How to become a beekeeper : 5 Nectarist tips

Having doubts about being a beekeeper? Do you believe an intake interview might provide reassurance? 

Book your appointment with Johan here. He'll be glad to answer all your questions as a starting beekeeper. 

 

Do you want to stand up for the wellbeing of bees and do you like to spend time in nature? Then becoming a beekeeper might be something for you! Keep in mind that beekeeping involves more than just planting a beehive in your garden though. It is quite a time consuming hobby that asks for a lot of intensive work. Still convinced? Super! Below are 5 tips that we would like to give you before you start beekeeping. 

 

1. Keeping bees is not the same as beekeeping. Anyone can keep bees, but it won't last long, I'm afraid. The hive becomes dirty, the bees start swarming, the Varrao pressure kicks in, etc. A lot of things happen (and could go wrong) in the bee colony.  You have to intervene to keep the quality of life of these pollinators as optimal as possible. Once you have mastered this and understand the way they live, you are beekeeping. 

 

2. Beekeeping is not just a hobby. You are dealing with living animals so it is very important that you know what you are doing. We therefore recommend you to follow a beekeeping course. Click here for our basic beekeeping course! 

 

3. Being a beekeeper requires commitment and a lot of time. How much time? In addition to following the course and any activities at the club, you can easily spend an hour a week on working with your bee colony during spring and summer. Do you have multiple bee colonies? Then, of course, the hours add up. 

 

4. Do you really want to go for it? Don't wait too long. There are people who start it rashly and there are others who study for a long time before they buy their first bee colony. The ideal moment is somewhere in between. I always recommend you to first look for one or two nests (baby colonies) and see them grow into a full-fledged bee colony during the first year. You learn as you go, so it will give you the opportunity and the time to learn the necessary techniques. In the meantime you are already getting acquainted with your bees. Why two baby colonies? To have a spare colony in case something goes wrong. 

 

5. Find your own way. Once you start, you will quickly notice that there are no certainties. Every beekeeper has his or her own method and usually he or she thinks this is the best way. Even worse: there are more methods than there are beekeepers! My advice: listen as much as possible to experienced beekeepers and pick out the things that you find important and that you feel most comfortable with. You become a beekeeper through trial and error, with successes and failures. Like many other hobbies. 

 

Would you like more information about beekeeping? Or do you have additional tips? Please do not hesitate to contact us via [email protected]. 

 

Click here for our basic beekeeping course!