hold out 'til I'm ready. Thank you, again!


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## indypartridge

Organic Cowgirl said:


> I will find a local beekeeper, for sure. ... I'll hold out 'til I'm ready. Thank you, again!


See if any of these local beekeeping clubs are near you:
http://www.texasbeekeepers.org/inde...beekeepers.org/Directories/TBA Chapters.htm&1

Many clubs offer beginning beekeeping classes, and often will get you connected with nearby beekeepers who can help mentor you and get you started. Check you local library for books/videos on beekeeping. Plus, there are numerous beekeeping sites & tutorials. Here are a few of my favorites:
http://www.beemaster.com/

http://www.bushfarms.com/bees.htm

http://www.voiceofthehive.com/


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## Elizabeth

I wouldn't buy those bees for any amount of $$$. The guy doesn't sound like he knows what he's talking about. No way is 40 pounds of honey going to sell for $350. Right there I have to wonder why he is lying about that- if he lies about the value of the honey, what else is he lying about?

Then, he says that he just fed them a little sugar now and then during the winter. Well, what about treating for nosema? What about checking for and treating for mites? American Foul Brood? If he thinks that all you have to do is put the bees in a box and then harvest the honey he's on glue, and, there is a good chance that that box of bees is full of parasites and disease. 

If I were going to consider this purchase, I would want to know how old the equipment is, whether it has been treated with chemicals, what chemicals, when and how often. I would want to know what shape the frames are in. What kind of foundation. How old is the comb, and what condition is it in? 

What was the source of the bees- were they purchased from a commercial bee supplier, or were they a split from another hive? A swarm? When were they last re-queened and what was the source of the queen? An established queen producer, a guy from the local bee club, or was she the result of supercedure? How old is the queen and will she need to be replaced soon?
You might ask what kind of bees they are- Italian, Russian, Minnesota Hygenic, Carniolan, etc? You might not really care, but if the guy is selling bees he should be able to tell you what he is offering.

And, seeing as how this was on the Houston craigslist site, what about Africanized bees? If all the guy does is toss them some sugar now and again, how would he even know if they had been taken over by AHB?
When he says the box is bursting with bees does this mean they are about to swarm? Are the frames full of swarm (queen) cells? Has he bothered to look? 

Here is the text from my craigslist ad which I posted a few weeks ago advertising some extra bees which our local group purchased- we ordered extra and then decided to sell the packages which our members did not need. I may have missed some details, but this is what I thought was important to a potential buyer-

_I have several bee hives available for sale. Our beekeeping association ordered several extra packages of bees this year in order to ensure that all of our members who wanted bees would get them. We wound up with a few extra hives which we are now offering for sale to non-members. 

Basic hive consists of- 
1 bottom board 
1 entrance reducer 
1 deep hive body 
1 inner cover 
1 telescoping cover 
1 frame feeder 
10 wooden frames 
***all of the above is used equipment in good condition. It comes from our 
association apiary and is disease-free. 

The frames contain 9 sheets of new plastic foundation which the bees were started on when the packages were installed and 1 frame of drawn comb which was freshly drawn last season. 
The bees were treated with Fumigilin-B for nosema when the packages were installed. The package bees contained 3 pounds of bees and a young mated queen and were purchased from Mann Lake. Each hive was supplied with a 1 pound Bee-Pro patty when the bees were installed. Price for each hive as described above is $122, picked up in Bertha, MN 56437. This offer will be good until May 17th, or until we have sold all of the hives. 

Additional used deep hive bodies and medium supers are available while they last. Email your request for a quote.
_

I generally advise new beekeepers to avoid used equipment, unless they absolutely know the beekeeper and can be assured that the bees have been well looked after, are free of disease/parasites, and everything is in good shape. We started our local club last year and I told everyone to buy new stuff and package bees to start out with. I was not going to sell used hives to anyone. But, in our climate, we have to order package bees early in the year (when we still have snow on the ground) and it turned out that a lot of people don't think about getting bees until after the deadline for ordering has passed. So, anticipating this, I decided to order extra packages to have on hand. I have cut back on the number of hives I keep so I had some equipment available to put them in until they were sold. I was comfortable doing this because I know the history of the equipment and am confident that there is no disease which is going to affect the new bees once they were installed. But, I think it is also very beneficial for new beekeepers to go through the process of installing bees on foundation and watching them draw it out and grow into a full sized colony. For that reason, I still recommend packages. But in this case, if we had not had these hives available, several new beekeepers would have missed out on getting bees this year and would have had to wait at least until next year, so I felt it was worth the trade-off. Plus, even though they bought hives, they were essentially getting package bees since that is what we installed on mostly frames of new foundation with new queens. All of the bees were sold within two weeks of having been installed in the hives. I thought they got a good deal, and everyone who bought them was happy.

sorry, you asked for advice, lol.

I hope you do join your local club and decide to keep bees yourself. I think everyone should be a beekeeper, lol. Good luck.


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## bonsai jim

I saw that ad too; we must be neighbors! My son wants to get into bees and is working with the area beekeepers club. Probably the best way to do it. If he were ready knowledgewise he'd have a set up pretty much free at this point. 

BTW: We know people that sell raw honey $5-8 for a pound jar...

jim in santa fe


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## momlaffsalot

Notice the ad has been removed from Craigslist.


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