Beekeeping Equipment That All Apiary Managers Must Have

Beekeeping is a hobby for some people and it has become a career for others. If you are going to be working with these insects you will definitely need the proper beekeeping equipment before you begin. It is important that you have all of the necessary bee equipment in place prior to the delivery of your bee colonies.

A Place for Bees to Stay

You have to have the right type of beehive for honeybees. Be sure to place the beehives in areas where pets and humans will be less likely to come in contact with them. The hives need to be protected from strong winds as well. Each of the hives must contain 5 supers. These are the areas where the honey is going to be stored and it also serves as the nursery for the new generations of bees.

Beehive supers will contain 9 or 10 individual frames, and they can be either shallow or deep. The deeper supers are convenient bee equipment items because you are only required to buy foundations that are one size. However the disadvantage involves the weight of these deep supers once they are full of honey. Each super can weigh 100 pounds or more when it is full.

Bee Equipment Includes Your Personal Gear

Anyone who is involved in apiary work needs the right kind of protective garments. A veiled head-cover, gloves and a beekeeper jacket are all useful items to have. There is also a full body suit available that offers beekeepers complete protection from head to toe. Choosing the right beekeeping equipment for your personal needs to be one of your top considerations.

Spacers and Smokers

Spacers and smokers are necessary beekeeping equipment that you will need to have on hand. The smoker will be used less often than the spacers but both are critical to the success of your endeavor.

The articles of bee equipment known as spacers are relatively simple items. These are used to maintain equal spacing between the frames in the super.

A smoker is another essential piece of beekeeping equipment. Smokers are used mostly when it is time to harvest the honey from the hives. The parts of a smoker include bellows, a funnel and a chamber that is used for combustion. The bellows helps you keep the fire going in the combustion chamber. You can use the funnel to aim the smoke directly into the hive to make the bees leave while you complete the harvesting.

Metal Hive Tool

This tool is best described as your all in one bee equipment assistant. It has a special design that allows it to be used to open the hives, perform frame scraping tasks and even assists in separating the components within the hive.

Bee Brush

You should not consider that you have all of the beekeeping equipment necessary unless you have included a small bee brush in your tally. This brush helps you move the bees aside when you need to check the frames or perform other hive related duties.

Fumer Board

This is a piece of beekeeping equipment that helps you get the bees out of the hive. If you want to remove the honeycombs a fumer board is what you need to get the job done. This useful beekeeping equipment has been impregnated with chemicals that act as a safe bee repellent.