'Tis the season for coughs, sore throats, sneezing, runny noses, dry skin, and chapped lips. People everywhere are spending money on over the counter pharmaceuticals in an attempt to beat the germs this year. While most beekeepers have a wonderful home remedy stored away in jars or buckets just waiting for that little bear to need refilling. You know, that sweet stuff that makes biscuits taste … [Read more...]
Smoker Fuels for Beekeepers
November 28, 2011 by 8 Comments
The practice of using smoke to calm a beehive is probably as old as the idea of robbing a bunch of stinging insects. However, no one really understood how it works until the 20th century and we still don't fully understand. Thanks to science, we do know that smoke covers a pheromone that the bees release when they are squished, or after they've stung something, called an alarm pheromone. This … [Read more...]
The Slatted Rack
October 18, 2011 by 13 Comments
CC Miller, an accomplished beekeeper and author, invented the slatted rack in the early 1900's after he noticed that the bee's general well being seemed to improve when given extra space under the brood chamber. Originally, he built 2 inch deep bottom boards to create this space but quickly found that the bees would build honeycomb in it. Consequently, the slatted rack was conceived. It created a … [Read more...]
Crush and Strain Method of Extracting Honey
September 24, 2011 by 4 Comments
How much do you know about this method of extracting honey? When you think of a honey harvest you probably imagine a building outside with honey bees flying all over and maybe some beehives around it. A beekeeper in coveralls is working a big shiny stainless steel drum feeding frames of honey in and pulling empty frames out. That's definitely the ideal situation but not what many beekeepers … [Read more...]
The Queen Excluder
August 26, 2011 by Leave a Comment
If used properly a queen excluder can be quite helpful. When you harvest honey there wouldn't be a need to check each frame for brood first. Just get the bees out of the supers, which is the hard part, and then take the supers. Since the queen and brood are supposed to be in the brood chamber, you could harvest honey almost worry free. However, there are some people who would call it a honey … [Read more...]
Beekeeping Associations – Get Involved
July 29, 2011 by Leave a Comment
I was privileged to attend the NCSBA (North Carolina State Beekeeper's Association) meeting this month. In 3 days I learned more about bees than I have time to write! First of all, that opinions concerning colony management practices are just as diverse as beekeeper's personalities. On a more serious note, I also learned that pesticide residues in wax are crippling our bee's immune systems. Also, … [Read more...]
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