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Beekeeping is becoming more and more popular in Maryland. Beekeeping at home is not only possible—it’s actually pretty easy. While you do need some special equipment, beekeeping at home is something the entire family can do, reaping sweet rewards (pardon the pun) in the process.
Paul Dill was a cross-country truck driver riding through Ohio who was intrigued at the sight of bee boxes along the road. One day, he pulled off to talk to a beekeeper and found himself getting the equipment, along with his first package of bees, on his way home.
Everyone is in it for different reasons. “Some small beekeepers do it for honey production and may get a super, which is about 2 ½ to 3 gallons of honey from a beehive in the season. Others decide to grow 10 acres of watermelons and rent bees to pollinate the crops,” says Paul Dill, President of the Maryland State Beekeepers Association. It is not as hard as it may seem.
To get started, you just need a few basics. “You need the beehive and frame which is the bee house, called a hive or colony. In the spring you get a package of 10 to 12,000 bees and a queen,” says Dill. After that, you can sit back and watch the show. “You put in your equipment and they start building wax, the queen starts lying eggs and things get with the program,” tells Dill.
You may want to take a quick course or find a mentor to learn what it takes to be an effective observer. “You need to know what a good healthy hive looks like, which is pearly white. If something does not look good, you see brown or there is a smell to it, you should get ahold of somebody to find out what the problem is,” advises Dill. Beekeeping meetings can be fun and include anything from a management talk to a science talk to the sharing of personal experiences.
When it comes to beekeeping, you never know what you will find. “You can watch the dances they are doing, see them tell each other where the flowers are and look for evidence that the queen is making lots of babies and laying lots of eggs,” says Steve McDaniel, immediate past president of the Maryland State Beekeeper’s Association. By being in tune to nature, your bees will have better success. “You have to keep the level of mites down, which are little blood-sucking parasites that transmit viruses and other diseases to the bees that can weaken or even kill a hive,” notes McDaniel.
Beekeeping can truly involve the whole family. “Kids can definitely do it, except they may need help moving the heavy boxes. Even the smaller boxes of honey are 50 to 60 pounds,” says McDaniel.
All you need to do is have a little free time once a month. “It takes about five hours per colony per year to maintain a hive of bees, so even if you have two colonies, you might spend ten hours a year actually in the bees while you spend the rest of your time reading about them and going to bee meetings,” tells McDaniel. Together, you can work your way up the rankings. “The levels are master keeper or master. It is a designation you get by passing an exam given by one of the national beekeeping organizations called the Eastern Apicultural Society,” tells McDaniel. The exam is challenging and leaves only around 120 master beekeepers in the country.
Unless you have an allergy or unpleasant reaction to bee stings, do not let fear deter you from giving beekeeping a try. “Stinging instances are low. If I put up a bee hive and get stung one time when there are 50,000 bees in that one hive, the chances are 1 in 50,000,” says Dill. The key is to be slow, gentle, calm and careful not to hurt the bees.
Remember that it does not take a big farm to raise bees; you can do it in your backyard. “The only space they take up is 2x3 feet for the beehive itself and you need room for your feet so you have a place to stand when you are working on them,” says McDaniel.
In the eyes of those who love it, not only is beekeeping fun but it is a humanitarian effort. “You can be participating in a neat activity and benefit your neighborhood because if anybody has a vegetable garden or plant flowers, the bees pollinate them and they get more fruit or vegetables,” says McDaniel. Some vegetables depend on honey bee pollination so the beekeeper is able to provide that service for anybody who lives within a mile of the location of their hive.
When it comes to disadvantages, local beekeepers jokingly note that they have watched less television since they got started. “It is a great activity,” says McDaniel. Some local beekeepers note that they have been involved for over 30years and have no plans to give up the hobby. “It is the fascination of bees that keeps me going,” comments McDaniel.
Recognize that everyone does not enjoy watching birds, checking on wildflowers in bloom or have a fascination with frogs. Similarly, beekeeping is not for everybody. “There are people who are not temperamentally suited for raising bees and it takes a certain amount of courage,” feels McDaniel. If this article has you curious, attempt to learn more. “I always look forward to any day that I get to spend half an hour or an hour in the bees. That is a good day,” expresses McDaniel.
By Jamie Lober
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