Central Beekeepers Alliance

21 Comments Comments For This Post I'd Love to Hear Yours!

1. Rebecca says:

   6 February 2009 at 18:10

   Where our bees had such a hard time, the past few winters, with a very warm January thaw followed by a very sudden drop in temperatures to unusually cold… I’ve been wondering what we can expect to see this year, where we didn’t get a January thaw at all but instead got record-breaking cold temperatures! Sounds like a very mild weekend coming up, though – odds are, if the bees are still alive, they’ll probably be out flying.
2. Deanna McHugh says:

   9 February 2009 at 16:37

   hi there< Im curious if anyone is interested in doing an information session at our club this spring. We are in the Devon area and have a group of approximately 25 kids ages 5-12 and looking for someone to come on a wednesday from 2-4pm. Please call if you are able to help us out.
   Thanks! :)
   Deanna McHugh
   Program Manager
   Boys & Girls Club of Fredericton
   Devon Facility
   (506) 472-4528
   devonbgc@nb.aibn.com
   http://www.fbgc.ca
3. Leah Driscoll says:

   9 February 2009 at 22:33

   I’m interested in buying used equipment to begin bee keeping-Please contact me if you or someone you know has anything to donate or sell reasonably for my new hobby. Thanks!

   Leah
   (506) 273-3061
4. workerbeej says:

   13 February 2009 at 14:15

   Leah, my personal advice would be for you to “bite the bullet” and start out with clean new equipment.

   Given that some bee diseases can survive in wax and on wood for many years — even more than a human lifetime, in some cases — to buy used woodenware (hiveboxes, frames, etc) is likely to end up costing you more in the long run. And you’d be lucky to keep your bees alive, in some cases.

   If you do decide to buy used equipment, however, be aware that the equipment will need to be inspected.

   Section 5(2) of the Apiary Inspection Act (see below) prohibits anyone from handing off any used beekeeping equipment if they know there’s disease in their bees — but mistakes can happen. And some signs of disease can be hard for an inexperienced beekeeper to recognize, so they might be unaware that their bees are infected.

   5(2) No person shall, knowing that a contagious or infectious disease exists among his bees, sell, barter, give away, move or in any other way dispose of the same in whole or in part, or any product of the same other than honey, or any beekeeping equipment in such a manner as to cause the spread of the disease.

   You can contact the NBDAA to be put in touch with Fletcher Colpitts (Chief Inspector) to ask for an inspection of any used equipment you might think of buying.

   Hope this information is helpful.
5. Jessica B says:

   17 February 2009 at 17:08

   Sterling,

   Rebecca did some web maintenance on the weekend and my comment about nuc pricing from Country Fields was lost. Just wanted to make sure you got it ~ $135 per nuc.
6. Jessica B says:

   17 February 2009 at 17:09

   Thank Rebecca, for letting me know too!
7. Sterling says:

   19 February 2009 at 16:22

   Thanks Jessica and Rebecca
8. sterling says:

   23 February 2009 at 22:19

   Can’t figure out how to get on the buy and sell section so I’ll ask here. Anyone got a stainless steel 4 frame extractor to sell ( or even better – give) Does not need a motor, I can rig that up.
9. workerbeej says:

   24 February 2009 at 15:50

   This works, Sterling – or email CBA – or notices can be given to one of the Executive at a CBA meeting.
10. Elizabeth Hamilton says:

    24 February 2009 at 22:51

    It has been years since my Mom had a couple of hives, but I’d like to know about getting started up from scratch again.

    I always prefer local sources so let me know if I should be looking within the Central NB area, or further afield for fresh supers, hives, nucs and the rest of the critical elements involved in keeping bees productive and healthy. I’ll take the advice given to Leah in a previous comment and go with new supplies for the bees–but if anyone knows of second-hand bee garments …

    Thanks–and I’ll try to make it to the next meeting!

    Elizabeth
11. workerbeej says:

    25 February 2009 at 00:41

    Great, hope to see you there, Elizabeth! As for bees and equipment – Country Fields Beekeeping Supplies in Upper Coverdale (http://www.countryfields.ca) and the Bee Store in Maugerville are the two sources in New Brunswick.
12. corey a crawford says:

    21 March 2009 at 17:21

    I would like to knoww if there is anybody would have any plans for a observation hive. Maybe someone would know where I could order some where thanyou great web site.
13. Sterling says:

    24 March 2009 at 15:51

    Getting equipment ready for the upcoming season and wondered what to charge per pound for bottled honey. What is everyone’s price plan ?
14. Chris M says:

    6 April 2009 at 07:47

    I have an idea to completely revolutionize the way honey is manufactured and produced. I am giving it away freely to you, in the hopes you circulate the idea, and get the honey producers back into a profitable business.

    Currently there are many massive factors affecting honey production.

    – Mites
    – CCD
    – Theft
    – Melamine and so forth.
    – Labor to move and maintain the supers.

