Catch Bees is the Bees Knees

The actual process of catching a swarm of bees is not all that complicated. As with most things in life though, preparation is everything. You will need the following things in order to begin your bee catching or beekeeping career.

1. Protective clothing - this can be the traditional beekeepers jumpsuit or it can be your favorite very light colors, preferably white heavy cotton or denim shirt and pants. (Make sure the shirt is tucked into the pants)Complete Bee Keeper Suit Helmet Pants Gloves Pest Control bee wasps hornets yellow jackets etc.

2. A veil - You will need some thing to protect your face but still allow you to see. ROUND BEE VEIL

3. A hive with all of the pieces - This is a unique type of hive well suited for the beginner

4. A smoker with fuel

5. A hive tool

6. A frame picker upper

7. Gloves

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Once you are prepared you need to find a swarm of bees to catch. The Spring is the best time to find swarms. Bees generally start collecting pollen and nectar when the dandelions start blooming. You will never look at dandelions the same way once you start catching bees and keeping them.

A group of bees will leave the hive with a new queen to start their own collective. Usually they will swarm towards a tree (or a house) where they can gather in a ball while some of the bees will go look for a new home. It is while they are gathered in the ball that catching bee swarms becomes easier.

Here is the process:

Open your hive or what ever you are going to contain them in to transport them to the hive, brush them into the container, seal it up and then take them to the hive you wish to nurture them in. You must make sure you get the queen or they will all die off. She will probably be in the center of the swarm. She is larger and longer than everyone else in the group.

The Backyard Hive has many advantages to the backyard beekeeper. This hive is easier to use, inexpensive to purchase, and it requires much less equipment and expertise to get into the adventure of bee keeping.

Once you have swept most of your bees into either the hive you plan to keep them in or a transport container, you need to lay the container on the ground so that any of the bees that have "missed" the target container can walk on in. It is a good idea to leave them alone for a while..maybe an hour, then go back and button them up or take them to the hive you intend to keep them in.

If you are just starting beekeeping or thinking about starting, then this is the time to
catch the wave to get setup for bee season. The first year of caring for
bees in the top bar hive is a simple setup.

You will need to:

1) Purchase or build a hive
2) Find a resource and order bees
3) Find a location for your hive
4) Purchase protective clothing
5) Coat the top bars with beeswax
6) Install the swarm or package of bees

1)Get a Hive: Purchase a BackYardHive or build your own from the plans on our website. If you build a hive from our plans, we highly suggest you purchase top bars or the top bar package which includes top bars, a false back, spacers, and an entrance reducer. We find that having precise dimensions for the top bars encourages the bees to build straighter comb which leads to a better beekeeping experience in the hive. We also suggest that you build the hive with the window, this is an amazing feature that you will not want to leave out. The window allows you to observe the progress of the bees without having to disturb the colony. This also gives you the opportunity to check on your bees anytime you'd like.

2) Find a resource for a swarm, or order bees: Now is the time to order bees or get onto a swarm list. Refer to the Resources link on our website for a list of Swarm Removers or the list of apiaries selling packages of bees.

3)Placement of the hive: You will want to place the entrance of the hive away from foot traffic. The less foot traffic at the entrance of the hive the better for the bees, you and your friends. You'll need to consider the winter weather in your area and the direction of the wind. Face the hive entrance away from strong winter winds. The ideal direction would face somewhere between east and south. It is a good idea that the hive gets some shade in the afternoon in the summer and plenty of sun in the winter months. A great place for this is under a deciduous tree, where it is shaded in the afternoons in the summer, or on the east side of a building where the hive gets the warmth from the dawning sun and shade in the afternoon. You may also want to raise the hive off the ground a few feet so that it is easier to work with; a couple of cinder blocks works well for this.

4) Protective clothing means different things to different beekeepers: When bees are being installed into the hive, they are not as aggressive or defensive as they can be once they have established. This means that they won't be concerned with stinging because they are concerned with finding their new home and colony. But you may want to wear a veil and protective clothing when first starting out with beekeeping. This helps you feel comfortable around the bees, allowing more concentration on your task. Purchase a bee suit or wear thick clothing closing all arm and leg sleeves. Wrapping duck tape works well for this. And if you are in question about being allergic, you should get tested by your doctor.

5)Coat the top bars with melted down beeswax (paraffin will not work it needs to be natural bees wax) Coat only the 'spine' of the top bars. This encourages the bees to build comb on this 'spine'. You can order beeswax on our website or purchase it from your local art supply store.

6)Install the bees:Put all the top bars on the hive. Now it is time to install the bees into your hive. How many top bars you will need to remove and where you choose to put the false back, depends on the size of your swarm or colony. Typically, we suggest to insert your false back 10 bars from the front of the hive, this is important as it helps to establish the brood nest in the front of the hive. Remove 5 or more bars between the entrance and false back to install the bees into hive. If it's a package of bees the queen comes in a separate cage. Place this on top of the hive until the bees are installed in the hive. Give the box with the bees in it, a couple good stern shakes as you empty the bees into the hive. If needed give the box another stern shake, to get most of the bees into the hive. If the queen came in a cage you can put her into the hive with the bees; suspend the cage between the 3rd and 4th bars from the entrance. If you are installing a swarm make sure you locate the ball of bees on the lid of the box and carefully move the ball above the opening and give the top of the lid a stern pound, or shake. Then gently yet firmly shake the bees in the bottom part of the box into a corner, turn the box upside down and shake them into the hive. There will be bees flying all around. Hopefully, most of them are in the hive. Put all but 1 bar back on the hive. Whether it's a package of bees you bought ,or a feral swarm, you will want to make sure the queen is in the hive. They will soon start to fan, this is the bees calling out to each other.