Starting a Beekeeping Project

[DoubleDogFarm]

No wonder the poor bees are screwed up. Worker bees of the world unite! You are not migrant workers! I think they are going on strike against low pay and poor work conditions

Yeah! and now they need a photo ID.

Eric

[jal_ut]

However, our hive is now infested with some kind of little mites? tiny beetles? We are considering what to do about it, since the treatment is harsh chemicals and we do all organic gardening. We may end up letting the hive die and starting over next spring. Even in a very diverse organic garden, it seems that it is harder to keep bee hives going these days.

Those little mites are pretty much a given these days. May as well treat for them or get out of the bee biz.

Powdered sugar puts them on the run. You have to get a shaker and go powder all parts of the hive. If you use a screened bottom board, the mites drop down through the screen with the powdered sugar treatment, and will not return. The alternative is the chemical mite strips.

[jal_ut]

Look at this!

It would be well to get two colonies of bees or more. Problem with one is that if there is a problem, no way to make manipulations. You are sunk.

Also, may I highly recommend making your frames with reinforced foundation. IOW the foundation has vertical wires embedded in it. I use the ones with wires with hooks, plus put in two horizontal wires too. I get the frames with split bottom board and foundation make for it, then the foundation goes down between the bottom boards and is held centered. Made like this frames will last many years.

[GardenRN]

If it's beetles, you can buy a trap for them that you just put a little oil in and they go into it and get stuck and drown. No chemicals. I used it on mine and it worked fine...

My first hive was a failure this year. The hive died due to wax moths. But I have since realized what I did wrong and I think I will have better luck next year. Another $125 for a nuk though....ouch!

[rainbowgardener]

I can't answer most of your questions. Hopefully jal_ut will come back and do that. But I can say definitely you can keep bees in the city. I have a friend who has several hives. She lives definitely in the city. She has a extra large double lot with lots of gardens, but bees can travel 2 miles or more, so it isn't that the bees are staying in her yard. My church had a bee hive for awhile and we are almost inner city, 4 miles from down town.

[imafan26]

You have to look at your city ordinances where beehives can be kept. If you live in a rural area it might not be a problem but in an urban environment with a lot of other people around there might be some restrictions.