How Hard Is Bee Keeping?

Learning about bee behavior minimizes stings.

Millions of people keep bees as a hobby. If you keep even just a single hive, you can produce 50 to 100 pounds of honey each year. Consider the challenges of beekeeping before taking it up.

Equipment

Beekeeping requires various equipment, including a bee suit, bee hives, honey-extracting tools and winter protection for the bees. You need to spend some money to purchase these items and some time to learn how to use them. You also have to be strong enough to lift the equipment or have someone who can help you with the heavy lifting.

Stings

The bees you keep will sting you and probably your family members as well. Bee stings only cause pain and discomfort for most people, but they can also trigger anaphylactic shock and death in allergic people, who make up .4 percent of the population.

Learning

Beekeeping has a learning curve. You have to be able to identify queens, workers and drones. Bees display different behaviors during various seasons, and you need to know how to handle them. Diseases and insects attack bees, so you also have to know how and when to apply medication and insecticides.

References

• Government of Alberta: Beekeeping for Beginners
• University of Missouri Extension: Beekeeping Tips for Beginners