Beekeeper Supplies
It is very important for a beekeeper to have the proper beekeeper supplies. Not only to make it easier to manage the bee colonies, but more importantly to minimize the potential danger that is present in beekeeping. There are many supplies that are needed not only for managing and maintaining bee colonies but also in the extraction of honey.
The most important part of beekeeping is keeping oneself safe from being stung by the bees. A beekeeper can use several methods in protecting himself from bee venom. The first is the use of protective clothing. This includes the hat and veil, gloves and the full-length beekeeping suit. The hat and veil is very important, it is vital to protect the face from bee stings because it is the most vulnerable. Even experienced beekeepers will not work without it. While the suit that is made of light material that bee stingers cannot easily penetrate, protects the entire body. The gloves are also important to keep the beekeeper’s hands from being stung; but some beekeepers find it hard to work with them.
A lot of beekeepers find that the use of smokers makes working with the bee colonies much easier. This is because the smoke results in calming the bees. There are different types of fuels that are used to emit smoke. Some of these are hessians, burlaps, corrugated cardboard, twine, pulped paper, compressed cotton, pine needles and even rotted wood. Smokers also come in the more convenient form of aerosol cans. The bees react to the smoke as they would to fire in a natural setting. They start feeding to prepare themselves for a possible evacuation. The smoke also conceals any alarm pheromones that guard bees emit when there is an intruder, in this case the beekeeper. While the colony’s defense mechanism is down, the beekeeper is able to safely work with the hive.
Bees are efficient workers and can sustain themselves naturally. But in order to maintain honey production even during the winter, beekeepers feed them with sugar syrup. This can also augment their production during bad pollinating seasons to keep the bees from starving and the let the queen bee continue on laying eggs. Feeders can be placed inside as well as at the entrance of the hive. Inside feeders, such as pails, division boards and hive tops are used during winter. While entrance feeders are used during spring and summer when bees are active outside.
A vital part in beekeeping is to have a good housing for the bees. Artificial bee housing usually has a wax foundation that makes it easier for the bees to build honeycombs. The thin sheet of wax used in the foundation is patterned with a hexagonal cell base on both sides.
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