Becoming a Beekeeper
Have you ever wondered how to go about becoming a beekeeper. Hopefully we can give you an idea of what's involved to help you decide if it's a hobby for you.
Most beekeepers start off with just a few colonies to study bee behaviour and obtain a small amount of honey to sell or some want to do their bit to help save the Honey Bee and help the environment. A few colonies are all they want to manage . Having gained some experience, some beekeepers then decide to increase their stocks and some will even go on to become commercial beekeepers.
Begin by becoming familiar with honey bees. After all, the honey bee, whilst a fascinating insect to keep, requires the beekeeper to have considerable knowledge of the craft.
Before taking up the craft, bear the following in mind: keeping bees is a form of livestock management. They require looking after and even with a few colonies, weekly inspections are needed. Beekeepers have a duty of care to look after their bees properly. This means making sure colonies have enough food at all times and enough space for expansion when required. In the summer months, beekeepers need to carry out inspections each week. These inspections are important , especially around swarming season. Beekeepers check the health of their bees at these inspections too.
Before you decide if beekeeping is for you or not, come to one of our monthly meetings . We meet in Teagasc in Longford on the 3rd Monday of each month at 8pm. At these meetings, we regularly have speakers on relevant topics and follow up with a question and answer session dealing with the beekeeping issues that have arisen during the month. We end our meeting with a cup of tea and chat.
We can arrange for you to attend a demonstration at our Apiary to give you a chance to get personal with the bees and you will know instantly if you have the beekeeping bug or not!
