If you are planning to start a beekeeping business, you need to know about the important beekeeping supplies and equipment. You can easily find them in the local beekeeping store or online. The beekeeping supplies may vary from a beekeeper to beekeeper, depending upon the type of hive. However, the basic supplies required by almost all beekeepers include bees, hives, swarms, nuc boxes and frames. It is also important to buy bee medication and mite control supplies, so that you can gain more profits from beekeeping.
Bees:
You can buy the bees and queen bees from variety of sources. You can buy them in packages or in nuc boxes, which have a nuc comprising a small colony and an adult bee. It is always advisable to select the bees from local source, so that you can avoid the problems of diseases, pests and bee stains.
Hives:
Hives are available in different types like Langsroth hives and top bar hives.
1. Langsroth hives come with removable frames, so you can pull and inspect them for possible parasitic infection or diseases. You can use them conveniently to split the hives into another colony for the purpose of reproduction. They are useful in extracting honey without killing the bees.
2. Top bar hives are inexpensive and easy to use. They need to be hung along the top bar provided. If you use these hives, you need to rebuild combs after every harvest.
Beekeeping equipment:
Supers:
Supers are essential to protect the beehives from extreme weather conditions. They contain 9 or 10 frames and they can be either deep or shallow. The deeper super serves as the brood chambers, where the queen lays eggs and the bees care for the larvae. The shallow super is used as honey stores.
Personal equipment:
Beekeeping equipment like veil, gloves and a beekeeper jacket are useful in protecting your safety. If you are a novice beekeeper, you should wear protective clothing, including hooded suit, gloves and a hat.
Smokers:
Smokers are simple fireboxes that are used to generate smoke for harvesting honey from the hives. A smoker includes a funnel and a chamber for combustion. The smoker allows you to keep the bees from becoming disturbed. A gentle puff of smoke calms the bees and lets you continue your work without any stress.
Honey extracting equipment:
Extracting equipment plays an integral role in beekeeping. If you need to harvest a small amount of honey, you can simply use a bee brush to sweep the bees from each frame. You can use bee escape boards to direct the bees on a one way trip from the supers. Extractors made up of stainless steel are more durable than plastic extractors. You can go for either manual extractor or an automatic one, depending upon your budget.
Besides these important types of equipment, you can also plan to buy some equipment like fumer board that helps you to get the bees out of the hive. This equipment is saturated with chemicals that act as safe bee repellents. Starting your own business beekeeping can be very rewarding. The right equipment will help you get started quickly and easily.
To Learn How To Get Started Beekeeping, Check Out,
http://www.beekeeping-basics.com
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