While I am not familiar with the "backyard hive" there are a reasons that the Langstroth hive is the standard. Most of your texts and resources are going to reference management techniques using that hive, etc. My understanding of top bar hives is they are less efficient (harder to reuse comb so bees have to use lots of honey to make new wax everytime). They seem to be popular in 3rd world countries with limited resources as they can be cheaper/easier to build. Think they aren't as well suited to cold climates where the bees need to store and access a winter honey store
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The thing is I am as interested in the wax as I am the honey. I have also read that it is reuse of the comb that invites many of diseases in, Such as the verona mite which lays it's eggs in the comb.
I am in GA about 40 miles west of Atlanta. There is no local be club in my county however there is one in the county north of where I live and I am looking into whether or not I am welcome to attend their club due to not residing in that county.
My local beekeeping association advises putting in new frames each year to Langsroth hives, so that the comb isn't being reused. Frames are cheap to make up so purchasing new ones each year isn't a problem.
One thing to bear in mind with a Top Bar hive is that wax is very soft in summer heat, so the frames are very delicate to handle, and it is quite easy for the wax to fall off and come away from the top bar if you tilt the bar too much trying to look at the bees. In contrast the frames used in a Langsroth hive are reinforced to prevent this happening.
I have one kenyan-style top bar hive; this will be my second summer as a beekeeper coming up. I learned entirely from other people online.
I think either a Lang or a TBH can work fine for a new beekeeper, but you'll find there are some people on both sides, very vocal, who are convinced the other choice is extremely unwise. Read as much as you can and draw your own conclusions.
yes that is what I am trying to do. And I have noticed a huge biases both ways which makes it difficult to figure out what the real facts are. I am leaning toward the TBH because I am as interested in the wax as I am the honey because I make my own soap and candles. And the argument about encouraging disease by reusing the comb makes since to me, even though I can't claim any real scientific reasoning here
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I think you'll be fine with either type hive. Each has it's peculiarities, but if you can check in with the bees once every week or two you'll be ok.
I'm in Douglasville if you want to give me a shout with any questions. I'm working with a 500+ hive guy right now, and can probably steer you in the right direction.
Any of the Bee clubs would be glad to have you (although they're not TB or organic friendly)and the new county agent has some cool bee things planned. There also a couple of free classes coming up in the area if you're interested.
Wow you aren't far at all. Douglasville is only about 30 mins away. I didn't see a local club in Douglas county on the GA Beekeeper associations website, are there other clubs? I live in Paulding, Were you referring to the Agent in Douglas County?
Eh. I don't have any yet, but I think the KTBH is the way to go for beginners. I've been reading up on them and talking to a lot of folks who use them. I want to start a few next summer because a lot of newbees come to me for advice and I'd like to be better able to support them in using these hives
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wow thanks for all the info. I live in GA about 40 miles west of Atlanta, and the winters here aren't bad at all. I think this year we've only had a few days in the teen's. I think the only think I'd worry about as far as cold is concerned with bees would be the same thing I worry about with my garden which is that we can get weeks of warm almost spring weather and then a harsh cold snap in late March or April... I don't really know if bee's handle this better than flowers but I know it can really hurt a pear crop.
Hrm... I hadn't really thought about needing two hives. Since I don't have the equipment to build my own I had planned on purchasing and that would drastically increase my cost. Would it not work to order a new queen if one is lost?
It's not the cold of the winter, it's the length of the period of time in which bees can find no nectar. Actually, they'll need bigger stores for mild-weather nectar-dearths, because they will be more active and eat more.
I haven't ordered bees in a long time, but remember having trouble ordering a queen too late in the season. But mostly, yes, you can do that.
They really want a lot of money for those 'backyard hives' and you may do very well finding a hobby woodworker to make some for you instead. Or just cut the parts for you to put together. As they will sometimes do for you at 'Home Depot' and the like, though this seems to depend on the mood of the guy and the complexity of your project. You needn't buy two packages of bees, you can set up one hive, build the second over the winter and split the first colony into two around midsummer when they're booming.
we don't have ours yet, but we are building top bar hives, and planning to get bees this spring. we came to the conclusion that they would work better for us after reading The Barefoot Beekeeper, reading up on colony collapse disorder, and speaking with a couple local honey producers (Michael at Bee Chama Honey, in particular, has been very helpful). the argument that bees are healthier when building their own comb makes the most sense to me. we plan to use the wax for candles, soaps, lotions, lip balm, wood finish, etc, as well as the honey, and even with lang hives, we could not produce enough honey to sustain our mead-making habit, so we decided it makes the most sense to buy honey for mead from others, and enable the other twenty projects that we can make with wax. :) whatever you choose, good luck!
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I am in GA about 40 miles west of Atlanta. There is no local be club in my county however there is one in the county north of where I live and I am looking into whether or not I am welcome to attend their club due to not residing in that county.
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One thing to bear in mind with a Top Bar hive is that wax is very soft in summer heat, so the frames are very delicate to handle, and it is quite easy for the wax to fall off and come away from the top bar if you tilt the bar too much trying to look at the bees. In contrast the frames used in a Langsroth hive are reinforced to prevent this happening.
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I think either a Lang or a TBH can work fine for a new beekeeper, but you'll find there are some people on both sides, very vocal, who are convinced the other choice is extremely unwise. Read as much as you can and draw your own conclusions.
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I'm in Douglasville if you want to give me a shout with any questions. I'm working with a 500+ hive guy right now, and can probably steer you in the right direction.
Any of the Bee clubs would be glad to have you (although they're not TB or organic friendly)and the new county agent has some cool bee things planned. There also a couple of free classes coming up in the area if you're interested.
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I'd love to here more about the free classes.
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Hrm... I hadn't really thought about needing two hives. Since I don't have the equipment to build my own I had planned on purchasing and that would drastically increase my cost. Would it not work to order a new queen if one is lost?
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I haven't ordered bees in a long time, but remember having trouble ordering a queen too late in the season. But mostly, yes, you can do that.
They really want a lot of money for those 'backyard hives' and you may do very well finding a hobby woodworker to make some for you instead. Or just cut the parts for you to put together. As they will sometimes do for you at 'Home Depot' and the like, though this seems to depend on the mood of the guy and the complexity of your project. You needn't buy two packages of bees, you can set up one hive, build the second over the winter and split the first colony into two around midsummer when they're booming.
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