    The Honey Hive Trailer

    Take your typical ‘cargo trailer’ – http://www.buysell.com/root/detail/Edmonton/Horse_Trailers/1006/70831080/2008_CARGOMATE_BL714TA2_2dr_Trailer.aspx,

    Atypically a larger one would be preferable. Instead of wooden supers simply a enclosed metal frame that bolts to the walls of the trailer is used. An array of these are bolted in tight symmetry through the trailer. The comb slats simply slide in and out like a shelf. into and out of the supers from the inside of the trailer, on a panel door that can open and shut. Small slit openings are create to the outside of the trailer for the bees to get in and out.

    Now here is where it gets advantageous. The supers are no longer so easily stolen as thieves must now break INTO the trailer to get at the supers. Secondly a couple solar panels can keep an alarm system, AND a satellite tracking unit inside the trailer.

    The final benefit is Mite treatment can be delivered to all the supers simultaneously with small distributed tubing system that uses a small 12 Volt water pump to pump in some treated diluted honey into the hive. A little ingenuity and a simple timer would do the trick. A barrel of treatment can sit at one end of the trailer.

    Moving – Duh! Hook on your trailer and pull it where they need to go. Great benefit is they can now be easily moved around. Overwintering is now a non-issue so much as the entire trailer is a overwintering station in and of itself, greatly mitigating the overwinter preparations required.

    Theft is basically eliminated, and the trailer can simply have its wheels removed and put on blocks for the summer where it will sit. Backup alarm with flashing strobe would immediately attack the attention of any passerby’s who would become witnesses to a theft. And if that is not enough a small satellite tracker unit can be hidden inside the trailer.

    The other aspect is management of mites can now be administered automatically from a tubing system from inside, that simply has a quick release to each super.

    I am forwarding this idea to coops around the country as no one needs to run off and try to patent it for their own use. We are stronger as a collective. Please share this idea everywhere. Remember publicly made ideas are *not* patentable.
15. Rick says:

    22 April 2009 at 21:02

    Sterling, in answer to your question about honey price – last fall at the Frex we were selling 375ml jars for $5.00 and they flew out the door.
16. Gregory Munn says:

    5 May 2009 at 17:04

    Hello, My question is to do with profitability. Is it reasonable to expect a moderate income from keeping bees i.e. could a retired person turn this into a profitable home based business?
17. sterling says:

    10 May 2009 at 11:43

    Gregory, nobody wants to give you an answer so I will. It is reasonable to “expect” a profit from bees. It would depend on so many factors that expectation is all we have. IF you have a perfect summer, lots of sun, lots of blossoms, not much rain, not much wind , no diseases, no bears – do you get the idea yet. I started in 1999 and did well for a few years and one winter – disaster, built up the numbers and again – boom. I was speaking to a fellow beek last week who lost all but one hive of forty I believe. It might be better if you set your expectations low and anything over that will be a bonus. Good luck.
18. sterling says:

    14 May 2009 at 17:22

    Always trying something different so this time it was icing sugar. I had read on some sites that some beeks were dusting the bees with icing sugar, the theory being that the mites’ feet would slip on the sugar and fall to the bottom board. I cleaned the inserts under the screen board of all debris, dusted icing sugar on the bees frame by frame and waited 45 minutes , took out the insert and started counting. Eighteen varroa in 45 minutes. This morning I looked again and had a total of 38 mites, this over a time span of fifteen hours. How much more organic can that be ? I bought a small container of baby powder to put the sugar in and used it as a shaker , just use it the same as a salt shaker. This system would not be feasable for large scale beekeeping because of the time involved but for one to five hives it’s worth a shot.
19. Bob Seaman says:

    16 May 2009 at 05:56

    Just want to share my experience this year. Purchased 25 Queens arrived May 6. Weather has been bad and bees are not in the best shape. Didn’t have a lot of hives to make splits. Took a gamble removed a frame of brood, pollen, honey and bees. Put queen in cage with attendants returned in 3 days released queens. All accepted queens except one which had a queen I missed. Another also had a queen but that caged queen was alive. These nucs are going to need a lot of help.
    __________________
    Bob F Seaman
20. sterling says:

    17 May 2009 at 09:35

    Can anyone give me a permanent cure for getting rid of ants. I have poisoned, stomped, burned, you name it, I have even followed them back to their nests and tried to eradicate them there but they keep coming back. HELP They can make the bees nasty in a short time.
21. workerbeej says:

    19 May 2009 at 20:16

    Sterling, I don’t know about any permanent cures for pesky ants bugging the bees, but I feel your pain – seriously thinking about building a most around the hive stands and hoping the ants will drown! I have heard that ants don’t care for coffee grounds, however, so might save up those and give it a try. The old folks used to say that tansy and mint and citrus peels will all repel ants – that may be just an old wives’ tale, but might give that a try too.

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