Late summer is yellow jacket season. Learn how to keep these hungry wasps from bothering—or demolishing—your hives.

Below, I show you how my friend and I cut bees out of an invading hive in order to re-home them. Follow along to learn more about the process. By the way: If you or someone you know notices an invasion of bees, the first, second, or third call you make should definitely not be to an […]

The learning curve for keeping bees is huge. One of the greatest learning curves comes when it is time to harvest honey. Everyone has their own technique and will gladly share their tips with you when they learn you are going to begin your own honey harvest. So, here are a few of mine that […]

In order to remember what was going on in each of my hives between inspections or even from season to season I find it helpful to use a beekeeping journal.

Each time I open the hive, I risk injuring or killing the queen. Each time I open the hive I set the hive back. The bees have to repair what I messed up! When I first started as a backyard bee keeper I loved to look in the hives. I wanted to get in there every few days to check things out. I did not realize there should be a PURPOSE for each inspection. Here I share some reasons for hive inspections.

Are Conditions Right to Inspect the Hive?
When is the best time of day to inspect your hives? Does the weather play a part in inspections? I would like to share a little of what I have discovered over four years of beekeeping.

Lately there has been plenty of buzz over new types of beehives becoming available in the United States. It is no secret that many beekeepers are looking for better ways to keep bees, better ways to ensure the hive’s long-term survival, and better ways to house hives, with improvements to their ergonomic design.. I was […]

Guest post by Monica and Todd Warner The outside world thinks that a farmer or beekeeper’s season starts when the flowers begin to bloom or the last frost passes. Where we live, that last frost date is right around tax day in mid-April, but really a beekeeper’s “Spring” begins when that first flower blossoms (early […]

Here are 11 important thoughts and questions to ask yourself prior to becoming a beekeeper.